EU Enlargement Commissioner Kos visits Azerbaijan, highlights opportunities offered by peace process
EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos has visited Azerbaijan, where she signed an agreement to establish a High-Level Economic Working Group with Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov.
Kos is on a working trip to the South Caucasus that will also see her visit Armenia, but unlike similar trips in the past, not Georgia.
Writing on X, Kos stated that ‘peace in the region opens up opportunities for markets, trade and investment’.
‘To seize them, we agreed to establish a High-Level Economic Working Group. We’ll continue to strengthen our partnership’, Kos wrote.
Later, Jabbarov also stated on X that the sides reviewed investment initiatives in energy, the digital economy, and transport — the private sector and other areas were also included.
Jabbarov noted that these projects are being implemented ‘within the framework of the EU’s new global strategy for interaction, Global Gateway’.
He mentioned that they discussed the Financing Agreement between Azerbaijan and the EU, which will be dedicated to ‘support for mine action and sustainable development’ in the water and transport sectors.
According to the pro-government media outlet Report, Azerbaijan will present a three‑year strategic plan aimed at developing women’s entrepreneurship.
The strategic plan was also agreed upon at a meeting between Kos and Sakina Babayeva, chair of the board of the Azerbaijan Women’s Entrepreneurship Development Association.
‘The plan will focus on strengthening women’s entrepreneurship and improving psychological resilience in business, creating new jobs, and supporting innovative business initiatives’, Report wrote, citing Babayeva.
‘Additionally, the strategy will address enhancing women's roles in the economy within the European countries and the UN framework, supporting migrant women and their participation in projects, and showcasing the role of Azerbaijani women on the world stage’, Babayeva stated.
Besides the focus on women’s entrepreneurship, Kos held a number of other meetings while visiting Azerbaijan — the first being with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday.
According to the presidential website, Kos confirmed that the EU would continue to support efforts to ensure lasting peace in the region and the humanitarian demining process in Azerbaijan.
In turn, Aliyev also highlighted that Azerbaijan would continue to support peace in the region.
He emphasised the considerable opportunities for creating transport connectivity and mentioned ‘the importance of the road and railway lines to Zangilan’.
During the meeting, Aliyev underlined that ‘Azerbaijani gas is currently exported to ten European countries, including eight EU member states, and that the export geography is expanding’.
On the same day, Kos also visited the town of Aghdam, which was previously held by Armenian forces, and inspected both mined areas and demining operations, the pro-government media outlet APA reported.
According to APA, Kos stated that she was impressed by the construction in Nagorno-Karabakh and its surroundings.
‘War is ruining people's lives, and war is always full of consequences and the wounds are deep’, Kos said.
Speaking about the peace process with Armenia, Kos also highlighted the EU’s support and readiness to help, and shared her hope to bring a new level to EU-Azerbaijan relations.
Rasmus Canbäck
This article was translated into Russian and republished by our partner SOVA.
