Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 12
By Seba Aghayeva – Trend:
Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic have postponed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in the energy sphere, but will continue to work on it.
Experts will continue work on the MoU in connection with the uncoordinated regulations of the draft document, Azerbaijani Ambassador to the Czech Republic Farid Shafiyev told Trend.
Earlier, the two countries’ governments made proposals to sign a MoU in energy sphere between Azerbaijan’s Energy Ministry and Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic. The document was planned to be signed during the upcoming visit of Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic Jan Mladek to Baku next week.
“Azerbaijan, which is one of major oil suppliers to the Czech Republic, is interested in the development of cooperation in the energy sphere,” noted the ambassador. “The signing of the memorandum will create new opportunities for deepening of the cooperation between the two countries.”
The diplomat expressed hope that after the completion of work on the draft memorandum, the document will be put forward to be signed during the visit of Azerbaijan’s Energy Minister Natig Aliyev to Prague that is planned to take place in 2017.
Azerbaijani oil meets nearly a quarter of the Czech Republic’s annual demand. Therefore, Azerbaijan, which makes a weighty contribution to the diversification of the Czech Republic’s energy resources, has become an important strategic partner of this European country.
The Czech Republic ranks 12th among major importers from Azerbaijan. Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic amounted to $312.02 million in January-November 2016 and $214.17 million of this amount accounted for the export of Azerbaijani products to the Czech Republic.
The specific weight of the Czech Republic in Azerbaijan’s total export was 2.58 percent in 11 months of 2016.