Eurasia Press & News
Romania hosted an international conference on Azerbaijan’s role in energy security of Europe. The event was held in Bucharest with the organizational support of the State Committee for Diaspora of Azerbaijan and the Romanian-Azerbaijani Association of Culture and Youth, the Azerbaijani Embassy in Romania reported.
The event consisted of four panels: “Ensuring energy security and supplying Europe: challenges, policy and future obligations,” “Re-investigation of the role of participants and facilitators in the delivery of energy resources to Europe”, “Azerbaijan as a reliable strategic partner in energy security and supply for Europe” and “Cooperation in the Black and Caspian Seas in the period of globalization. National Prospects”.
The conference was attended and addressed by the Romanian President’s advisor on national security, State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business Environment of Romania, Ambassador for Special Assignments for Energy Security, other high-ranking officials of Romania, the heads and representatives of diplomatic missions from 32 countries, the leadership of the International Fund for Cooperation and Partnership of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, deputy director of the representation of SOCAR in Romania, director of the Center for Conflict Prevention and Early Warning, director on public affairs of Nabucco pipeline consortium, executive director of the European Institute for Risk, Security and Communication Management.
The event was also addressed by the Azerbaijani ambassador to Romania Eldar Hasanov, head of the fourth regional branch of the State Committee on Diaspora, president of the Romanian-Azerbaijani Association of Culture and Youth, deputy director of the Center of Geo-strategic Studies of the State Administration Academy under President of Azerbaijan Elman Nasirov and the center staff.
Those who made speeches told about the geo-strategic position of Azerbaijan, situated at the crossroads of major trade routes, transportation and energy corridors North-South and East-West. According to them, the country has turned into energy and infrastructure network. The speakers noted that the energy and oil policy, laid by National Leader Heydar Aliyev, is successfully continued by President Ilham Aliyev. Extensive information was also provided about creating infrastructure in Azerbaijan based on the latest technologies, as well as the confirmed and potential energy sources in Azerbaijan. Thanks to the branching of oil and gas routes, the energy resources of Azerbaijan are exported not only to Europe, but also to Turkey, Georgia, Russia and Iran. The conference also covered Azerbaijan’s role in Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline, Nabucco, ITGI, AGRI.
The energy strategy of Azerbaijan was set as an example to be followed by the countries in the region. It was noted that Azerbaijan has never used the energy reserves as a political tool. It was stated that the conflicts in the region, particularly the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict impose a real threat to the future of a stable energy supply to Europe.
The conference was also attended by representatives of energy companies of Romania, NGOs, various research and scientific centers, institutes and the media outlets.
On the same day, the Presidential Administration of Romania hosted a meeting of the president’s advisor on national security Juliana Foty with the participants of the event. At the meeting the sides exchanged views on the current state and prospects of bilateral relations of partner countries. They noted the importance of the international conference.
