Azerbaijan, Baku, 18 March / corr Trend A Badalova / Trend 's exclusive interview with Minister of Development of Greece, Mr. Christos Folias on the results of his visit to Baku.
Question: What volume of gas does Greece intend to purchase from Azerbaijan? When may the full-scale supply begin?
Answer: The Greece-Italy Interconnector, which will connect the gas networks of Greece and Italy, will carry natural gas supplied from the consortium of the Shah Deniz gas fields. In talks yesterday in Baku, this issue was discussed thoroughly. It is a shared objective of both the Greek and Azeri governments that an agreement should be reached between the Greek and Italian companies concerned, namely DEPA and EDISON respectively.
In addition, the issue of ensuring additional gas supplies for the Greek domestic market, independently of the ITGI was discussed and in a joint declaration signed by the Minister of Industry and Energy Mr. Natiq Aliyev and myself.
Question: Does Azerbaijan need signing a quadripartite gas agreement with Turkey, Greece and Italy, or will it be adequate for the country just to join the available agreements between Greece and Turkey and Greece and Italy?
Answer: A: We agreed that a quadripartite agreement among Greece, Italy, Turkey and Azerbaijan would contribute to facilitating the work necessary for the successful completion of the ITGI. Indeed, I proposed that Greece should assume a coordinating role in the sense that a meeting of the representatives of the 4 ministries should be convened in Athens to finalize the details of the draft agreement.
Question: Does Greece have concrete investment projects for the development of renewable and alternative energy sources in Azerbaijan?
Answer: With Mr. Natiq Aliyev, we discussed the next steps in order to launch Renewable Energy Sources (RES) investment in Azerbaijan. More specifically:
We handed over a draft MOU for the transfer of experience, know how, and legislation for supporting investment in RES.
We proposed the establishment of a RES governmental body similar to the respective RES centers of the EU member-states.
We proposed to demonstrate innovative RES investments in exhibitions launching RES, cogeneration and energy efficiency.
We offered to transfer the know-how of the Greek Center of Renewable Energy Sources (CRES) to support any initiative the Azeri government decides to take on the matter.
Question: Are you satisfied with your visit to Azerbaijan?
Answer: I am very satisfied with my visit in Azerbaijan. In one day, I had the honor to hold meetings with the President of the Republic and other prominent members of the Azeri Government such as the Prime Minister, the Minister of Economy, the Minister of Industry and Energy and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. The main reason of my visit was of course energy issues but not only. On behalf of the Greek Government, I submitted draft agreements and Protocols in order to enhance co-operation concerning research and technology, standardization procedures and food quality control systems. Finally, we agreed to work towards the establishment of a Greek- Azeri Business Council.
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