I believe that this exhibition is very important for Azerbaijan. President Aliyev spoke about this in his speech at the opening ceremony. As you know, this is the 27th time it has been held, and all these years it has played a big role in attracting investors, in convincing BP and other international investors. People like me in the US government believe that it is not only the development and production of oil and gas in Azerbaijan that matters, but also the construction of pipelines connecting Azerbaijan with Georgia, Turkey and the EC.
Azerbaijan has achieved great success in the development of the energy sector, and it continues developing rapidly. It is now the largest such exhibition in the entire region, where many projects are discussed. Look, the exhibitions opened just a couple of hours ago, and already a success! It is fantastic, it is really impressive.
I am here today as an invited guest, not only as an analyst and expert on international relations, but also as a businessman. Now I devote most of my time to business and energy-related issues. So, yes, both the exhibition and the forum are of particular interest to me: this is an excellent opportunity to talk with all the important and necessary people, to hear about renewable energy, etc. I just spoke with Deputy Minister of Energy Elnur Soltanov. He is a wonderful person, I have known him for a long time. We talked about some specific projects. Discussed with other participants agreements on the sale of natural gas. All those who are present here represent interest. This is a world class exhibition!