On April 25, Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, arrived in the Republic of Bulgaria for a working visit, the Press Office of the Azerbaijani President reported.

On the same day, the Bulgaria office of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) was inaugurated in Sofia. Ilham Aliyev and Rumen Radev, the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, attended the opening ceremony.

Moreover, Aliyev held a one-on-one meeting with Radev. During the conversation, the sides also exchanged views on deepening cooperation in political, economic, transport, energy, and other fields.

On April 25, a signing ceremony of the "Memorandum of Understanding for encouraging cooperation among Bulgartransgaz (Bulgaria), Transgaz (Romania), FGSZ (Hungary), Eustream (Slovakia), and the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR)" has been held in Sofia. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev attended the signing ceremony. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan, Parviz Shahbazov; Minister of Energy of Bulgaria, Rossen Hristov; Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Péter Szijjártó; Minister of Energy of Romania Virgil-Daniel Popescu; and Minister of Economy of Slovakia Karel Hirman.

Ilham Aliyev stated, "I am sure today's important ceremony will be another step in strengthening our cooperation. Last July, Azerbaijan and the European Commission signed a 'Memorandum of Understanding on a Strategic Partnership in the Field of Energy' based on which we plan to double our gas supply to the European Union market by 2027. In 2021, we delivered 8 billion cubic meters to Europe. And this year, our target is 12. So, that will be almost half of our total exports, which we plan for this year at the level of 24.5 billion cubic meters." He added: "We are in the process of negotiations with Albania to build a local gas distribution system because the Southern Gas Corridor crosses Albania's territory. As a member of the 'Solidarity Ring,' I am sure Slovakia will soon become our energy partner as well. We will increase the geography of our gas supplies from six to at least ten countries. I say, at least, because I think this is not the end of the story. We plan to expand furthermore our presence in the European gas market. I'd like to underline the special role of the President of Bulgaria, Mr. Radev, in the initiative to create this solid team of partners. The 'Solidarity Ring,' I'm sure, will play an important role in the implementation of our joint ambitious plans."

The president also emphasized, "Therefore, as a reliable energy partner, Azerbaijan is ready to continue its journey and achieve all its targets. Also, I would like to inform you that after the successful completion of three major energy infrastructure projects - two oil pipelines, one from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean and the other from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea, as well as the Southern Gas Corridor with the length of 3,500 kilometers - so after all that, we are now working to transform Azerbaijan into a source of production and export of renewable energy. Leading international companies in the field of renewable energy signed contracts and MoUs with Azerbaijan to produce more than 25 gigawatts of renewable energy in Azerbaijan. Construction of the first wind and solar power plants has started. The estimated potential of renewables in Azerbaijan is about 200 gigawatts, including 157 gigawatts in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. Our main export destination for green energy, of course, is Europe."