The Minister of Energy, Mining, and Mineral Resources, Sanja Bozhinovska, was welcomed in Baku by her counterpart, the Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan, Parviz Shahbazov, as part of an official visit dedicated to enhancing energy cooperation between the two countries.
During the tête-à-tête meeting held at the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan, both sides emphasized their joint commitment to strengthening their partnership in gas supply. The discussions focused on opportunities for long-term gas supply agreements and potential investments in gas infrastructure in Macedonia.
"Macedonia can become a regional hub for gas transport. We are ready to immediately engage in cooperation on concrete projects and offer you both expertise and serious opportunities for joint projects, should there be interest on your side," stated Minister Shahbazov.
"The discussions on strengthening our energy partnership have opened new perspectives for Macedonia! We focused on concrete steps to create conditions for gas supply and opportunities for investment in the modernization of our energy infrastructure," Bozhinovska emphasized.
A special focus was placed on potential cooperation between the state energy company ESM (Power Plants of North Macedonia) and the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR. The partnership between ESM and SOCAR is key to our energy transformation. In that direction, a meeting was agreed to intensify activities within the framework of the memorandum of cooperation signed during the COP29 summit in Baku.
Shahbazov also extended a direct invitation to Minister Bozhinovska to participate in the upcoming Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council and the Third Ministerial Meeting of the Green Energy Advisory Council.
Minister Bozhinovska stressed Macedonia’s readiness for active collaboration on several projects that will ensure the country’s energy security, sustainability, and independence, emphasizing that this meeting represents a significant step toward achieving those goals.
"Azerbaijan is offering us concrete cooperation that will help position us as a serious regional gas transit hub. This has strategic importance for the energy future of our country and will benefit both the economy and citizens. We will work on this seriously and hope for support from our international partners," said Bozhinovska.
As part of the official visit to Azerbaijan, the Macedonian delegation led by President Siljanovska-Davkova also held a working meeting with the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, Ali Asadov, and the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Azerbaijan, H.E. Sahiba Gafarova.
This meeting, held on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, focused on strengthening bilateral ties, especially in the field of energy cooperation.
President Siljanovska-Davkova emphasized that the two countries have strong potential for greater economic cooperation, especially in the energy sector, and expressed readiness to support initiatives arising from this meeting.
Respectfully,
Ministry of Energy, Mining, and Mineral Resources
