Ministers from Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey have signed an intergovernmental agreement on a strategic partnership in clean energy, Bulgaria's energy ministry said. They signed it at the UN climate conference, COP31.

The four countries want to link the region's power systems better and trade clean electricity together.

The governments pledge to promote cross-border transmission, distribution and trading of such power. They will set out the technical, commercial and regulatory terms so that electricity moves between the four countries safely, reliably and without interruption.

The countries will help each other connect their power grids. They also plan better communications and data transfer over fibre-optic cables to serve the project's energy services.

The ministry says the deal should make energy supplies in the region more secure, increase trade in clean energy and widen the sources of power. The four countries also want a long-term partnership in energy.

In mid-September, Azerbaijan's foreign minister Jeyhun Bayramov presented a new project from his country: an energy link between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Bulgaria, with power cables to be laid along it.