Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš have discussed the joint production of military equipment and Azerbaijan’s provision of energy to Czechia.
Babiš and Aliyev met in Azerbaijan’s northern Gabala region on Monday, where a Czech–Azerbaijani entrepreneurial forum was also held.
During their meeting, Aliyev noted that Azerbaijan purchases significant military equipment from Czechia, and has signed several contracts with Czech companies.
‘We are currently planning to expand our scope of activities and begin joint production. Our teams are working on this right now. This is a crucial area for any country, especially in a context of rising wars and conflicts’.
He said that every country must be prepared ‘to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the inviolability of its borders’.
In turn, Babiš said that the Czechoslovak Group, an arms producer, was ‘already active here’, adding that ‘through joint ventures, we are already producing our own products’.
He also said other major Czech companies, such as the arms producer Colt, aircraft company Aero Vodochody, and explosives manufacturer Explosia were proposing ‘joint projects and cooperation’ with Azerbaijan.
Babiš said that Aero Vodochody had offered Azerbaijan its Aero L-39NGs jet trainers.
During the business forum, Babiš stressed Azerbaijan’s role in providing Czechia with 42% of its energy — the vast majority of its energy supply.
‘We would be very happy to discuss long-term cooperation, long-term contracts, and bilateral investments. You will discover new gas fields, and, of course, we are very interested in this issue’, he said.
He added that trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Czechia has reached €1.75 billion ($2 billion) since 2025 and was ‘primarily driven by crude oil supplies’.
During the visit, Babiš also said that Czech companies were also ready to participate in the development of Nagorno-Karabakh and its surrounding territories.
His visit came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s own trip to Azerbaijan.
Zelenskyi and Aliyev also met in Gabala, located just south of the border with Russia. While in Azerbaijan Zelenskyi met with a Ukrainian team stationed in Azerbaijan to share ‘its experience and expertise in protecting the skies and critical infrastructure facilities’.
Yousef Bardouka
