Azeri-Romanian energy ties deepen

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Romania and Azerbaijan are developing deeper bilateral relations in a number of fields, including energy cooperation.

The Turan news agency reported Monday that Azeri and Romanian Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Traian Basescu signed a number of bilateral documents in Bucharest following negotiations between the two heads of state.

The pair signed a joint declaration on establishing strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Romania as well as intergovernmental agreements on fighting organized cross-border crime and terrorism, joint efforts in dealing with emergency situations, interdepartmental memorandums of understanding on cooperation in the fields of communication and information technologies and environmental protection.

At a news conference following their discussions Basescu lauded the expansion of energy cooperation between the two states, while Aliyev in discussing energy cooperation emphasized that Azeri gas is already entering the EU market and that Romania had great potential as not only a consuming but also a transit nation for Azeri natural gas exports.