Expert: Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan forge rapidly growing strategic partnership

Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan possess significant untapped potential to expand their mutual trade and cooperation, experts from Uzbekistan note, highlighting a rapid acceleration in bilateral relations in recent years, according to Nargiza Umarova, an expert at the Institute for Advanced International Studies of Uzbekistan.

Speaking to journalists, she emphasised that this dynamic is evident not only in transportation but also in energy and broader economic collaboration. 

“Over the past eight years, our mutual trade turnover has increased almost eightfold. Yet it remains relatively low. There is still untapped potential and ample room for growth,” she said.

Umarova pointed out that transportation, particularly the development of the Middle Corridor, represents a major area for cooperation. Azerbaijan serves as a driving force in this project, which involves nearly all Central Asian countries, with Uzbekistan actively taking a proactive role. She also highlighted the existence of other multimodal corridors linked to the Middle Corridor, designed to enhance freight transportation from Central Asia and China to the South Caucasus and beyond.

The expert noted that her recent visits to Azerbaijan and Georgia focused on discussing the Middle Corridor’s development prospects, which could significantly boost trade between Central Asian countries and the South Caucasus while enhancing the transit potential of the regions.

“For instance, the European Union and China, particularly China, are increasingly turning to overland transportation, where our regions play a critically important role,” Umarova said. She further observed that freight traffic along the Middle Corridor has grown steadily over the past three years, with a 46.2% increase in 2024, reaching 4.5 million tons. She also suggested potential collaboration on expanding the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan transport project to the Caspian Sea, with a connection to Azerbaijan.

Bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have also strengthened through high-level engagement, according to Khayotjon Ibragimov, head of the Centre for Energy Diplomacy and Geopolitics at the Institute for Advanced International Studies. “These relations are developing rapidly. High-level meetings have become more frequent in recent years, reflecting not only close diplomatic ties but also friendly relations between the heads of state,” he said.

Ibragimov highlighted active collaboration in energy and related projects. “For example, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan are jointly developing a field in the Ustyurt region, with the presidents announcing the creation of a joint venture for geological exploration. In addition, the two countries maintain other joint enterprises in the energy sector, including the production of chemical reagents for drilling operations,” he explained.

The expert also underscored regional cooperation on renewable energy. Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan have signed a memorandum on the transportation of “green” electricity, which entails generating power from renewable sources in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, transmitting it across the Caspian to Azerbaijan, and subsequently selling it to the European Union. “Ambitious technological projects like these strengthen our bilateral relations. Beyond large-scale projects, our people are also connected by close human ties,” Ibragimov added.

By Tamilla Hasanova