Poland ready to further co-op with Azerbaijan on developing Asia-Europe transport (Exclusive)

Poland is ready to further cooperate with Azerbaijan on developing Asia-Europe transport routes. Poland’s Undersecretary of State Marcin Przydacz said in an interview with Trend.

"Polish and Azerbaijani railways are involved in developing of the Middle Corridor [Trans-Caspian International Transport Route]. It is a project that successfully uses geographical location of both our countries. The potential for cooperation in the transport and logistics area is quite significant, in particular regarding transport routes between Europe, South Caucasus and Asia, connecting our ports, terminals and rails," he said.

Przydacz pointed out that the institutional contacts between the ports and railways of the two countries have been already established.

"It is worth to mention that the bilateral Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation created a working subgroup for transportation. It is led by vice-ministers responsible for transport, who met in the first quarter of this year and will continue to work in this format," noted the Polish undersecretary of state.

He also talked about Azerbaijan’s contribution to Europe’s energy security.

"Azerbaijan could certainly be an important partner in diversifying gas supplies to Europe, including through Southern Gas Corridor, as it is a stable and safe region," said Przydacz.

As for the possibility of Poland’s buying Azerbaijani gas through the Southern Gas Corridor, he noted that the decision to buy gas is the responsibility of the companies and will be based on economic considerations and will be proportional to the prospects for the development of their potential in the Caspian subregion.

"Diversification is an important element of our energy security and foreign policy," he said.

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route starts from Southeast Asia and China, runs through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia and further to European countries.

The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority projects for the EU and envisages the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region through Georgia and Turkey to Europe.

The launching ceremony of the first stage of the Southern Gas Corridor was held in Baku on May 29, 2018, while opening ceremony of TANAP was held on June 12, 2018 in the Turkish city of Eskisehir.

The gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field has already gone through the first segment of the Southern Gas Corridor - from the Sangachal terminal to the expanded South Caucasus Pipeline.

Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) were connected on the Turkish-Greek border.