Azerbaijan may begin Eurasian Development Bank accession process in 2026

The process of Azerbaijan’s accession to the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is expected to begin in 2026, although precise timelines cannot be guaranteed. 

Nikolai Podguzov, Chairman of the EDB Management Board, made the comments to Trend on the sidelines of a press conference summarising the Bank’s results for 2025, held in Almaty.

Podguzov emphasised that despite the existence of full support for Azerbaijan’s potential accession, forecasting the duration of the process remains difficult. He explained that accession procedures are complex and can take several years, depending on internal decision-making and formal approvals by the prospective member state.

As an illustration, Podguzov referred to the experience of Uzbekistan. While the final decision on Uzbekistan’s accession to the Bank was adopted in 2025, the process itself began as early as the end of 2021 and ultimately took around three years to complete.

The EDB chairman also noted that in 2025, a delegation from the Bank paid a visit to Azerbaijan. During this visit, meetings were held with representatives of Azerbaijan’s ministries of economy and finance, during which the prospects and framework for cooperation were discussed.

“I believe that the potential plan for Azerbaijan’s entry into the Bank has been supported. At the same time, it is clear that certain bureaucratic decisions are required within Azerbaijan itself, and we are patiently awaiting these steps from the relevant authorities,” Podguzov said.

The Eurasian Development Bank is a multilateral development institution whose mission is to promote economic growth in its member states, expand trade and economic cooperation among them, and support integration processes across the Eurasian region through investment activities.

The EDB currently includes seven member countries: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

By Tamilla Hasanova