"Azerbaijan and Georgia make an important contribution to Europe's energy security. Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas, as well as the Southern Gas Corridor, implemented with the joint participation of our countries, are considered strategic projects from this point of view," Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, Ali Asadov, said at the opening ceremony of the Tbilisi International Silk Road Forum, Ednews reports.

PM Asadov noted that the Southern Gas Corridor made it possible to directly transport Azerbaijani gas to Europe: "In July last year, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Azerbaijan and the European Commission, and according to the document, the supply of natural gas from Azerbaijan will be doubled by 2027. At the same time, today we are starting to build a green energy bridge to Europe together. In this regard, the Agreement on strategic partnership between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary was signed in Bucharest last December."

Mr Asadov emphasized that Bulgaria has already expressed its intention to join the project: "We hope that this project will make an additional contribution to the energy security of many European countries."