Baku and Ashgabat Are Creating a Business Council and Establishing Energy Flows
The 9th meeting of the Intergovernmental Turkmen-Azerbaijani Commission on Economic Cooperation, held in Ashgabat on July 8, elevated the pragmatic dialogue between two key players in the Caspian region to the level of concrete business mechanisms. The main outcome of the ministerial meetings was the initiative to create a joint Business Council, which aims to directly link the commercial structures of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan to expand trade and diversify export routes.
The negotiations between the delegation, led by Azerbaijani Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov, and their Turkmen counterparts were segmented by key areas: from bringing Caspian energy to international markets to synchronizing port logistics. A detailed analysis of energy potential occupied a special place on the agenda. At a meeting between Mikail Jabbarov and Deputy Prime Minister Guvanch Agadzhanov, who oversees the oil and gas sector, the parties discussed modernizing the legal framework for joint projects in the Caspian Sea and transporting hydrocarbons to foreign markets.
Simultaneously, the Turkmen side highlighted a new trump card in the regional electric power industry: a high-capacity 1,574 MW power plant under construction in the Turkmenbashi etrap of the Balkan velayat. This facility creates long-term conditions for the export of Turkmen electricity via Azerbaijan, transforming the energy partnership from a purely raw materials-based one to a technological one.
At the level of the commission's co-chairs, Mikail Jabbarov and Deputy Prime Minister Nokerguly Atagulyev, the emphasis was placed on maximizing the utilization of the multimodal infrastructure. The modernized capacities of the Turkmenbashi International Seaport and the Baku International Port today serve as key links in the Eurasian end-to-end routes.
Baku emphasizes that, amid the global restructuring of Asia-Europe transport corridors, the Caspian Basin must function as a single, seamless logistics hub.
Economic integration is reinforced by gestures of trust. During the meetings, the parties exchanged gratitude for significant projects: the donation to Turkmenistan of the Azerbaijani oil tanker Dostluk, which is already operating on Caspian routes; the construction of a mosque in the Azerbaijani city of Fuzuli—a fraternal gift from Turkmenistan, built on the initiative of the National Leader of the Turkmen People; and the official establishment of sister-city relations between the Arkadag smart city and the resurgent Fuzuli, laying the foundation for long-term humanitarian and digital exchange.
The final Protocol signed following the meeting confirms the parties' readiness to move from project-based cooperation to a systemic investment partnership in the agricultural sector, food security, and water infrastructure management.
