BRATISLAVA, Slovakia, December 8. The talks held during this visit demonstrate that Slovakia and Azerbaijan are truly friendly countries and strategic partners, said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev during a joint press statement with President of Slovakia Peter Pellegrini, Trend reports.
Statement by President Ilham Aliyev
- Dear Mr. President,
Dear friends,
Mr. President, first of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for the invitation and for the hospitality extended.
I am sure that my official visit to Slovakia will have a very positive impact on the relations between our two countries.
As you have noted, this is the first official visit by the President of Azerbaijan to Slovakia. Of course, the talks we held during the visit, both in a one-on-one format and with the participation of delegations, are further evidence of the fact that Slovakia and Azerbaijan are true friends and strategic partners.
As you mentioned, Slovakia and Azerbaijan signed a Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership last year. It is a document that raises our relations to the highest level. Since that document was signed, we have observed very active cooperation in all areas.
You have already provided extensive information about our bilateral agenda. I would simply like to add that our joint teams are working hard on all the areas you mentioned. The joint economic working group is stepping up its activities. Specific projects are being implemented in the field of energy, which remains a traditional area of our cooperation. Last year, Azerbaijani gas was supplied to Slovakia for the first time. In fact, Azerbaijan can provide Slovakia with any volume of energy resources it may need.
I should also note that our rich gas fields have enabled us to export natural gas to many countries of the world today. The number of countries that purchase Azerbaijani gas has already reached 14. We hold first place as an exporter of gas through pipelines. As a result of the development of new gas fields, we will obtain additional resources, and, of course, it will be possible to supply Azerbaijani gas to both Slovakia and its neighbors in even larger volumes.
Currently, our total gas exports stand at 25 billion cubic meters, half of which is transported to European countries. Today, eight European Union member states provide for their energy security by purchasing Azerbaijani gas.
You have already mentioned another promising area of cooperation, which is the defense industry. We view cooperation in this area from the standpoint of industrial development. We do not intend to wage war. Wars are already a matter of the past for us. Simply put, by creating synergy and combining Slovak technologies with Azerbaijani financial capabilities, the production of new products may be of interest to world markets. Moreover, this will also bring us great benefits as a direction of technological development. We are working on specific projects in this area.
Exactly a month ago, on November 8, we celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Victory in the war of liberation, and it was a great pleasure to see the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Slovakia among our honored guests. We are grateful to the Slovak state and government for that. Such gestures once again show that we are, in the true sense of the word, friendly countries. Relevant government representatives have received instructions in all directions to raise cooperation to an even higher level in the coming years.
We are very pleased with Slovakia’s successful development under your leadership. There is stability and economic development in your country. Slovakia has very strong industrial potential. The fact that Slovakia pursues an independent foreign policy has earned you special respect. In some cases, you face certain difficulties because of this, but it does not deter you, and there is great respect for your country and leadership in our region.
Azerbaijan has long defined its foreign policy priorities. At the same time, we are currently playing the role of a bridge between East and West. The investments we have made in infrastructure, connectivity, and the transport sector have enabled Azerbaijan to become an important component of the East-West transport corridor. We are heavily involved in the Middle Corridor project. The most reliable and safest route connecting Central Asia with Europe passes through the territory of Azerbaijan.
In the coming years, we will expand our capabilities by investing additional funds in connectivity and transport. I believe that we should not overlook this area while developing relations between Slovakia and Azerbaijan, because it has great potential.
In addition, we discussed information technologies and the creation of data centers today. Azerbaijan's advantage here is that we have substantial energy potential. Today, the unused energy potential in Azerbaijan is about 2 gigawatts, and it will increase to 8 gigawatts over the next five years. Of course, energy is one of the key factors for the operation of artificial intelligence and data centers. Climate is also an important factor here. Although we are a southern country, we also have very cold regions with frosty weather prevailing for most of the year. Therefore, we see our role as a hub for international data centers and intend to work with Slovak companies in this direction.
Mr. President, I would like to thank you once again for your hospitality. I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to pay an official visit to Azerbaijan. You have visited Azerbaijan many times, but you have not yet been there on an official visit as President. If you have time, we would be ready and pleased to welcome you to Azerbaijan next year. Thank you very much again.