Ambassador: Moldova and Azerbaijan are friendly countries and good partners

Ambassador: Moldova and Azerbaijan are friendly countries and good partners

On June 1, Moldova hosted the second summit of the European Political Community (EPC), which brought together heads of state and government from 47 countries, including Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The summit discussed such important issues as building peace and ensuring energy security, strengthening cooperation on the European continent, etc.

Report presents an interview with the Ambassador of Moldova to Azerbaijan Alexander Esaulenko, who spoke about the significance of this summit for his country, the role of Azerbaijan in ensuring the energy security of Europe, and about promising areas of bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Moldova.

- Please tell us about the second summit of the European Political Community, held in Chisinau, what significance did it have for Moldova?

- I would like to characterize the second summit of the European Political Community as a summit about peace and for peace. We believe that this platform made it possible to unite the entire European continent at one point - in Moldova, and we are very proud of this, because this event was of great importance for the Republic of Moldova and showed the whole world the unity of the European Union: the unity of peace, security, which were discussed in within the framework of the summit. I would also like to emphasize that our President paid attention to such important issues as security, energy security and EU enlargement. As you know, the topic of EU enlargement may be on the agenda for the European leadership this year, and we expect it to be the subject of further negotiations between Moldova and the EU. This shows the strengthening of relations between the EU countries. The agenda also includes topics of support for Moldova and Ukraine, because this happens near the borders between our countries. But the most important thing is to successfully demonstrate to the whole world that Moldova is a peaceful and at the same time safe country. From my point of view, we must continue this dialogue in order to bring peace to the European continent. And in this context, I would like to thank the European Parliament, EU structures for their support in various areas, including for the support of people who come from Ukraine and stay in Moldova.

- What can you say about the bilateral cooperation between Moldova and Azerbaijan? What areas of cooperation do you think should be strengthened?

- Moldova and Azerbaijan are friendly countries and good partners, and cooperation in the energy sector is of great interest to us. Last winter showed us how important it is to have reliable partners and friends. Azerbaijan proved that it is a brother and friend of Moldova, and this difficult period was successfully passed thanks to Azerbaijan. Therefore, we look forward to developing cooperation in this area. And I would like to emphasize our particular interest in the EU-supported energy project for the laying of an undersea electrical cable.

The Republic of Moldova is also interested in cooperation in the field of information technology and the digital economy: intensifying cooperation through the development of projects of mutual interest, especially in the field of e-government, including the exchange of experience and best practices in these areas.

We would also like the participation of Azerbaijani companies from the IT sector in the activities of the first virtual IT park in the Republic of Moldova, as well as considering the possibility of becoming its virtual residents.

We are interested in the exchange of experience on the part of the ASAN service, since Azerbaijan uses modern technologies in this service. Also, I would like to emphasize the importance of the DOST service, which is a single platform for providing flexible, innovative and sustainable services, and we would like to share experience and cooperate with this service.

-What benefits can Moldova derive from the Black Sea green energy supply project, an agreement on which was signed between Azerbaijan, Romania, Georgia and Hungary? Are there other energy projects between Azerbaijan and Moldova?

- This project is of potential interest for Moldova. We see that the agreement between Romania, Georgia, Hungary and Azerbaijan is another interesting project aimed at developing and strengthening energy security. Moldova is interested in being a part of this important project.

We all understand the importance of diversifying energy supplies. And, as we see, Azerbaijan has become

- What do you think about the expansion of economic cooperation between the countries? What joint projects are being developed in this direction?

- There is potential for the development of our bilateral cooperation. This can be said about the sphere of agriculture, the wine industry. We know that Karabakh is an agricultural region of the country, and I think that we can strengthen our cooperation in the field of agriculture through the exchange of experience in creating new varieties of agricultural products, corn, wheat, grapes, that are resistant to climate change.

source: Orient news