The memorandum of understanding between the EU and Azerbaijan, signed at the beginning of the summer, can guarantee Europe up to 20 billion cubic metres of Azeri gas annually. When the new Greece-Bulgaria gas interconnector is completed, the deliveries of gas from Azerbaijan to Bulgaria could reach 1 billion cubic metres, as compared to the 600 million cubic metres planned for 2022. In an interview with Radio Bulgaria, the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Bulgaria Hüseyn Hüseynov explained that for more than 17 years his country has been selling and delivering gas and oil to the EU, adding that a 25-year agreement between Bulgaria and Azerbaijan was signed in 2013 on the delivery of gas.

“Gas started flowing towards Bulgaria on 31 December, 2020, but unfortunately, in view of the construction of the interconnector between Greece and Bulgaria, Azeri gas has not been able to reach Bulgaria in its total volume yet. As of July 1^st this year, Bulgaria started receiving 2.6 million cubic metres of gas a day, and also, by the end of 2022 we shall be able to attain the full volume of 600 million cubic metres. After the start of the energy crisis, Azerbaijan has been receiving requests from several countries for the delivery of gas and for increasing the volumes negotiated. With the signing of the Strategic Energy Partnership with the EU this year, Azerbaijan will increase gas deliveries to Europe. At this point, via the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline used to transport gas to Bulgaria, we plan to deliver 1 billion cubic metres of gas to Bulgaria, as much to Greece, and 8 billion cubic metres to Italy. We shall increase the throughput so as to reach an annual 20 billion cubic metres of gas deliveries to the EU.”

2022 marks 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and Azerbaijan. According to Ambassador Hüseynov, these past three decades have been fruitful, and in Bulgaria, Azerbaijan has found a friend and supporter at an international level.

“Historically, the relations between the two nations have always been friendly. People in Azerbaijan know a lot about Bulgarians, but unfortunately, people here still have scant information about Azerbaijanis. For example, not many know that before becoming a Muslim country, Christianity was adopted in Azerbaijan at the beginning of the 4^th century. Azerbaijan is also the first democratic republic in the Muslim world – as early as 1919 women were given the right to vote. Azerbaijan and Bulgaria have a considerable potential for cooperation in a number of spheres such as tourism, agriculture, transport, IT. In 2021, the trade between the two countries amounted to over USD 98 million. We are set to make efforts towards an even more dynamic development in the future.”