Hosted by the Hungarian ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade the 3rd meeting of Ministers in charge of Energy of the Organistaion of Turkic States (OTS) is being held in Budapest on March 30, 2023. Together with the host of the meeting H.E. Péter Szijjártó - Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, H.E. Parviz Shahbazov - Minister of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, H.E. Taalaibek Ibraev - Minister of Energy of the Kyrgiz Republic, H.E. Fatih Dönmez - Minister of Energy of the Republic of Türkiye, H.E. Askhat Khassenov - Deputy Minister of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, H.E. Azim Akhmedkhadjaev - Deputy Minister of Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan and H.E. Ambassador Kubanychbek Omuraliev, Secretary general of the Organisation of Turkic States participate in the meeting.
Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania are preparing an agreement for gas supplies from Azerbaijan, Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, said, following the meeting of the ministers of the countries of Organization of Turkic States, Trend reports via Hungarian media.
According to the minister, an agreement has been reached to launch the supply of 100 million cubic meters of gas from Azerbaijan to Hungary this year.
"Later, the parties will sign a long-term contract for the supply of about 2 bcm of gas per year. The gas will be transited through Türkiye. The relevant companies are now discussing the details," he said.
As the minister pointed out, certain infrastructure development is needed in Southeastern Europe, so Hungary has joined forces with Bulgaria and Romania on this issue. The agreement will be signed at the end of April.
"For us, diversification means the ability to buy energy from as many sources as possible and along as many routes as possible. Hungary's energy security cannot be guaranteed without the participation of the Turkic states. Supplies to Hungary, guaranteed by long-term contracts, are carried out primarily through Türkiye. Last year, the Turkish Stream gas pipeline received 4.8 bcm of gas. As for new sources, Azerbaijan is the most realistic supplier in this regard," he noted.
Azerbaijani gas supplies via the Southern Gas Corridor began on December 31, 2020. In July 2022, a memorandum was signed between Azerbaijan and the European Commission, that envisages an increase in gas supplies from Azerbaijan to Europe from 10 billion to 20 billion cubic meters per year.