Azerbaijani FM champions strategic projects uniting Caspian, Black, and Mediterranean Seas

On January 29, during his working visit to Ankara, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov participated in and delivered a speech at the 2nd trilateral meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Economy/Trade, and Transport of Azerbaijan, Türkiye, and Uzbekistan. 

In his address, Bayramov stressed the critical importance of preserving and enhancing this trilateral format, highlighting its exemplary role in today’s fragmented international relations system, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Caliber.Az.

He underscored that this format plays a pivotal role in complementing other regional cooperation structures and effectively addressing common threats through joint responses.

Bayramov further emphasized that several strategically important projects linking the Caspian, Black, and Mediterranean Sea regions — including initiatives such as the Digital Silk Road and green energy exports — reinforce the significance of trilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan, Türkiye, and Uzbekistan.

The Foreign Minister also shared a detailed update with the meeting participants regarding the post-conflict situation in the region. He outlined the large-scale reconstruction and construction efforts underway in the territories liberated from occupation, Azerbaijan's ongoing efforts to combat the mine threat, the process of normalizing relations with Armenia, and the current challenges the country faces. Bayramov specifically highlighted the importance of developing transport infrastructure in regions that had been isolated from the rest of Azerbaijan for nearly 30 years due to occupation. He emphasized the expansion of opportunities provided by the Middle Corridor and praised the support of Türkiye and Uzbekistan in the ongoing reconstruction efforts.

"Ensuring regional peace and security is the foundation of our shared vision," Bayramov said, referring to the common objectives of Azerbaijan, Türkiye, and Uzbekistan. "We continue to focus on initiatives related to socio-economic support for Afghanistan and the development of the Trans-Afghan railway project."

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Ankara Declaration was adopted. This declaration expressed the intention to enhance cooperation on regional and international issues of mutual interest while supporting joint actions against threats to sovereignty and territorial integrity. It also noted the need to harness the potential in areas such as economy, trade, investment, logistics, infrastructure, digitalization, and combating climate change. Additionally, the document emphasized the importance of supporting reconstruction work and humanitarian demining in the Karabakh and East Zangezur economic regions of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan welcomed the expressed interest of Türkiye and Uzbekistan in implementing joint projects in the liberated territories. Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov later shared his thoughts on the final declaration on social media platform X, commenting on the positive impact it would have on regional and international cooperation.

"We especially welcome the expression of interest from our brotherly countries to undertake joint reconstruction and demining projects in our liberated territories," Bayramov stressed.

During a joint press conference following the trilateral meeting, Bayramov updated his counterparts from Türkiye and Uzbekistan on the progress of reconstruction efforts in the liberated territories. He emphasized that the restoration of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity had created new opportunities for broader cooperation across a wider geographical area. "A project to create a new artery through the Karabakh region as part of the Middle Corridor is currently being implemented, and we see great prospects in this," Bayramov concluded.

By Tamilla Hasanova