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Azerbaijani gas will add to EU-Azerbaijan bilateral trade – Jankauskas

Oil&Gas Materials 3 July 2020 12:57 (UTC +04:00)
Azerbaijani gas will add to EU-Azerbaijan bilateral trade – Jankauskas

BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 3

By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:

Azerbaijani gas will add to the bilateral trade between the European Union (EU) and Azerbaijan when it starts flowing to European markets at the end of 2020 after the finalization of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project, Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Kestutis Jankauskas told Trend.

Talking about the current status of bilateral trade, Jankauskas noted that trade between the European Union and Azerbaijan dropped by 29 percent between January and April 2020, mostly due to the decline in global oil prices.

“Global demand for oil and gas collapsed with travel and social lockdowns triggered by the coronavirus epidemic and further exacerbated by an oil price war. Other trade flows are not in principle affected by the closure of borders. Goods can circulate freely, so we don’t foresee other important disruptions,” noted the ambassador.

Jankauskas said it is clear that as all countries are facing significant important challenges due to COVID-19 and this is reflected in decreased demand.

“In this regard, trade flows will indeed be influenced by decreased demand. Another area which will be influenced is the services area, for instance tourism. There again, tourism flows in the COVID-19 period have seriously suffered and in Azerbaijan there is an overall ban on international flights till end of July,” he added.

Jankauskas expressed hope that with an improved epidemiological situation in Azerbaijan, international flights will resume, observing obviously strict safety and health protocols.

“It would be a good time to have another look at the aviation agreement which could be very useful for bringing more tourists from the EU countries,” he noted.

Jankauskas pointed out that apart from traditional areas such as oil and gas as well as transport/logistics, important areas of cooperation include investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements, education and vocational training, but also health and the economy diversification, which will become very critical in a post-COVID-19 world.

“I also believe that people to people contacts, cooperation of civil society will enable us to better know one another, avoid misleading stereotypes and building trust and resilience in our relationship,” noted the ambassador.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn

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