Türkiye on Saturday stressed the resolve to further deepen ever-growing cooperation with Azerbaijan, voicing what it said was the pivotal role of its partnership with Baku in ensuring the energy security of Europe and the region.
In Baku, for official talks, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar expressed Ankara's belief that the cooperation between the two brotherly countries will continue to grow in the coming period.
After talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Perviz Shahbazov, Bayraktar emphasized the importance of expanding relations between the two countries in all fields.
"The partnership between Türkiye and Azerbaijan plays a crucial role in the energy security of Europe and the region," he noted. "I believe this collaboration will continue to grow in the coming period."
Türkiye heavily relies on imports for its energy needs, a big portion of which comes from Azerbaijan and has ramped up explorations and production to curb its external dependence.
Azerbaijan is a major oil and gas producer and a member of OPEC+.
Gas from Azerbaijan to Türkiye is mainly supplied via the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP).
Launched in mid-2018, TANAP is dubbed the backbone and comprises the longest stretch of the $40 billion multinational Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), a series of pipelines that carry gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz II field to Europe.
The $6.5 billion pipeline crosses the breadth of Türkiye, east to west, and can transport up to 16 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Azerbaijani gas a year. The pipeline connects to the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) at the Türkiye-Greece border, transferring gas to Greece, Albania and Italy.
Türkiye and Azerbaijan plan to increase the capacity of the route to some 32 billion cubic meters per year in the next four years with additional investment.
Last year, the amount of gas supplied to Europe reached 11.5 bcm, for a total of 31 bcm since the pipeline's launch. Shipment to Türkiye stood at over 5.6 bcm in 2023, with the total supply since mid-2018 reaching 25.2 bcm.
Bayraktar also announced that the fourth "Türkiye-Azerbaijan Energy Forum" would be held this year, recognizing what he said were Baku's commendable advancements in electricity and renewable energy.
He mentioned the ongoing efforts for electricity transmission from Azerbaijan to Türkiye and highlighted that the fourth edition of the energy forum would provide a platform for further institutionalizing energy relations between the two nations.
In December, Azerbaijan won a bid to host this year's United Nations climate summit, the COP29. Holding the presidency of the climate talks gives a country huge influence on its agenda and outcomes.
Bayraktar also emphasized the global significance of the event, saying the eyes of the world would be turned toward Baku.
Azerbaijan's Shahbazov affirmed the systematic and beneficial collaboration with Türkiye in the energy sector, extending to various domains such as oil, natural gas, electricity and renewable energy.
He further expressed his commitment to enhancing energy relations and acknowledged the comprehensive agenda between the two countries.
During the trip, Bayraktar also met with Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov, affirming their determination to advance constructive bilateral cooperation between the nations.
The talks, also attended by Rovshan Necef, the head of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), one of the biggest foreign investors in Türkiye, reviewed existing and future collaboration opportunities in economic areas, including energy.
In a post-meeting statement, Bayraktar reiterated the close ties and emphasized the concept of "one nation, two states."
He highlighted the fruitful discussions focused on contributions to Europe's energy security and electricity exports from Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan enclave to Türkiye.
Bayraktar underlined Türkiye's longstanding operation of transporting Azerbaijan's oil to world markets through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, emphasizing their commitment to maintaining and strengthening this operation for the global oil supply.
"We have been conducting an operation that is crucial for global oil supply for many years. We will continue to do so in the future as well. In this context, we will persistently advance our constructive bilateral cooperation in the energy field as two brotherly countries," Bayraktar said.
