Statement by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku in Baku after the meeting of the Albania-Azerbaijan Joint Committee:
It is a great pleasure to be here in Baku today with part of the Cabinet, as relations between our two countries have always been excellent. Due to the close cooperation and friendship between President Aliyev and Prime Minister Rama, it must be said that we have opened a new chapter in diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Albania. The establishment of this committee, which started as a working group a year ago, makes us confident that all the projects and plans we have for the future will be realised.
Today we discussed in detail what we should do in the future and we found areas of common interest such as energy, economy, agriculture, culture, education, health and other areas related to innovation and digitalisation. It is important to say that two friendly countries, like Azerbaijan and Albania, which have the same history, have the same faith in a part of the population, but on the other hand, they are countries that have come to this day. We are undoubtedly living a good economic phase, both Azerbaijan and Albania or political stability, because of all the efforts and sacrifices that the two peoples have made, so no one can be understood better than our two countries, so the partnership it was very natural and on the other hand it would be successful.
The commitments that we have made today, all the ministers of the Albanian cabinet who have sat at the table, or all the representatives of the Azerbaijani government, will be priorities for the government agendas of both countries, and we hope that in the coming months we will see the concretisation of the projects for which we have committed ourselves today. On the other hand, we very much hope, since we are the two ministers leading this Commission, that next year, when we sit around the table, we will no longer just talk about plans, but we will talk about results and concrete achievements.
I would like to reiterate the support of the Albanian Government and Prime Minister Edi Rama for the people of Azerbaijan and for the government and President Aliyev. Thank you very much.
Question: In your opinion, what should Albania and Azerbaijan do to further strengthen cooperation in the field of energy?
First, as the minister said, Albania is a leader in the production of renewable energy, producing 100% electricity from renewable sources. Now our main goal is to diversify the green energy portfolio, because until now we have been based on hydropower.
Of course, what is very important for Albania and what we have shared together is energy security, because of course a country can produce green energy, but if there is not enough to meet its needs or the needs of the region, then there are problems as part of energy security. Therefore, these are two issues where we need to work together. I hope that the main result of this cooperation will be the exchange of best practices that we have the creation of energy security thanks to Azerbaijani gas for the Western Balkans region.
On the other hand, we are investing heavily in auctions, which are a very transparent and competitive way to create new sources of green energy. This can certainly be one of the keys to success, and I am convinced and optimistic that our cooperation will soon produce concrete results that will be tangible for all consumers.
As far as green corridors are concerned, transmission is the new challenge for all countries, because it is not enough just to produce and be isolated like an island. Transmission is what makes this product so valuable internationally.
What we want is to be connected to the main energy corridors, as you are working on three major projects in terms of corridors, we are working hard to create the eighth energy corridor, as a security corridor, not only for transport or passengers, but also for energy. Therefore, the future will be focused on investment in broadcasting networks.