When discussing the Turkic world, Central Asian countries come to mind first, as this region is home to most states united by a common culture and history stretching from East to West. The current development of Azerbaijan’s relations with Central Asia is not accidental. It is driven by many factors, with transport corridors linking the region’s countries playing a key role. These corridors promote not only economic growth but also the strengthening of political and cultural ties.
Regular visits by President Ilham Aliyev to Central Asian countries, and his participation as an honored guest in regional organization events, demonstrate the dynamics and depth of Azerbaijan’s ties with Central Asian states. Over the past few years, the head of Azerbaijan has participated in summits of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member countries, the 7th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), consultative meetings of Central Asian heads of state, and other significant events.
The holding of the UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) Summit in Azerbaijan highlights the international community’s interest in our country. This event underscores Azerbaijan’s strategic importance as a bridge between East and West, as well as its role in ensuring regional stability and prosperity.
Moreover, the development of relations with the Turkic world includes not only economic and political aspects but also cultural initiatives aimed at enhancing mutual understanding and cooperation. In this context, numerous cultural exchanges, festivals, scientific conferences, and other events are held to bring peoples closer and strengthen the friendship between Turkic world countries.
President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly emphasized the importance Azerbaijan places on relations with Central Asian states. In an interview aired on China Global Television Network on July 22, 2023, he stated: “…The countries of Central Asia are developing, producing more goods for export and also buying more, therefore, routes across the Caspian become vital. Fortunately, we did our homework a while ago and prepared everything. Now it will be easier to expand. And the investments in expansion of transportation infrastructure will be based on the figures of assumed cargo transportation. I visited all the countries of the Central Asia last year and this year, and their leaders visited Azerbaijan. Now we have more dynamism in our bilateral relations. First, because we see the need for that and we always enjoyed excellent relations. But at the same time, the issue of transportation routes dictate more active interaction. So, I’m sure that when we look year after year at statistics of transit across the Caspian, we will see growing and growing numbers.”
Liberating Karabakh and East Zangazur from Armenian occupation during the Patriotic War in 2020, Azerbaijan created unique opportunities to ensure geographical connectivity among Turkic world countries. The inclusion of a clause on opening the Zangazur corridor in the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020, and its implementation will geographically link Turkic states and form a unified route from East to West, significantly facilitating convenient, rapid, and economically advantageous transportation of goods over vast territories.
As a result of reforms carried out in Azerbaijan, the country has become a key link between East and West. The development of Azerbaijan’s transport and logistics network, including the construction and expansion of the Alat seaport, the expansion of shipyard activities, and Azerbaijan’s possession of the largest merchant fleet on the Caspian Sea, is critically important for transportation between Europe and Asia. These measures not only strengthen Azerbaijan’s position but also contribute to the development of Central Asian countries and other Turkic states in the region.
Azerbaijan’s growing transit capabilities will positively impact the development of Central Asian and Turkic states in the region. Azerbaijan’s strategic location allows it to act as a transport and logistics hub, strengthening economic ties among Turkic states.
High-level mutual visits are one of the key factors characterizing the developing and expanding relations between Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries. In the past two to three years, President Ilham Aliyev has regularly visited Central Asian states, and the leaders of these countries have visited Azerbaijan. During these visits, important documents are signed, forming a solid foundation for strengthening cooperation between countries.
Central Asian states also place great importance on their ties with Azerbaijan. Regional countries continue to contribute to the reconstruction efforts in the liberated territories. Notably, the opening of Mirza Ulugbek School No. 1 in Fizuli, built as a gift from Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on behalf of the Uzbek people, is a testament to this support. During his first state visit to Azerbaijan, President Mirziyoyev emphasized the importance of ties with our country, stating, “Azerbaijan is one of the closest countries, with relations entering a completely new stage for us. I am making my first state visit because we are truly two close peoples, two close countries, and our personal relations have elevated our ties to a completely new level. As a close neighbor and close country, we are always proud and delighted by Azerbaijan’s successes and the wise policy conducted under your leadership. Indeed, in Uzbekistan, we follow and take pride in Azerbaijan’s international standing and achievements in all fields in recent years.”
On March 12, 2024, the opening of the Kurmangazy Children’s Creativity Center, built by the Kazakh side in Fizuli, took place. Speaking at the ceremony, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted the further development of ties between our countries: “I am very pleased that this visit ended with complete success – the signing of extremely important documents that will give the most serious impetus to further developing multifaceted cooperation between our states. We are brotherly peoples, we are allies, strategic partners. These are not just words, but a great deal of work to be done by our governments, as the agreements are very serious, very substantial, and will undoubtedly boost our economies, which is extremely important. Therefore, I look to the future of cooperation between our states with great optimism.”
An exemplary case of such support is the secondary school to be built in the village of Khydyrly in the Agdam region at the initiative of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Today, Azerbaijan has become a country that actively influences international processes, launches new and successful initiatives, and has a significant voice on the international stage. Its active participation in organizations such as the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of Turkic States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Economic Cooperation Organization, and other structures has significantly expanded its influence on global processes.
One important institution to which Azerbaijan belongs is the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA). Azerbaijan’s foreign policy principles fully align with the main directions reflected in CICA documents. These documents condemn separatism as a threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, emphasizing the commitment to respect member states’ territorial integrity and sovereignty and not supporting separatist activities on each other’s territories.
Azerbaijan also stands out for its contributions to combating international terrorism, with its military personnel participating in peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Additionally, today Azerbaijan actively supports small island states and countries under French colonial rule. To strengthen its international positions, Azerbaijan conducts an active, flexible, and complementary foreign policy based on national interests. Simultaneously, the country places great importance on multilateralism and international cooperation.
It is noteworthy that the initiative to convene the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia was proposed in 1992 by former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The main goal of this initiative was to create an effective and universal institution for ensuring security in Asia. This idea found support among several states, including Azerbaijan.
Today, CICA is an important international platform for discussing security issues in Asia, with 28 members, including Azerbaijan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestine, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand, the UAE, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Qatar, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Another 10 countries, such as the USA, Belarus, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Laos, the Philippines, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, and Turkmenistan, along with international organizations like the UN, OSCE, International Organization for Migration, Arab League, and TURKPA, have observer status in CICA. The administrative body of CICA is the Secretariat, located in Astana. Since 2020, Kazakhstan has chaired CICA.
All this points to the great prospects in relations between Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries. Today, Azerbaijan plays a key role in ensuring Europe’s energy security and is an important transit country between East and West. Additionally, it is a reliable partner for Central Asian countries. It can be confidently stated that Azerbaijan’s international ties will continue to expand, and its role on the international stage will only strengthen.
