Your Excellency President Ilham Aliyev, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great honour to be here at the opening ceremony of Baku Energy Week. Azerbaijan, under the able leadership of His Excellency Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan is a great friend of OPEC and supporter of the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) between OPEC and non-OPEC producers.

In fact, His Excellency President Aliyev, was one of the leaders that helped bring OPEC and non-OPEC producers together back in 2016. His continued backing since then has enabled the DoC to become a cornerstone in maintaining a balanced and stable market, in the interests of producers and consumers, and ultimately the wider global economy.

In this, he has been ably supported by His Excellency Parviz Shahbazov, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Energy, who has shown tireless dedication to our common endeavours. 

I would like to start by quoting something very important expressed recently by His Excellency President Aliyev.  He said and I quote “as a head of the country, which is rich with fossil fuels, of course, we will defend the right of these countries to continue investments and to continue production.”

His Excellency added that abundant hydrocarbons were a “gift from God.”

These are extremely important words, and these precious resources are indeed a “gift from God”. They have brought tremendous benefits to the world. Oil and its commonly known associated products help power cars, ships and airplanes, light and heat homes. But oil also enables the development of plastics, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies.

This is far from an exhaustive list, but underscores the importance of oil to our everyday lives. It is vital for energy security. It is vital in helping alleviate energy poverty. And it will be vital for sustainable development in the future, given the needs of all peoples around the world.

These issues were on the agenda when we warmly welcomed His Excellency Mukhtar Babayev, Minister for Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan and COP29 President-Designate to the OPEC Secretariat in Vienna only two weeks ago.

Alongside his distinguished team, as well as high-ranking officials from OPEC and non-OPEC countries participating in the Charter of Cooperation, it was extremely positive to hear Azerbaijan’s adoption of an inclusive approach to COP29. One that listens to all views, including those of the oil industry.

We support Azerbaijan’s constructive engagement for COP29, with a focus on the importance of enhancing international cooperation in climate action to advance the objectives, principles, and goals of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and its Paris Agreement.

We need to allow each country to chart its own path based on its national circumstances, taking into account the principles of equity, and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

It is important to keep this in mind. It is pathways, not a pathway as some would have us believe. We need to appreciate the different circumstances of nations and peoples across the world.

Billions of people are still playing energy catch up.

Billions of people still have no access to modern energy services.

And many more billions have never owned a car or travelled outside of their home country.

Future energy pathways need to take on board this and emphasize an all-energies and all-technologies approach.

OPEC fully advocates this, and alongside investing in oil, our Member Countries are also investing in gas, renewables, nuclear, hydrogen, carbon capture utilization and storage facilities, carbon dioxide removal, direct air capture and promoting the circular carbon economy.

We also welcome Azerbaijan’s ambitious plans to produce a diverse portfolio of energy, including oil, gas, and other strategic sectors like offshore wind power and hydrogen.

These will all be crucial given that we see global energy demand increasing by 23% by 2045.

Your Excellency President Aliyev, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

At OPEC, we also believe the planet we all live on is a “gift from God”.

It is why our Member Countries are so serious about the world taking the best and most just future energy pathways. Pathways that provide for energy security, do no impede socio-economic development, enable the necessary investment in all energies and all technologies, and help reduce emissions.

Given President Aliyev’s wise words, I am confident that Azerbaijan understands the importance of this, particularly given that the country and Baku are known as the cradle of the modern oil industry.

The location of many ‘firsts’ in the industry’s great ‘oil boom’ in the latter half of the 19th century, a time when some of the industry’s greatest minds thrived, and fundamentally changed the world forever.

Azerbaijan appreciates the value of oil, and what it has helped deliver to the world.

With that, I wish the organizers and delegates at Baku Energy Week every success with the event.

Thank you, Your Excellency,

And thank you to all.