Azerbaijan intensifies its European engagement at the EPC Summit

Azerbaijan is set to increase and diversify its energy supplies to Europe, beyond the current 10 EU member states, Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev announced on Thursday during the 9th European Political Community Summit in Dublin.Aliyev held talks with European Council President Antonio Costa during the EPC summit to discuss the long-term energy contracts “in the context of continuing successful cooperation between Azerbaijan and the European Union in gas supplies,” an Azerbaijani presidency statement said, while Costa declared that “the resumption of negotiations on a new EU-Azerbaijan agreement is good news for our citizens.” The EU-Azerbaijan Strategic Partnership in the Field of Energy was established in 2022.Commenting on the meeting, Costa emphasized the two-way benefits the EU-Azerbaijan cooperation declaring that “this has been an important year for EU-Azerbaijan relations,” adding that “with peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia now a reality, the EU is also investing to ensure that people across the region benefit.”Aliyev said that Azerbaijan increased its gas supplies to the European Union from 8 billion cubic meters to 13 billion cubic meters, which accounts for nearly half of Azerbaijan’s exports, and that with the discovery of new fields, the South Caucasus country plans to increase gas supplies further.The cooperation is now also focusing on renewable energy, a strategic national objective for Azerbaijan, with Aliyev highlighting the agreement reached between…