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Southern Corridor -- New Silk Road Summit kicks off in Prague

08 May 2009 12:14 (UTC +04:00)

BakÄ±. Vahab Rzayev â€“ APA-Economics. The European Union’s Czech presidency is hosting a summit dubbed â€œSouthern Corridor -- New Silk Roadâ€ of European and Central Asian countries in Prague, seeking to smooth the path for eventual gas imports from central Asia to help reduce Europe’s heavy dependence on Russia.

The "New Silk Road" talks in Prague will aim to convince leaders from Central Asian supplier countries such as Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan that the EU is a serious gas customer.

The 27-nation EU has become increasingly uneasy over energy security since a row in January between Moscow and transit country Ukraine led to a cut in supplies to Europe in the depths of winter.

The summit participants, among them Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Iraq and Turkey, are due to sign a declaration.

The Czech EU official said that after years of wavering, Europe had no time to lose in securing alternatives to Russian gas.

Ferran Tarradellas Espuny, spokesman for EU Energy Commissioner, said the summit will conclude with a political declaration endorsing security of energy supplies to the European Union from Central Asia and Middle East.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his delegation represent Azerbaijan in the event.