The eighth Steering Committee of Ministers meeting was held in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, to implement the “Strategic Partnership Agreement in the field of development and transmission of green energy between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Hungary and Romania”.
Oku.Az reports that the Ministry of Energy has published information.
It was reported that Azerbaijan was represented at the event by Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov, Romania by Energy Minister Sebastian-Ioan Burduja, Secretary General Mircea Abrudean, Georgia by First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Davitashvili, and Hungary by Foreign Minister and Trade Minister Peter Siyarto. Representatives of Bulgaria, the European Commission, transmission network operators and the company “CESI” also took part in the meeting.
The meeting included information on the current status of the technical and economic feasibility study (TEE) of the project carried out by the company “CESI”, the work carried out in connection with the establishment of the Joint Venture, the optical fibre component of the green energy corridor. The possibilities of Bulgaria’s integration into the project and other issues were also discussed.
Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov stressed that the presentation of the preliminary results of the feasibility study of the Caspian-Black Sea-Europe Green Energy Corridor project is planned within the framework of COP29 to be held in Baku in November this year and made recommendations to ensure the intensity of the process. The minister also shared his opinion on the status of the project, other components, the next steps to be taken, as well as the development of the green energy corridor to be established between the Central Asian countries and Azerbaijan.
“Today, with the signing of the founding documents of the Joint Venture, our project enters a new stage. The Joint Venture – Green Energy Corridor Energy Company will finance the technical and economic justification of the project, will be responsible for overseeing the preparation and implementation of the TPP, and as an institution implementing the measures entrusted by the participating countries, Azerbaijan, being the main source of resources for the Green Energy Corridor, will be one of the main partners of European countries in the field of renewable energy,” the Minister said.
Following the talks, the “Shareholders’ Agreement” was signed providing for the creation of a joint venture in Bucharest between the system operators of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary: “Azerenerji”, “Georgia State Elektrosistem”, “Transelectrica”, MVM, as well as the Protocol on the results of the meeting. The Joint Venture and the Working Group were instructed to accelerate the processes with the Consulting company to complete the technical and economic justification of the project within the specified time frame, prepare the Joint Venture action plan before the next meeting of ministers and start consultations on business models for the project. It was agreed that the leadership of BM-Green Corridor Energy Company will be based on rotation, as well as tasks related to the Fiber Optic Cable Line (FOC) and issues related to the integration of Bulgaria into the project will be included in the feasibility study of the quadrilateral project. In addition, it was agreed to collectively apply for the status within the framework of the process launched by the European Commission in September 2024 regarding the second list of projects of common and mutual interest (PCI/PM). Support was also expressed for holding a high-level event dedicated to the Project during the COP29 Climate Leaders Summit.
At the end, a briefing was held on the results of the meeting of ministers in Bucharest.
It is worth recalling that on December 17, 2022, the “Strategic Partnership Agreement in the field of development and transmission of green energy between the Governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary” was signed in Bucharest.
