BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 1. The energy sector holds a significant position in Bulgarian-Azerbaijani cooperation, Bulgarian Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov said, Trend reports.
He made the remark at the sixth meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between the countries held in Baku today.
"Azerbaijan is a strategic partner of Bulgaria in the energy sector. The energy ministries of the two countries have been conducting regular and constructive dialogue. We express our sincere gratitude to Azerbaijan for supporting the Bulgarian government's efforts to diversify sources and volumes of supplies," he emphasized.
According to him, Bulgaria is ready to work on increasing the potential of the Southern Gas Corridor.
The minister also mentioned that the opening of the SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) office in Sofia in 2023 played an important role in the development of the energy partnership between the two countries.
"Bulgaria has a large number of gas interconnectors in the region and is ready to receive and transit significant volumes of gas," added Malinov.
Besides, he said that the start of gasification in Bulgaria was with the assistance of SOCAR, and he thanked the company for beginning gas supplies to industrial facilities in Bulgaria in June.
To note, Bulgaria has been receiving gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field on a long-term basis since 2021, while SOCAR has also been supplying its surplus gas to Bulgaria whenever possible since last year.
Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel