5th Session of the Joint Intergovernmental Committee on Economic, Industrial, Scientific and Technological Cooperation between Greece and the Republic of Azerbaijan (Baku, 13.06.2024)

On Thursday, June 13th, 2024, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Kostas Fragkogiannis, co-chaired the "5th Session of the Joint Intergovernmental Committee on Economic, Industrial, Scientific and Technological Cooperation between the Hellenic Republic and the Republic of Azerbaijan" with the Minister of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Parviz Shahbazov.

The Plenary Session, held in Baku, reaffirmed the willingness of both countries to build strong bilateral relations and established an advanced framework for further developing and promoting synergies in various fields including trade and investment, energy, transport, agriculture, technology, healthcare, and tourism.

Both sides reiterated their dedication to expanding business interaction between Greek and Azeri business communities and noted that last year trade turnover amounted to 1.4 billion USD. They agreed to increase and diversify the range of bilaterally traded products, along with encouraging the exchange of information and best practices to further enhance networking among entrepreneurs, Chambers of Commerce and Exporters’ Associations.

Greece and Azerbaijan have enjoyed a thriving economic relationship for more than a decade, particularly focused on natural gas and energy. The Azeri Minister of Energy, Mr. Parviz Shahbazov, mentioned that last year, about 18% of Greek gas demand was met by Azerbaijani gas,  while the Vice President of the Azeri energy group SOCAR praised Greece's pivotal role in the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), through which countries in the wider region are supplied with natural gas. The contribution of Azerbaijani gas to diversifying and decarbonizing supplies in Europe through projects like the TAP and the IGB (Greece-Bulgaria Interconnector) was also acknowledged. Mr. Fragkogiannis noted that strengthening bilateral cooperation and involving Azerbaijan as a supplier for the Vertical Corridor Initiative would benefit both countries.

Moreover, both sides recognized the potential for collaboration in environmental protection. As Azerbaijan will be hosting COP29 this year, energy will be a priority topic on the agenda. COP29 presents numerous opportunities for sharing knowledge and creating synergies in interconnected areas such as climate change adaptation, forest fire prevention, risk assessment, and water and waste management.

The Committee laid the foundation for ongoing, constructive, and fruitful dialogue and exchange between Greece and Azerbaijan and adopted a two-year Action Plan, which defines the roadmap for cooperation in all areas.

At the end, the Protocol of the "5th Session of the Joint Intergovernmental Committee on Economic, Industrial, Scientific and Technological Cooperation between the Hellenic Republic and the Republic of Azerbaijan", as well as a Memorandum of Understanding between Enterprise Greece and AZPROMO, the Export and Investment Promotion Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, were signed.