Azerbaijan to open diplomatic mission in Bratislava

An opening date is not yet clear, but what is known is that the mission will be at the level of chargé d’affaires. Azerbaijan expects more intense bilateral relations with Slovakia from the new diplomatic mission.

Lajčák added that there is a lot of unused space between Slovakia and Azerbaijan, while bilateral relations have potential for further growth in the fields of the economy, investments and energy in particular. According to him, Slovakia is also interested in an intense pragmatic political dialogue and in strengthening contract law.

In the next few months an agreement concerning the prevention of dual taxation should be signed and a proposal concerning the protection of investments should be submitted to Azerbaijan. At the same time, Lajčák praised the constructive approach of Baku aimed at strengthening energy security in Europe.

"In this context, we perceive Azerbaijan to be a very constructive player that can be our strategic partner with regard to providing routes [for gas] as well as supplying gas,” said the Slovak foreign affairs minister, as quoted by TASR.

According to Mammadyarov, Azerbaijan is proposing a Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline across Turkish territory, which should lead to a diversification of routes via a southern gas corridor. 

"We’ll participate in gas transportation from the Caspian Sea to the European Union via the gas pipeline, which will go across Georgia and part of Turkey,” stated Mammadyarov, as quoted by TASR, adding that this will help to improve relations with the EU and the European Commission. "It’s a very important project,” he added.

The southern gas corridor is highly important for the EU from the perspective of diversifying gas supplies. The rich reserves of the Azerbaijan Shah Deniz gas field on the Caspian Sea should supply 16 billion cubic metres of gas per year, of which 10 billion will go to the EU and 6 billion to Turkey.