The European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that the European Union will invest up to €200 million in grants in connectivity projects - transport, energy and digital infrastructure across South Caucasus - under the EU’s Global Gateway investment strategy.
“This funding could help mobilise up to €2 billion in public and private investment”, Ms von der Leyen said at a joint press conference, without questions, with Azerbaijani President, Ilham Aliyev.
“We want to foster peace through connectivity”, she explained, congratulating Mr Aliyev on his “leadership” in launching the peace agreement with Armenia, concluded in August under the impetus of United States President, Donald Trump.
Ms von der Leyen said that projects likely to benefit from this support could include, in particular, rail line to Nakhchivan as well as development of the port of Baku.
According to a European Commission source, of €200 million announced, €100 million will be allocated to projects in Armenia and €100 million to projects in Azerbaijan by 2027. This allocation comes on top of investments of up to €2 billion earmarked for strategic connectivity projects in the Black Sea and the South Caucasus region, announced on 23 June, the same source added.
Ms von der Leyen, who is due to travel to Armenia on 2 July, also announced funding of €20 million for a peace-fostering programme for populations living in border regions. This programme will finance projects in healthcare, demining, rural development, water management, precision agriculture and support for small businesses.
“Peace is now a reality, but we must work tirelessly to consolidate it, and make it lasting and permanent”, President Aliyev said. He said the normalisation process was progressing “successfully” and highlighted many “unilateral measures” taken by Azerbaijan, stating that his country had already “lifted all restrictions” on the transit of goods to Armenia, started supplying petrol to that country and thanked the European Union for its support.
Strengthening cooperation in energy, in particular renewable energy, and deepening economic partnership. Ms von der Leyen said that Azerbaijan had “shown itself to be a reliable and trustworthy energy partner for European Union” after Russia cut gas exports to Europe in 2022. She welcomed the country’s plans to develop offshore wind, considering that Azerbaijan had the potential needed to become a regional hub for the production and export of electricity. She also described project for an electricity cable linking Azerbaijan to Armenia as “very interesting”.
Mr Aliyev recalled that, since the signing of memorandum of understanding with the European Union in energy field four years ago, Azerbaijan’s natural gas exports to the EU had increased by almost 65%. Today, country supplies gas to 10 Member States of the Union. He also considered that the two sides could become “strategic partners” in field of renewable energy, specifying that Azerbaijan had already signed contracts with several companies to develop a production capacity of eight gigawatts of solar and wind energy over next five to six years, while assuring that this capacity would increase further.
Referring to prospect of a deepening of the economic partnership between the European Union and Azerbaijan, Ms von der Leyen considered that resumption of discussions with a view to a new comprehensive agreement constituted “an important step”, likely to open up new trade prospects. She assured that the Commission would work with Azerbaijan to move these negotiations forward. (Original version in French by Ana Pisonero Hernández)