Strategic partnership to boost opportunities: Aliyev

(MTI) - Strategic partnership and close political ties will open up new opportunities in cooperation between Hungary and Azerbaijan, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev told public M1 television on Tuesday.

Azerbaijan's economic development has been spectacular in the past decade, it is the strongest economy in the south-Caucasian region, Aliyev said.

It has undertaken economic reforms and investors were drawn into the oil and gas industry. The world's biggest energy companies are present in Azerbaijan, he said.

Thanks to energy supplies and reforms, the country was able to reduce its vulnerability which has also been acknowledged by international organisations, he told M1.

Azerbaijan's financial situation is stable and its outlook is good, he added.

Aliyev and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban signed a joint declaration in Budapest on Tuesday on strategic partnership. The declaration states the two countries' plans to cooperate, he said. Azerbaijan has huge energy reserves and makes a lot of effort to deliver to European markets, he added.

If the southern gas corridor is built that would completely redraw Europe's energy map, he said, adding that based on its resources, Azerbaijan could be a reliable source of European gas consumption for at least 100 years.

Hungarian-Azeri relations are very good and Hungary is regarded by Azerbaijan as a partner, he said. The country is currently looking into routes for transferring gas to Hungary, he added.

Bilateral trade between the countries has increased thanks to close political ties, mutual trust and respect, he said, adding that more could be done to fully tap on opportunities. 

Hungary and Azerbaijan are set to build a long-term mutually-beneficial economic relationship, Aliyev said.

The Hungarian government is very dynamic and effective and has broad support after the recent general election. Hungary has become "a symbol of independent policies, of advocating policies along national interests," the president said.