Azerbaijan–Central Asia trade tops $1 billion after 58% surge, official says

Azerbaijan’s trade turnover with Central Asian states grew by 58% in the first nine months of 2025, surpassing $1 billion, First Deputy Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Elnur Aliyev announced.

Speaking at the first meeting of trade and investment ministers from Central Asia and Azerbaijan in Tashkent, he underscored that Baku stands ready to further expand its transport infrastructure to support business, Caliber.Az reports via Uzbek media.

“Investment and logistics hubs along these corridors are developing successfully, stimulating the creation of joint enterprises. Overall, the continued joint development of transport infrastructure is forming new growth points at the regional level,” Aliyev said.

The first meeting of trade and investment ministers from Central Asian countries, including Azerbaijan, was held in Tashkent on November 13, where participants agreed to nearly double mutual trade to $20 billion and discussed the introduction of a unified “Made in Central Asia” brand.

The talks concluded with a joint communiqué outlining plans to deepen economic cooperation, expand industrial collaboration and joint ventures, and introduce new mechanisms to strengthen investment partnerships.

For Central Asia, this new ministerial format may evolve into another catalyst for regional economic integration — not headline-grabbing, but decidedly practical. And in a few years, the $20 billion target may well shift from ambition to routine statistics.

By Jeyhun Aghazada