On 18 February, the EU ambassador to Azerbaijan Kestutis Jankauskas announced that the negotiations on cooperation fields for the next 7 years between the EU and Azerbaijan would start soon. 

Jankauskas spoke about this during the opening of the EU4AZERBAIJAN.EU website which showcases all the implemented and ongoing EU projects in the country. The website would also provide regular news updates on projects, as well as a list of opportunities available via EU funding in both Azerbaijani and English. The EU also announced a press contest for the Azerbaijani print, TV/radio and web media for content related to the EU-Azerbaijan cooperation with a goal to raise public awareness on the EU-Azerbaijan relations, EU interventions and their impact on the daily lives of people in Azerbaijan. 

The EU ambassador named the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) as a good example of the EU-Azerbaijan cooperation. “We discuss and agree on priorities, projects and work together to implement them. There has been very good cooperation in the energy field, and EU and Azerbaijan are strategic energy partners,” Jankauskas emphasised. 

He underlined that there are a variety of different projects where the EU and Azerbaijan cooperate, including the projects in education, agriculture, water and air quality, food safety, energy efficiency, health field, etc. Noting the cooperation in monitoring green energy, he stated that the Alat port near Baku was the first one of its kind at the Caspian Sea that fully meets the ‘green’ standards of the international level. It was noted that over 120 projects have been implemented in Azerbaijan in cooperation with the EU. 

Jankauskas emphasised that the EU launched a very important project last week on vocational education trainings. The EU also cooperated with Azerbaijan over ASAN Service, helping with the digital services. He also spoke about the EU4Lankaran project, aimed at the development of production of vegetables and fruits in Azerbaijan’s southern Lankaran region. 

Jankauskas stated that for the next two years, the cooperation would focus on eliminating the Covid-19 pandemic consequences, adding that the priorities for this cooperation will be discussed next week. He noted that long-term peace has been achieved by cooperating jointly in different fields: “We are ready to share this experience. I think that Azerbaijan can benefit from this experience. We believe that, finally, by means of cooperation we will see peace and development in the region without conflicts. We want that mutual active diplomatic relations to be established in the region, borders to be opened, cooperation in the field of transport to be conducted. At the time let communities living in the region to live in peaceful condition, to develop,” he concluded.