Currently, the supply of crude oil from Azerbaijan to Japan is of greater importance than ever before.
elchi reports that President Ilham Aliyev stated this at the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum while answering a Japanese journalist’s question regarding Azerbaijan’s contribution to Japan’s energy security.
“Yes, currently, the supply of crude oil from Azerbaijan to Japan is of greater importance than ever before. This is because, against the backdrop of problems that have arisen in traditional supply routes, Azerbaijani oil is playing an increasingly important role. As for your question regarding cooperation, we are in favor of mutually beneficial cooperation. I believe that a sufficiently rich history of partnership has already been formed between our countries. In some periods, cooperation has been more dynamic, while in others, it has relatively weakened. However, we have good experience of cooperation in various fields. Many Japanese companies have operated as contractors in major industrial projects in Azerbaijan. I have personally participated in the opening ceremonies of large power plants built by Japanese companies. Although there is currently no large volume of investment from Japan into our country, I believe that this will also happen in the future. I think that the areas in which we can cooperate are quite broad. Energy, technologies, and, in the future, the defense industry are among them. As far as I know, Japan is developing its defense industry. We are also working in this direction. We can exchange experience in this field and even implement joint production projects in the future. I would like to note once again that our trade relations were successful in previous years. However, the number of joint projects has relatively decreased in the last five or six years. After the Second Karabakh War, the intensity of diplomatic contacts between our countries has not been at the previous level either. But I believe that there is great potential for cooperation. It is just necessary to hold more meetings between government representatives, business people, and companies, and to identify new opportunities for cooperation,” the head of state noted.