ECONOMY
Heinz Sjogren: The outside world has the opportunity to learn at COP29 that Azerbaijan's green energy production is in full swing - INTERVIEW
10.09.2024 [18:51]
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 Stockholm, September 10, Nargiz Jafarli, AZERTAC

Thanks to the visionary and balanced foreign policy pursued by President Ilham Aliyev, the process of establishment of Azerbaijan's ties with European states and countries on other continents in various fields is proceeding at a breakneck pace.

The Director General of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Eurasia, Heinz Sjogren, has spoken in an interview with AZERTAC about trade and economic ties between Azerbaijan and Sweden, the prospects for establishing mutual relations between business circles and the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) to be held in Baku in November.

- Heinz, you are the Director General of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Eurasia, the mission of which is to develop economic relations between Sweden and countries of Eurasia. What is the current state of economic relations between Azerbaijan and Sweden, and are there any plans for future cooperation?

- Sweden has a rich history of trade relations with Azerbaijan. For example, last year we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the oil industry firm Branobel in Baku by the Nobels. This marked the beginning of a wonderful and significant development in industrial relations.

But there are companies that are active to this day. For example, telecommunication equipment manufacturer Ericsson, which has been working in Azerbaijan for a long time, is extremely helpful in building communication systems in Azerbaijan.

Currently, 70 companies are members of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and they decide how they want to develop and with which countries they intend to cooperate on their own.

- What exactly is the role of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry? How do you help companies do business abroad?

- Let's put it this way, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a platform where we are trying to inform companies and firms about the conditions for doing business in Eurasian countries. We promote business creation through networking and business inquiries, if we have any relations. And this is done through seminars, webinars or our newsletters, which we publish once a month.

- As is known, in 2022 Azerbaijan liberated territories occupied by Armenians as a result of a 44-day war. Have you been to Azerbaijan, particularly to Karabakh?

- Unfortunately, I have not yet had the luck of visiting Karabakh yet. I have been to Baku and Ganja, which used to be the capital of Azerbaijan. The trip to Azerbaijan was rather of a tourist nature. I should note that I have traveled to Baku many times, both during Soviet times and afterward. I used to work as a guide and traveled a lot around the Soviet Union with tourist groups. Later, I worked in the banking sector for many years and visited the banks of the Union and, of course, those in Baku.

- On August 28, you took part in a business seminar organized by the Swedish Foreign Ministry on COP29 and trade relations in the South Caucasus, where, in addition to Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Sweden Zaur Ahmadov, Swedish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Tobias Lorentzson and Trade Commissioner for the South Caucasus Mattias Lindgren also made remarks. How do they assess trade ties and opportunities to develop relations with Azerbaijan?

- Our ambassador to Baku, Tobias Lorentzson, has been there for several years and has proven himself. He has supported the production of a book and a recent film about the Nobel brothers. Lorentzson is very positive about business development of Swedish companies in the region.

In addition, there is significant development and investment growth in Azerbaijan now, corresponding to the economic situation. And this parallels the investments and priorities of the Azerbaijani government to promote alternative energy sources, such as solar and wind. There are even plans to export green energy and electricity to Europe. And this is something that is in demand in our country as well.

One of the priorities in Azerbaijan, which Tobias Lorentzson also mentioned, is investment in tourism. The third sphere, which the country puts forward to the forefront, is the sphere of information technologies.

Another priority area in Azerbaijan is agriculture. But here the exports are more difficult because of the huge distance. Besides it is very difficult to compete with the exports of fruits and vegetables supplied from the Netherlands and Spain, because they are cheaper.

There will also be ample opportunities for Swedish companies in the transport sector, such as transit trade through the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor, which is part of the Silk Road, and Swedish companies will be able to contribute equipment, signaling systems and vehicles - from rail to air and, last but not least, road transport. I should also note that Sweden has two major truck manufacturers, both of whom are now also investing heavily in electric vehicles.

Regarding COP29, which will be held in Baku in November, there was little discussion at the workshop about our work and preparations for the conference.

Azerbaijan is well-known for its fossil fuels and is a major producer of oil and natural gas. However, it is less known that Azerbaijan's production of green energy using solar and wind power is also in full swing. Azerbaijan, for example, has managed to attract investments, including those from the United Arab Emirates, and build a large solar power plant. And now the outside world has the opportunity to learn about all this at COP29.

I would also like to add that there are many companies in the Swedish energy sector that have a good understanding of environmental technologies, and I would like to see them have the opportunity to showcase these technologies during the conference. I think these companies should have a good platform to introduce themselves at COP29.

Speaking specifically about Azerbaijan, I think there are ample opportunities here in terms of saving energy consumption. After all, it is more efficient to save energy than to invent new ways of using it. I can say with full confidence that Sweden is a kind of pioneer in the field of waste recycling - paper, plastic, metals, glass, which is also a subject related to the environment and climate. In addition, as you may know, we also have a very developed mining industry and the production of related equipment. New minerals and metals extracted from the subsurface are used in car batteries.

So I think Sweden and Swedish companies can make a great contribution not just to COP29 but also perhaps to the development of Azerbaijan in the future.

I would like to add that it makes me sad when I think that we don’t have extensive trade ties with Azerbaijan. After all, we have a proportionally large number of international companies in Sweden. We are a relatively small country, and we have the same population as Azerbaijan. But unfortunately we are located far away from each other. And this is why our biggest trading partners in Sweden today are our neighbors - Norway, Finland, Denmark and Germany. And of course, the USA with its large companies.

- Will you take part in the conference?

- The point is that we, as a chamber of commerce, have no reason to participate in the environment and climate conference. Besides, it so happens that on November 19 the Azerbaijani national football team will come to Stockholm and will play against the Swedish national team in the Nations League again. I would not want to miss this match (laughs).

- Then let's move on to sports. I know that you are a big fan of sports and you have just confirmed that yourself. You have participated in numerous marathons both in Sweden and in other countries. Did you watch the first match between the national teams of Azerbaijan and Sweden?

- Yes, I did! And as a Swede, I was pleased with the result - 3:1 in favor of Sweden. Last time, Azerbaijan won in Baku 3:0. So now we can say the score is 1:1 (laughs) And as I mentioned earlier, I am looking forward to the match between our national teams, which will be held in Stockholm on November 19.