Bulgaria is an important transit country for neighboring states that receive Azerbaijani gas through its territory, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told journalists on Wednesday. In his opinion, more and more countries will use this option, according to BTA.

The head of state spoke at a joint press conference with the president of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev, who is making an official visit to Azerbaijan at the invitation of Aliyev.

He emphasized that Bulgaria and Azerbaijan have been strategic partners since 2015, and bilateral relations have made significant progress since then. “Political dialogue and commitment make it possible to expand Bulgarian-Azerbaijani relations in all spheres of interest,” he explained, according to Agerpres.

The turnover of trade between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria has grown significantly, and a main factor behind this growth is cooperation in the energy sector,” Aliyev said, adding that the current level and future prospects of this partnership are “very encouraging.” Azerbaijan’s gas exports to Bulgaria are increasing from year to year,” the host emphasized, stating that last year Azerbaijan transported 1.25 billion cubic meters of gas to the Bulgarian market. Comparatively, this figure was only 600 million cubic meters in 2022. The amount supplied to Bulgaria in 2024 would reach 1.5 billion cubic meters, which is about 50% of the country’s natural gas consumption.

“We have always pursued better results for strengthening trade turnover, and energy cooperation is a clear indication of our success,” Aliyev said.

“Azerbaijan is actively involved in extensive cooperation with partner countries, including Bulgaria, in the green energy cable project,” the Azerbaijani president said, referring to the project of a cable across the Black Sea for the transport of green electricity. “The feasibility study, which should be completed in a few months, will pave the way for the start of the project. Therefore, Azerbaijan aims not only to position itself as an oil and gas supplier on the European market, but also as an energy supplier green. The potential is substantial and we will discuss this further at the end of the year, during the COP29 conference,” Aliyev said in the joint press conference with his Bulgarian counterpart.