WILSON CENTER ADVISOR SAYS INCREDIBLE DEVELOPMENT IN AZERBAIJAN ECONOMY
22 November 2013, 12:16 (GMT+04:00)
While attending a high-level conference in Baku, Wilson Center Advisor
to Global Europe Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for
Scholars, Alexandros Petersen praised transformation of Azerbaijan`s
economy in an interview with the State Telegraph Agency (AzerTAc).
Petersen, the author of “The World Island: Eurasian Geopolitics and
the Fate of the West”, said, “I first visited Baku in the 1990s. The
city has changed a lot since then. I’ve been many times to Baku
since then and it`s amazing to see the transformation of Azerbaijan’s
economy going not just from being a petrol state, but now being an
increasingly diverse economy.”
“It’s amazing to see the incredible development and infrastructure
development that has been going on here, he continued. “So I have
great optimism for the future in terms of Azerbaijan’s development not
just in terms of buildings, infrastructure and the sort of things,
but increasingly becoming a centre for intangible things like human
capital, the center for technological development and innovation,
and the bridge between East and West.”
He continued, “We say like many this cliche that Azerbaijan is the
bridge between East and West. But I think it is increasingly becoming
the case in ways that it is not just about the infrastructure. It’s
increasingly about the substance and the people of Azerbaijan, who are,
I think, achieving their great potential.”
Petersen stressed the importance of the “Cooperative Approach to
Energy Security: View from NATO and Beyond” conference, which was
co-organized in Baku by the Center for Strategic Studies under the
Azerbaijani President (SAM) and NATO.
“I think it’s very important that a high-level Azerbaijani
organization such as SAM is organizing a conference with NATO Centre of
Excellence. The more cooperation we can have, particularly on energy
security, which is a strength of Azerbaijan, the more cooperation we
can have between Azerbaijani institutions and NATO institutions. I
think it is very positive for the Western outlook of Azerbaijan and
for the country emerging as an energy security leader in the region.”
He hailed the country’s role in ensuring Europe’s energy security:
“Azerbaijan is central to Europe’s energy security. With the Southern
Energy Corridor that has been led by SOCAR it’s going to ensure
diversification in the European energy market and it’s also going to
make sure that from strategic, security and military standpoints,
which is certainly in the interest of NATO, there is going to be
flexibility should, God forbid, there will be a conflict situation
at some point in the future that NATO might be involved in.”
“Azerbaijan’s energy reserves are key to align flexibility in a
potential future crisis period,” Petersen emphasized. “So Azerbaijan’s
relationships with its European consumers are absolutely a key for
overall EU and NATO energy security.”
He called the selection of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) by the
Shah Deniz consortium, which was a decision led by SOCAR, “a very
wise decision because it was the most commercially viable pipeline
and plus it was the one that realistically will be built.”
“And it is one that, I think, is going to be key in bringing new
markets to Azerbaijani gas so it reaches Italy, but it also very
importantly from Italy could potentially in the future reach Central
Europe, reach Western Europe,” he added.
He saluted Azerbaijan`s role in the region, saying: “I think
Azerbaijan has emerged in the broader Black Sea-Caspian region and
Eastern Europe. Azerbaijan has emerged as a diplomatic, a very dynamic
diplomatic player. It has been enormously important as a partner for
Western institutions such as the EU and NATO, but also strategically
for European individual members in the European countries and for
the United States. There is no better ally for Western institutions
and Western countries in the Caucasus-Caspian region than Azerbaijan.”
Mr Petersen touched upon Azerbaijan`s relationship with the European
Union and the United States.
“The US-Azerbaijan relationship in the past years has emerged to be,
I think, a genuinely substantive and deep partnership. I would even say
that the United States now should consider Azerbaijan as a key ally
in the region.” He said strategic and geopolitical relationship is
extremely important for both countries, not just for Azerbaijan. “The
United States needs Azerbaijan as well,” he added.
He also commented on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh problem:
“I think that it was encouraging that the leaders of Azerbaijan and
Armenia got together recently to start discussions again. I think it
shows initiative on the part of the Azerbaijani leadership despite
a lot of challenges that it faces from the international community
which, I think, generally is more biased towards Armenia.”
Remarking on the US role he said, “I think, we might see from the
US administration a little bit more of an active role in trying to
promote the conflict’s settlement. I think that’s positive. I think
what we need to do is to move towards comprehensive negotiations and
hopefully with more pressure on Armenia from the United States. If
it`s going to be more active, then those comprehensive negotiations
could be achieved in a fair and equitable manner.”