The European Commissioner for Energy Andris Piebalgs declared Friday in Baku that Azerbaijan was a strategic energy partner of the EU, and emphasized the importance of the EU-Azerbaijan relations.
Piebalgs met with the Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, the Minister of Energy and Industry Natig Aliyev, and with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar Mammadyarov.
The main topic of the meeting was the establishment of a Southern Gas Corridor, which will transfer energy resources to the EU from Central Asia and the Caucasus region.
Commissioner Piebalgs made it clear that the Southern Gas Corridor, which is to work its way around the territory of the Russian Federation, was among the highest priorities of the EU.
Piebalgs pointed to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline as an example for a successful project, and to the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas transit pipeline project as an inspiration for the bilateral energy cooperation.
Apart from the energy partnership, the EU is going to strengthen its relations with Azerbaijan in other fields as well towards greater political and economic integration through the European Neighborhood Action Plan.