Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia have agreed on "Solidarity Ring"

Baku/25.04.23/Turan: A memorandum on the supply of additional volumes of gas from Azerbaijan to Europe through the modernized "Solidarity Ring" was signed today in Sofia.

The document was signed by the Energy Ministers of Azerbaijan, Bulgaria and Romania in the presence of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Bulgaria: Parviz Shahbazov, Rosen Hristov and Virgil-Daniel Popescu, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto and Slovak Minister of Economy Karel Hirman.

The memorandum provides for the development of cooperation between the operators of the gas transmission systems of Bulgaria "Bulgartransgaz", Romania "Transgaz", Hungary "FGSZ", Slovakia "Eustream" and the state oil company of Azerbaijan "SOCAR".

Recall that the "Solidarity Ring" initiative ("STRING") was proposed by Bulgaria and supported by the European Commission to improve the security of natural gas supplies to the European Union, Central and Southeastern Europe.

As Ilham Aliyev stated at the signing ceremony, the agreement reached will contribute to expanding the export of Azerbaijani gas to Europe.

"Azerbaijan is an important and proven partner of Europe, and not only in the energy sector, but in other areas as well," Aliyev said.

"By the end of this year, if all the interconnectors are connected, we plan to start deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia. Azerbaijan will increase the geography of energy supplies from 6 to 10 countries," the President said.

Azerbaijan is a proven and reliable partner of Europe, in turn, the EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson said in a video message. According to her, the signed document will strengthen the energy security of Europe.

Note that in 2022, Azerbaijan exported 11.4 billion cubic meters to the EU countries, and by 2027 it is planned to raise the export of Azerbaijani gas to Europe to 20 billion cubic meters. —16B06-