POLITICS
Milos Zeman praises Czech Republic`s partnership with Azerbaijan
Baku, May 25, AZERTAC
President of the Czech Republic Milos Zeman has hailed his country`s strategic partnership with Azerbaijan. “The fact that oil from Azerbaijan covers around one-quarter of the Czech annual consumption makes it a strategic partner that contributes significantly to the diversification of our energy resources,” the Czech leader told The Business Year Magazine.
“Our partnership with Azerbaijan however goes well beyond a simple case of oil supplies. This is only one part of intensive business-to-business and government-to-government contacts in many fields including trade and investment.”
He said: “Both sides are benefiting from a great combination of traditional Czech know how and expertise in industry, transportation, and power generation, and of the astonishing Azerbaijani modernization effort. I expect a continuation of the positive trend and steady growth of trade turnover.”
Mr Zeman said: “I am glad that Azerbaijan is expanding its economic activities in the Czech Republic. We welcome Azerbaijani investment in our country and hope that there is even more to come. As for Czech Republic I hope that we will further increase not only the volume of exports but also the direct involvement and investment of Czech companies in Azerbaijan. More specifically I am convinced that we should focus mainly on the energy and infrastructure sectors.”
“We consider Azerbaijan a strategic supplier of energy not only to the Czech Republic but also to the EU as a whole. Therefore we hope that the new infrastructure will be operational as soon as possible. The Southern Gas Corridor is de facto the only project under construction that would bring new substantial energy source to the EU.