Pellegrini Discusses Bilateral Relations and Cooperation with Aliyev in Baku

Baku, November 11 (TASR) - President Peter Pellegrini held talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev in Baku on Monday on bilateral relations, economic opportunities, energy security and cooperation in the arms industry, the President's Office communications department told TASR on Monday, adding that Pellegrini met Aliyev on the occasion of the UN Climate Change Summit (COP 29) in the Azerbaijani capital. Pellegrini stressed that Azerbaijan is also key for the European Union in terms of energy security. He discussed with the Azerbaijani president, the issue of whether gas will flow to Slovakia via Ukraine as of January 1. "I'm glad that President Aliyev has assured me that Azerbaijan is ready not only to guarantee a smaller part of the supply directly via the southern branch and via Bulgaria towards Slovakia, but their offer to help with the transit of gas via Ukraine is also still valid. Of course, this depends on the decision of the Russian Federation and Ukraine," said Pellegrini, adding that Azerbaijan is ready to provide sufficient gas capacity for Slovakia by administrative and technical means. The presidents also discussed bilateral relations, agreeing that they are both interested in the development of their relations. According to Pellegrini, Azerbaijan is an interesting country for Slovakia in terms of economic opportunities. The Slovak head of state said that Slovak companies are becoming active in the ITC sector in Azerbaijan and informed President Aliyev that Slovakia will open an IT showroom in Baku next year, where a space will be created for the presentation of Slovak IT companies in Azerbaijan. Pellegrini and Aliyev also discussed the arms industry. Azerbaijan is an important regional leader in the arms industry, which can also be beneficial for Slovak companies. The Slovak president said that Slovakia has the intention for Slovak and Azerbaijani companies to create joint ventures. Climate issues and emission reductions were also on the agenda of their conversation. Pellegrini will take part in an energy roundtable in Baku, where he'll talk about Slovakia's energy strategy and the fact that Slovakia sees the development of additional energy sources coming from nuclear energy as one of the main pillars of sustainability and emission reduction in the energy sector. am/mcs