EU accounted for 42 per cent of Azerbaijan's export market in four months of this year, minister

Baku, June 1, AZERTAC

“European Union countries continue to be Azerbaijan’s biggest export market with a 42 per cent share in Azerbaijan’s exports in the first four months of this year,” said Azerbaijan's Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev as he met with European Commissioner for Budget & Human Resources Günther Oettinger.

Mustafayev underlined the successful development of bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and the European Union. Recalling the recent visits of President Ilham Aliyev to the European Union and visits of heads of several EU institutions to Azerbaijan, he noted the importance of the mutual visits, meetings and the signed documents in terms of development of bilateral relations between the country and the organization.

The minister said that Azerbaijan plays a significant role in ensuring Europe's energy security. Mustafayev hailed Azerbaijan’s active collaboration with the European Union through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project. He described the inauguration of the Southern Gas Corridor as a good example of energy cooperation.

Oettinger praised Azerbaijan’s latest achievements, saying that the EU-Azerbaijan relations are based on mutual trust. Noting that the energy sector is one of the key directions of the EU-Azerbaijan cooperation, the EU commissioner underlined the importance of TANAP and TAP projects.

Oettinger pointed out to Azerbaijan’s great potential in the field of alternative energy, saying that foreign investors show great interest in Azerbaijan in this regard. He mentioned that an Azerbaijan-EU business forum to be held in Baku in a few days will be of great significance in term of development of cooperation between business communities of the EU countries and Azerbaijan. He said he will spare no efforts to contribute to the development of relations between Azerbaijan and the EU.