EN
26 May 2005 - 05:18 AMT

BUSH HOPES FOR BTC TO PROMOTE REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

At the opening ceremony of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman stated that the BTC will play an important role in the world energy policy and will have a considerable impact on the world energy, the Yerkir newspaper reported. Bodman read a letter by US President George Bush that expressed hope that the launching of the BTC will promote economic development of all countries of the region and will assist the people of Azerbaijan in implementing economic reforms more successfully. The US President said he wanted the implementation of such a large economic project to contribute to the independence of the countries of the region and the BTC to become a lever that would allow countries of the region to make much progress in strengthening the economy and democratic norms.