Azerbaijani-British relations and cooperation in the energy field

A Forum on Azerbaijani-British Co-operation, marking the 20th anniversary of the “Contract of the Century”, was hosted in Baku on 9 October.The event brought together Members of House of Representatives and House of Lords of the British Parliament - Lord Risby, Lord St John of Bletso, Viscount Trenchard, Sir Gerald Howarth, David Morris, James Wharton, Paul Goodman, as well as Azerbaijani Ambassador to UK Tahir Taghizade, representatives of state bodies, Milli Majlis (Parliament of Azerbaijan), SOCAR and BP Azerbaijan.

The forum was opened with the welcome speech of SOCAR Vice President for ecology Rafiga Huseynzade. She stressed the importance of the forum in terms of deepening Azerbaijani-British relations and co-operation in the energy field. Speaking about the history of the 20 year relationship with British BP Company, Ms. Huseynzade emphasised the importance of jointly created oil and gas export pipeline system, brought to attention the facts that Azerbaijan exports oil and oil products to more than 30 countries, as well as plays an important role in natural gas supply to Georgia and Turkey. 

Rafiga Huseynzade noted that deepening co-operation in energy sector between Azerbaijan and Great Britain derives from the productive and efficient relationship between SOCAR and BP. Mentioning the groundbreaking ceremony of the Southern Gas Corridor on 20 September, 2014, Ms. Huseynzade stated that project would open a new energy corridor from the Caspian region to Europe and thus, would play an important role in European energy security.

Afterwards, the forum attendees watched a film on the “Contract of the Century”.

The event also heard the speeches of Azerbaijani Ambassador to UK Tahir Taghizade, British Prime Minister's Trade Envoy Lord Risby, MP Mukhtar Babayev (Azerbaijan), Member of UK House of Representatives James Wharton, BP-Azerbaijan’s Vice-President for Communications, External Affairs and Security Huseyn Mammadov. It was noted that the Forum will contribute to the development of all spheres between Azerbaijan and UK, strengthen further bilateral relationships. The forum was followed by discussion and a briefing.

Adapted from press release by Hannah Priestley-Eaton

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