Moldova interested in buying hydrocarbons from Azerbaijan

Moldova is examining the possibility of importing resources of hydrocarbons from Azerbaijan, Prime Minister Vlad Filat said in a meeting with the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting a communiqué from the Government. Vlad Filat announced the intention to invite the state oil company SOCAR to work on Moldova’s energy market. He said that the Moldovan authorities are considering taking part in such crossborder energy projects as AGRI and NABUCCO. The Premier stressed the necessity of convening the bilateral intergovernmental economic cooperation commission in the first quarter of this year and invited the Azeri companies to invest in Moldova’s economy, especially in agriculture, food industry, winemaking and tourism. For his part, Ilham Aliyev expressed interest in the Premier’s proposals, assuring that they can be implemented. He voiced hope that the Moldovan governmental delegation’s visit will contribute to strengthening the bilateral relations. “The history of the relations between our states is positive and today’s meeting should give a new impetus, given the new realities, especially because there is potential to develop the economic cooperation. The prospects in this respect are good,” said Ilham Aliyev. This year it is 20 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Moldova and Azerbaijan. The Moldovan Premier proposes organizing a number of activities to celebrate the event and invited Ilham Aliyev to pay a visit to Moldova. Vlad Filat will be in Baku on a working visit on January 17 and 18.