Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has held an ‘expanded meeting’ with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. During the discussions, over ten documents were exchanged related to increasing cooperation between the two nations, including a joint declaration on a strategic comprehensive partnership.
The meeting took place in Shusha (Shushi) on Tuesday.
In his welcome speech, Aliyev highlighted the meeting location, noting that the entire Azerbaijani people were ‘very happy’ to see Sheikh Mohamed visit ‘lands liberated from occupation’.
Aliyev also emphasised how frequently he and Sheikh Mohamed have met in the past, including most recently in Abu Dhabi in July as part of direct peace talks with Armenia.
Yousef Bardouka
In turn, Sheikh Mohamed highlighted that relations between the UAE and Azerbaijan ‘have developed consistently over the past decades’, and that they were interested in expanding this cooperation.
He specifically named their investment in the first Solar Power Plant commissioned in Azerbaijan, adding that ‘the production of several gigawatts of renewable energy in Azerbaijan in the near future will be possible precisely as a result of your [Aliyev’s] personal instructions and the operation of your country’s companies’.
Sheikh Mohamed also said that trade turnover between the UAE and Azerbaijan had reached $2.24 billion in 2024.
Following the speeches, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and UAE Minister of State Saeed Al Hajeri exchanged 12 signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) as well as the joint declaration on a strategic comprehensive partnership.
Among the MOUs were agreements on energy cooperation, collaboration in Azerbaijan’s AI strategy for 2025–2028, and investment into the Southern Gas Corridor. A UAE–Azerbaijan Joint Business Council was also established.
Aytan Farhadova
