The Executive Director the of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Dr Fatih Birol, recently discussed the Southern Gas Corridor with Parviz Shahbazov, Energy Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan, during his visit to the Azerbaijani capital of Baku. The EU-supported Southern Gas Corridor aims to improve energy security by increasing the diversity of sources and delivery routes of gas to Europe.
Other topics discussed during the visits were global oil and gas markets, plans by Azerbaijan to boost the deployment of solar and wind and improve energy efficiency, as well as the EU4Energy programme. The IEA Executive Director outlined the key global energy trends facing the world today and their implications for Azerbaijan.
Dr Birol also met with Rovnag Abdullaye, President of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR). Their discussion focussed on the Southern Gas Corridor project.
The IEA and Azerbaijan are cooperating in the framework of the EU4Energy Programme of the European Union. The IEA leads the implementation of the programme for the following Eastern Partner and Central Asian countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. The programme’s aim is to work with the 11 beneficiary countries on improving energy data capabilities and enhancing data collection and monitoring, as well as assisting them in evidence-based energy policy design in line with the country’s needs.
