On Wednesday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met with his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev as Baku hosted the second Azerbaijan–Uzbekistan Supreme Interstate Council. During the discussions, a number of new agreements were signed increasing bilateral cooperation on the 30th anniversary of the establishment of relations between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.
The council was established following a series of high-level talks between Aliyev and Mirziyoyev in August 2023.
Following the last council meeting in Tashkent in 2024, the two countries signed a Treaty on Allied Relations, which Aliyev has emphasised ‘represents the highest form of interstate ties’.
Ahead of Wednesday’s council meeting, Aliyev highlighted the ‘strong foundation’ between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, noting that ‘we are building a beautiful edifice of Uzbek–Azerbaijani brotherhood’. He also congratulated Uzbekistan on qualifying for the World Cup.
In turn, Mirziyoyev highlighted the successful interparliamentary forum held on Tuesday as well as the recent signing of a roadmap between the two states’ Security Councils.
Following the opening speeches, the co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Commission — Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov and Uzbek Minister of Investment, Industry, and Trade Laziz Kudratov — provided updates on previous projects, after which the respective ministers of transport, energy, and culture delivered their own reports.
As a result of the council meeting, a series of documents were exchanged and signed, including:
- a roadmap for future cooperation in the fields of agriculture and food security for 2025–2027;
- a protocol of intent on cooperation in the fields of shipping and shipbuilding;
- an action plan to increase trade turnover to $1 billion by 2030;
- a programme for industrial cooperation for 2025–2027;
- an agreement on cooperation in the fields of science, vocational education, and higher education;
- and an agreement on organising information exchange regarding cloned, stolen, or lost mobile devices; an agreement on environmental protection.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and his Uzbek counterpart Bakhtiyor Saidov also exchanged a roadmap for 2025–2029 on implementing the previously agreed upon Treaty on Allied Relations.
In a joint press conference afterwards, Aliyev highlighted that the documents signed would ‘lead to the creation of a more extensive and diversified transport infrastructure in the Central Asian region with access through the Caspian to Azerbaijan and then in the western direction’, emphasising the possibilities for diversification.
He also separately thanked Mirziyoyev for being the ‘first leader in the world who immediately, on his own initiative, provided assistance in the restoration of the Karabakh region’, noting that a school and a garment factory have been opened as a result. He added that the two would visit the region on Thursday.
In turn, Mirziyoyev linked his speech back to sports, noting that he and Aliyev ‘talk a lot about sports’ and had decided to approach FIFA together, ‘so that Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan can co-host the world football championship’ in the category of mini-football.
In addition to the Supreme Interstate Council meeting, Aliyev and Mirziyoyev also attended the inauguration of Uzbekistan’s new embassy building in Baku. Mirziyoyev additionally laid a foundation stone for a new Uzbekistan Park that is intended to represent the map of Uzbekistan and operate as a large-scale cultural and recreational project.
Nate Ostiller
