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Southern Corridor on the agenda as Fallon visits Azerbaijan

Discussions about the progress of the Southern Corridor (SC) gas pipeline route will be on the agenda when Michael Fallon visits Azerbaijan this week.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Discussions about the progress of the Southern Corridor (SC) gas pipeline route will be on the agenda when Business and Energy Minister Michael Fallon visits Azerbaijan this week (9-11 July).

Mr Fallon will meet with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev as well as other Azerbaijani government ministers and representatives of British and Azeri businesses in the region.

Mr Fallon said:

“This visit is an important opportunity to reinforce the importance of the Southern Corridor pipeline and the significant role it will play in ensuring Britain’s security of energy supply. Increasing the diversity of the European energy mix is particularly important in the context of current events in Ukraine.”

“The recent series of UK ministerial visits to the region underline the value we place on pushing ahead with this key infrastructure project.”

The establishment of the SC was confirmed in December 2013. The pipeline will bring gas from Azerbaijan directly to Europe, with the potential to bring gas from other sources in Central Asia and the Near East in the longer term.

Published 9 July 2014