Historical background to the document "Speech of the Azerbaijan President Heydar Aliyev at the international conference on the theme "East-West Energy Corridor is a Reality" (Washington, February 25, 2003)"

During his visit to the United States Heydar Aliyev participated at the conference “East-West energy corridor is a reality” on February 25, 2003. The conference was jointly organized by the US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce, the American-Georgian Business Council, the American-Turkish Council and the U.S. government. Exploitation of Azebaijan`s hydrocarbon deposits and Azerbaijan`s turning into an important supplier in the world market are a significant factor in ensuring the development, stability and security of the region.

By putting the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum oil and gas export pipelines into operation, Azerbaijan contributes to the realization of the East-West energy corridor, energy security of Europe, increase of the transit importance of the region. Apart from political and economic benefits of these projects, Azerbaijan has become the leading country in strengthening the regional cooperation. Now it is an undeniable fact for all that the regional cooperation is possible only with the participation of Azerbaijan.

“90 Instants of the Great leader”, Heydar Aliyev Heritage research center, “Sharq-Qarb”, Baku-2013, p.231