The United States has expressed its intention to support Azerbaijan’s energy projects in the region, ensure their security, invest in them, and establish mutually beneficial cooperation in this area. Official Washington also underscored Azerbaijan’s strategic role as a reliable partner in ensuring regional energy security.
These intentions are reflected in the Charter on Strategic Partnership between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the United States of America, signed during the visit of U.S. Vice President JD Vance to Azerbaijan on February 10.
“Acknowledging the Republic of Azerbaijan’s strategic importance as a reliable partner in energy security, the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America intend to expand energy cooperation, including in the oil, gas, and electricity sectors, bilaterally and through partnerships with third countries, toward the implementation of joint projects such as interconnector projects and the diversification of supply routes.
The Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America also intend to work together to promote regional connectivity, with a focus on the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor (Middle Corridor), through cooperation on land, maritime, and air transportation infrastructure development; energy and data connectivity; trade and transit facilitation; customs control and border crossing; international multimodal logistics; and other related areas,” the document states.
The essence of this cooperation lies in the desire of Azerbaijan and the Central Asian republics to use the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor (Middle Corridor) not only for cargo transportation, but also for energy exports to Europe.
Azerbaijan and the Central Asian republics are also involved in the “Green Energy Corridor” project. Under this initiative, renewable energy produced in these countries and Azerbaijan is planned to be exported to the Black Sea and onward to Europe via an undersea cable to be laid along the bottom of the Caspian Sea.
In addition, the Trans-Caspian Pipeline project envisages exporting oil and gas produced in Central Asia to Europe. However, due to geopolitical considerations, this project has not yet been implemented.
The emphasis in the Strategic Partnership Charter on expanding cooperation in the energy sector suggests that the implementation of these projects may accelerate. In this context, the United States is expected not only to invest in these initiatives, but also to act as a guarantor in ensuring their security.
