Aliyev opens Baku Energy Week: Azerbaijani gas now supplied to 16 countries

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the official opening of the 31st International Caspian Oil and Gas Exhibition, Caspian Oil and Gas, the 14th Caspian International Clean Energy Exhibition, Caspian Power, and the 31st Baku Energy Forum, held as part of Baku Energy Week at the Baku Expo Center on June 1.

Speaking at the ceremony, Aliyev said the Caspian Oil and Gas exhibition had laid the foundation for the energy development of modern Azerbaijan and had since grown into Baku Energy Week, one of the leading events on the global energy agenda.

The president noted that Azerbaijan had managed to turn its oil and gas resources into a tool for economic development, state-building and the creation of modern energy infrastructure. He said the country, which in the early 1990s faced political instability, occupation of its territories, high poverty and dependence on energy imports, now has a stable economy, low foreign debt and substantial financial reserves.

Aliyev paid particular attention to Azerbaijan’s role in ensuring Europe’s energy security. He referred to major projects such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Supsa oil pipelines, TANAP, TAP and the Southern Gas Corridor, which today delivers Azerbaijani gas to a growing number of countries.

According to Aliyev, while last year Azerbaijani gas was supplied to 12 countries, that number has now reached 16, including 10 EU member states. He stressed that the geography of supplies will continue to expand, including through new projects at the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli and Absheron fields.

The head of state also said Azerbaijan intends to develop not only its oil and gas sector, but also renewable energy. According to him, the country plans to bring solar and wind generation capacity to 2 GW by the end of next year and to 8 GW by 2032. Additional potential is being created through hydropower projects, primarily in the liberated territories of Karabakh and East Zangezur.

Aliyev also highlighted work on energy cable projects, including the Black Sea Energy Cable from Azerbaijan through Georgia to Europe, the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Türkiye-Bulgaria onshore electricity cable, and a green energy corridor from Central Asia across the Caspian Sea.

Messages from U.S. President Donald Trump, President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer were read out during the event.

Trump’s letter emphasized Azerbaijan’s importance for energy security and noted that regional energy integration is one of the key areas of the agreements reached at the August 8 summit in Washington.

Erdoğan highlighted the strategic role of joint energy projects between Ankara and Baku, including BTC, TANAP, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline, the Igdir-Nakhchivan gas pipeline, and the prospects for transporting Turkmen gas via Azerbaijan and Türkiye.

Starmer, in turn, underlined Azerbaijan’s importance for the energy resilience of Europe and Ukraine, as well as the development of green energy projects.

Following the speeches, a ceremony was held to mark the start of first non-associated gas production from the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli block of fields. A number of documents were also signed.

President Ilham Aliyev then signed the exhibition’s guest book and toured the Baku Energy Week exhibitions.