India’s foreign investment in Azerbaijan climbs to $1.26 billion

India’s accumulated foreign direct investment (FDI) in Azerbaijan has grown significantly over the past decade, rising from $480 million in 2016 to $1.26 billion by the end of the first half of 2025, according to a new report by the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB).

In its report, “The Eurasian Region and Partner Countries in Asia: Analysis of Investment Flows based on EDB Monitoring of Mutual Investments,” the EDB notes that Azerbaijan has become the second-largest recipient of Indian FDI in the Eurasian region, Caliber.Az reports per local media. 

However, India’s investment presence in the country is concentrated in a single company—ONGC Videsh Limited, the overseas arm of India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.

ONGC Videsh holds stakes in two major components of Azerbaijan’s energy infrastructure: the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) oil and gas cluster and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline. The company initially entered these projects in 2013 and expanded its holdings in 2024. According to the EDB, this latest increase brought India’s total investment in Azerbaijan’s economy to $1.26 billion.

In 2024, ONGC Videsh signed an agreement with Norway’s Equinor to acquire an additional 0.615% stake in the ACG project and a 0.737% stake in BTC Co, the operator of the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline.

These acquisitions were made on top of ONGC Videsh’s existing 2.31% interest in the ACG project and a 2.36% stake in the BTC pipeline, further strengthening India’s footprint in Azerbaijan’s energy sector.

By Sabina Mammadli