2024-04-10 07:59:26
The Republic of Congo wants to take advantage of Azerbaijan’s experience in the field of green energy.
As Day.Az reports, Jean-Claude Gakosso, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Congo, who is on a visit to Baku, said this in an exclusive interview with Trend.
“Azerbaijan has extensive experience in the field of green energy. We have the powerful Congo River – the second largest river in terms of flow after the Amazon and the second longest in Africa after the Nile. This river crosses the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo, and represents a huge potential for hydroelectricity production. Using Azerbaijan’s experience in green energy based on hydrography, we want to build dams to provide electricity distribution and agricultural irrigation,” he said.
Gakosso also touched upon the prospects for cooperation in the field of agriculture.
“With fertile land and good rainfall – eight months out of twelve – we have the potential for agricultural production. However, our agricultural sector requires mechanization to reach its full potential. This represents an area where partnerships can flourish and we want to draw on Azerbaijan’s experience on agricultural mechanization,” the minister noted.
Purpose of the visit
Gacosso noted that his country wants to build mutually beneficial cooperation with Azerbaijan.
“After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Republic of Congo mainly maintained relations with the Russian Federation, Belarus and Ukraine among the former Soviet republics, with minimal interaction with the Caucasus and Central Asian republics. Since both Azerbaijan and Congo are oil and gas producing countries and have almost the same population size (10 million in Azerbaijan and 6 million in Congo), we have identified common features that contribute to building a mutually beneficial partnership. Hence the main purpose of my visit to Baku,” he said.
In addition, the minister said that, accompanied by a large delegation, the President of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso, is going on a visit to Azerbaijan.
Cooperation in the oil and gas sector
Gacosso spoke about the possibilities of establishing a strong partnership between the state-owned oil companies of the two countries.
“Congo is one of the oldest oil producers in Africa, although not a major one. Large companies such as TotalEnegies, Eni, Chevron and Halliburton exploit offshore oil fields on our territory. We are seeking to expand trade between Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR and the National Oil Company Congo (Société Nationale des Pétroles de Congo – SNPC). At this stage, I refrain from assessing the cooperation with Azerbaijan, since we are at the initial stage of establishing a partnership. Our intention is to initiate this cooperation through a strong partnership between our respective national oil companies, SNPC and SOCAR.
During a productive meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov, we had a friendly exchange of views. As policymakers, we agreed that such efforts must be supported by strong diplomatic relations,” he added.
Balanced diplomacy and international cooperation
The minister noted that, like Azerbaijan, the Republic of Congo maintains balanced relations with Russia, the USA, China and the European Union.
“Azerbaijan similarly trades with Russia, China, Turkey and other neighboring countries. During negotiations with my Azerbaijani colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, we agreed to mutually support each other in international organizations. We will support each other’s candidacy in international structures. Because We are at an early stage of cooperation, I am optimistic that our joint efforts will bring fruitful results in the coming years,” he concluded.