TANAP, first and foremost, is a project of the Azerbaijani-Turkish unity, said President Ilham Aliyev on March 17.

He was addressing a groundbreaking ceremony for the TANAP project, held in Kars, Turkey.

The president said he was glad to be back to Turkey, adding that he will again visit the brotherly country next month in connection with the 100th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Canakkale.

He further said Azerbaijan and Turkey are always glad towards each other's success.

“As a result of the energy policy, which started in 1994 with the ‘Contract of the Century’, realized thanks to the political wisdom and determination of the great leader Heydar Aliyev, the foreign oil companies started for the first time to operate in the Caspian Sea,” President Aliyev said. “The commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline for the export of the Caspian oil played an invaluable role in ensuring the energy security of the region and the continent.”

President Aliyev also noted that the Shah Deniz, one of the largest gas fields in the world, is the only source of resources for the Southern Gas Corridor.

The president expressed confidence that the works on TANAP, which in a short time got a lot of support in the world, and on TAP, selected in 2013 as part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which he assessed as Europe’s largest infrastructure project, will be conducted in line with the schedule.

He said Azerbaijan’s huge gas reserves will provide the Southern Gas Corridor, adding that this project will serve to the emergence of new formats of cooperation among countries.

“The projects implemented at the joint initiative of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia have always been successful,” said the president, expressing confidence in the success of this project as well.

The president underscored Azerbaijan’s important role in ensuring Europe’s gas demand, and noted that the laying of foundation for the TANAP project on the eve of Novruz holidays is symbolic.

He also wished success to the project.