The event, organized with the support of the State Committee on Work with Diaspora, the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Austria and the Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center), was attended by representatives of the diplomatic corps in Vienna, ambassadors, staff of international organizations, international relations specialists and members of the press.
Addressing the audience with an opening speech, Deputy Chairman of the State Committee on Work with Diaspora Elshad Aliyev, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Austria Rovshan Sadigbayli, Director of the Vienna Diplomatic Academy Ambassador Emil Brix spoke about our country’s exceptional role in the region, its contribution to the energy security of Europe, and touched upon the prospects of cooperation. The participants talked about the new post-conflict situation in the South Caucasus and the efforts made in the post-war period to normalize Armenia-Azerbaijan relations and build peace, security and stability in the region.
The conference sessions “The South Caucasus at the Crossroads: New Prospects for Regional Cooperation in the Post-Conflict Setting” and “Europe’s Energy Security, Expanding Energy Resources and Supply Routes: the Role of Azerbaijan” featured speeches by Vasif Huseynov, Head of Western Studies Department, at the Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center), Velina Tchakarova, founder of FACE Consulting, geopolitics expert, Maurizio Geri, fellow of the EU’s Marie Curie global program, NATO expert, leading strategic analyst on international security, Gulmira Rzayeva, leadingadvisor at the at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, founder and director of Eurasia Analytics, Andrew Janis Folkmanis, former Head of Energy at the Council of Baltic Sea States and Senior Advisor at Turquoise International, Daniel Gros, specialist of the UN Special Representative for Sustainable Energy, Ambassador Levent Eler, Permanent Representative of Türkiye to International Organizations in Austria.
General information on the main transport corridors of Eurasia was given, and topics such as the Middle Corridor and the peculiarities of the South Caucasus, the region it runs through, the expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor pipeline, energy security in Europe, the Green Deal, increasing the resilience of energy systems, and energy diplomacy in the Central and Eastern European region were discussed. It was noted that the role of the Southern Gas Corridor in Europe’s energy supply, including after the launch of the Zangezur Corridor, can have a positive impact on the development of Europe-Asia ties.
The experts stressed that the final peace is an essential factor for the normalization of relations between the two countries, and that with the end of the Karabakh conflict, the regional development and normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia will also have a positive impact on the restoration of ties between Türkiye and Armenia.
The conference ended with a Q&A session and exchange of views.
