One of the most significant outcomes of the Turkmenbashi meeting is that Azerbaijan is no longer an external partner in its cooperation with Central Asia, but rather a direct participant in regional economic processes and an actor driving integration. Azerbaijan’s accession as a full-fledged member of this consultative format last year institutionally confirms this reality.
Ilyas Huseynov, Head of the Turkic World Research Center (TWRC) at the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication (CAERC), stated that the 8th Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Azerbaijan and Central Asian Countries, held in Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan, is an important platform demonstrating the transition of political dialogue and economic cooperation in the region to a new stage. According to him, the remarks made by President Ilham Aliyev at the meeting indicate that Azerbaijan’s relations with Central Asia are moving beyond the framework of bilateral ties and evolving into a comprehensive regional cooperation model encompassing transport, logistics, energy, investment, digital transformation and industrial cooperation.
As President Ilham Aliyev noted in his address, trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries increased by more than 50% last year. This is a highly significant indicator. Azerbaijan’s total foreign trade turnover amounted to USD 48.9 billion in 2025, comprising USD 24.5 billion in exports and USD 24.4 billion in imports. However, the more important issue is not merely the growth in trade, but also the transformation of its structure. The fact, specifically highlighted in the President’s address, that more than 400 companies with Central Asian capital operate in Azerbaijan demonstrates that mutual economic relations have already progressed beyond trade to the investment stage.
The Head of the TWRC noted that, in recent years, Azerbaijan has established joint investment funds with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, each with capital amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. These mechanisms could become some of the most important instruments of economic integration in the future.
In this context, one statement by President Ilham Aliyev is particularly noteworthy: countries should not limit themselves to increasing mutual trade; they should also invest together, produce together and access foreign markets jointly. This, in essence, is the very substance of regional economic integration.
The particular emphasis placed on transport and logistics in President Ilham Aliyev’s address is no coincidence. Today, the Caspian Sea is no longer merely a geographical divide between Azerbaijan and Central Asia; rather, it is becoming a platform for economic connectivity. In recent years, Azerbaijan has made substantial investments in the Baku International Sea Trade Port, railways, highways and airports. The transport infrastructure developing along both shores of the Caspian Sea constitutes a key element of the logistics system connecting Central Asian countries to the markets of Türkiye and Europe via Azerbaijan. Transit cargo volumes along the Middle Corridor increased by more than 10% in 2025 and by approximately 20% during the first eight months of 2026. The strategic significance of this growth lies in the fact that the Middle Corridor is no longer merely an alternative transport route; it is becoming one of the new pillars of the Eurasian trading system.
An additional economic advantage for Azerbaijan is that the country can generate added value not merely as a transit territory, but also as an active participant in logistics, warehousing, customs, insurance, finance, digital services and production chains. In this regard, Azerbaijan’s principal objective should not simply be to ensure that cargo passes through its territory, but to maximise the share of the economic value generated by that cargo that is created within the country and the wider region.
Another area highlighted in the President’s address is the Digital Silk Way project. The development of fibre-optic infrastructure beneath the Caspian Sea will mean more than simply expanding telecommunications capacity in the future. The project is of strategic importance in connecting the digital economies of Azerbaijan and Central Asia. In the next phase, this infrastructure could be integrated with digital trade, electronic customs, e-logistics, fintech, artificial intelligence, cloud technologies and data centres.
Thus, the Silk Road of the 21st century will comprise more than railways and highways. Its physical and digital components will develop in parallel. The Head of the TWRC believes that one of the next strategic objectives for the Turkic world should be the establishment of a unified digital economic space. In this regard, the mutual recognition of electronic signatures, the integration of digital customs systems, electronic payments, fintech platforms, digital identification and the development of cross-border e-commerce are of particular importance.
Energy is another strategic dimension of Azerbaijan’s cooperation with Central Asia. At present, the transportation of oil resources from Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan to global markets via Azerbaijan connects both shores of the Caspian Sea within a unified energy and logistics system. However, renewable energy and green energy corridors hold even greater potential for the coming years.
Cooperation in the field of green energy between Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan has already acquired a concrete institutional framework. In the future, this cooperation could create new opportunities for transmitting the vast solar and wind energy potential of Central Asia across the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan and subsequently to European energy markets.
Thus, a transition is possible from energy cooperation based on the transportation of oil and gas in the Caspian region to a new model of energy integration encompassing electricity, green hydrogen and digital energy networks.