This is my second visit to Baku in a few months. I was here in June for the Caspian oil and gas conference. At around the end of last year I was appointed by the UK prime minister as trade envoy for Azerbaijan. Trade and investment relations between our two countries are very strong. But there is more that we feel we can do, particularly in many areas outside oil and gas. BP is the biggest international investor in Azerbaijan. The UK is responsible for more than half of foreign direct investment in Azerbaijan’s oil and gas sector. But even in the non-oil sector, the UK is the source of the biggest investment coming in to Azerbaijan.

I was here when I was British energy minister. I very much look forward to being a regular visitor here to support British companies as they look to come here. We are in a very exciting time in terms of that relationship. The decision which is being made shortly about the next stage of the Shah Deniz, about the pipeline infrastructure, all of that will be an enormous opportunity for new British investment and from other countries as well to come here. We are very supportive of companies looking to make those decisions. We see that as being the next big milestone.

I had a chance to meet yesterday his Excellency Mr. President (Ilham Aliyev). We talked about how to diversify UK investment here, how we encourage more investment into the ICT, the information and communication technology sector, into satellite, telecom, and more generally infrastructure issues as well.

We recognize as well that most of the investment which has to come here has been either to Baku or the oil and gas part of the economy. How do we encourage more of that investment to go to other parts of Azerbaijan in order to have a bigger impact across the economy as a whole?

I think it is a very positive time in our relations, and we want to build on that in the most effective way that we can.

A: It is not that far advanced so far. As part of a program to develop contacts, there was a group of members of parliament who came out here recently. They visited Ganca as well as Baku. We know that your government is keen to see the development of the tourism industry. Clearly, there are many opportunities there. British companies with expertise can be part of that process. 

A: For example, in the downstream sector, in the petrochemical sector. We are looking to see if there is a scope for cooperation there. The areas highlighted by the president yesterday included satellites where he wants to see more engagement. There will be a telecom conference here in December. We will be guided by where your government sees as the most important priorities.

A: Very positive. This is the most significant investment. The deal is still called the Contract of the Century. It shows how important it is here. The president was yesterday talking about BP as a partner of choice for 30 to 40 years ahead. So very strong signals of support coming through there. BP is very committed to this market. They have the full support of the British government of the work they are doing here. Caspian gas is of significant importance to European energy security. We have completely supported the decision on the TAP pipeline. It’s important to get gas from the Caspian to the European Union.  But the exact route should be chosen by the commercial developers and not the government drawing a line on the map.

A: They are looking at additional projects extensions. Discussions are going with your government on how they take this forward. The ACG projects, for instance, being one of those. You, as a nation decide how to harness your resources. This is a matter for your government and SOCAR.