Ursula von der Leyen announces allocation of up to EUR 200mln to  Azerbaijan for development of transport and energy links in South  Caucasus

ArmInfo. The European Union will allocate up to EUR200 million in grants to Azerbaijan to develop transport, energy, and digital links in the South Caucasus. European  Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced this in Baku on  July 1 after talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

She stated that the purpose of her visit is to deepen the partnership  with Azerbaijan, which is of paramount importance to the EU. In her  speech, she congratulated Aliyev on the historic peace agreement with  Armenia. "You have demonstrated leadership in promoting peace and  cooperation across the region, creating new opportunities for  stability, trust, and shared prosperity. The European Union strongly  supports this process and will continue to do so. Together, we can  truly transform peace on paper into peace in practice," the President  of the European Commission stated.

Von der Leyen further noted that the EU wants to strengthen peace  through developing transport connectivity. "Under the existing Global  Gateway investment program, we will allocate up to EUR200 million in  grants to develop transport, energy, and digital connections in the  South Caucasus. This could attract up to EUR2 billion in public and  private investment. Projects could include, for example, a railway  link through Nakhchivan and the development of the Port of Baku," she  said.

According to the President of the European Commission, the South  Caucasus is one of the world's greatest transport hubs, connecting  Europe, the Caspian region, and Central Asia. She pointed to the  growing strategic importance of the South Caucasus and stated that  Azerbaijan has a central role to play in this process.

Von der Leyen added that Azerbaijan skillfully combines its strategic  geographic location with growing economic, political, and regional  influence.

She then announced a new peacebuilding program with a budget of EUR20  million and emphasized Azerbaijan's important role in the energy  sector.

"Azerbaijan is investing in the energy of the future, particularly  through your plans to develop offshore wind power in the Caspian Sea.  You have both the ambition and certainly the potential to become a  clean energy hub, and this is fully consistent with Europe's own  green transition. Thus, we see enormous potential for deepening  cooperation in renewable energy, interconnectors, and regional energy  networks," she said.

Von der Leyen also welcomed Azerbaijan's plans to create a green  energy corridor connecting Azerbaijan with the EU and the proposal to  build an electricity cable to Armenia. She described this as a very  interesting development. "Renewable energy sources shape the future  of our economies, and here in the South Caucasus, they can also  contribute to strengthening peace.

The European Union believes in a bright future for this region. So  let us work together for peace in the South Caucasus! For a South  Caucasus connected to Europe, the Caspian, and Central Asia," the  head of the European Commission concluded.