BAKU, May 7. /TASS/. Slovakia may become the ninth country to receive Azerbaijani gas, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in a press statement after talks with Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico.

"Cooperation in the energy sector has been discussed very broadly today. Azerbaijan is now exporting its natural gas to eight countries. I hope Slovakia will become the ninth country," the Azerbaijani leader said.

Good opportunities to do so are opened by the Solidary Ring document on additional supplies of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, which was signed last April, Aliyev noted.

Azerbaijan’s gas supplies to Europe will grow from 8 bln cubic meters in 2021 to 12 bln cubic meters this year, the President of Azerbaijan said. "This constitutes exactly a half of total Azerbaijani gas exports. We have in our plans the issue of transporting 20 bln cubic meters of gas to the European Union alone by the end of 2027. I think we will achieve it," Aliyev stressed.

Georgia, Turkey, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Serbia are buying gas from Azerbaijan at present.