BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 25. An electricity link via Nakhchivan will open up new opportunities, Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said on Friday at the 2nd Azerbaijan International Investment Forum in Baku, Trend's correspondent reports from the event.
"The development of Azerbaijan's electricity link via Nakhchivan is of strategic importance. With an initial transmission capacity of 1 GW, to be developed in stages, this project will establish a new link between the energy systems of our countries. In the future, it will also create additional opportunities to deliver green electricity generated in other regions of Azerbaijan and in Central Asia to the markets of Türkiye and Europe via the Zangezur Corridor.
The combined strategic importance of these projects is far greater than the opportunities offered by each of them individually. Our main goal is to connect these energy corridors with each other and create an integrated and diversified electricity network stretching from Central Asia to Europe," he said.
Shahbazov said energy and transport corridors, fiber-optic lines and electricity grid interconnections are becoming the new arteries of the global system.
According to him, while the energy map of the last century was shaped by the geography of oil and gas fields and pipeline routes, the 21st-century energy map is being redrawn through electricity grids, energy storage systems and green energy corridors connecting countries, regions and continents.
"Growing energy demand driven by digitalization and electrification, the widening gap between the deployment of renewable energy sources and their integration into the grid, and the need to ensure energy security are making electricity interconnections and cross-border energy links a strategic priority not only here, but across the world.
The fact that more than 2,500 GW of energy, industrial and infrastructure projects worldwide are waiting to be connected to the grid highlights the urgent need to strengthen grid infrastructure and develop regional connectivity to accelerate the green energy transition," he said.
The minister said the energy security of the future will not be determined solely by the energy resources countries possess, but also by their ability to connect these resources, establish reliable links between energy systems and shape a shared energy future.
"We invite the private sector, international financial institutions and energy companies to actively participate in developing regional energy connectivity and jointly benefit from the opportunities offered by the emerging green energy market," he said.
The second Azerbaijan International Investment Forum is being held in Baku.
The two-day forum is organized by Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Economy and its subordinate Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Agency (AZPROMO), in strategic partnership with European House – Ambrosetti.
Plenary and panel sessions at the event will address strategic issues including the Middle Corridor, energy and the green transition, artificial intelligence and digital transformation, infrastructure, industry and free economic zones, critical raw materials, agribusiness, financial cooperation, small and medium-sized business development, tourism, real estate and investment in human capital.
