By Pasha Holding
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 4. The 17th Economic
Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit starts today in the
Azerbaijani city of Khankendi. Holding this key meeting in
Azerbaijan for the third time confirms the country’s growing role
as a strategic hub for transport, logistics, and energy ties
between the region’s states. The Summit will be an important
milestone on the way to deepening economic integration and
political interaction among ECO member states.
The Summit will bring together ECO Heads of State and
Government, ministers, observers, special guests from countries
outside the organization, as well as heads of international
structures. The main objective of the meeting is to develop joint
solutions to achieve sustainable development and prosperity of the
region through strengthening economic integration, especially
relevant in the context of global geopolitical instability.
ECO Week as an indicator of the scale of interaction.
The peculiarity of this summit was the organization of a
large-scale and inclusive ECO Week in Azerbaijan, within the
framework of which were held:
– ECO Youth Forum on July 1 in Aghdam;
– ECO Women’s Forum on July 2 in Lachin;
– The 6th ECO Business Forum was held on July 2 in Fuzuli with the
participation of business leaders and investors.
ECO Secretary General Asad M. Majid Khan noted in an interview
with Trend that thanks to the initiative and leadership of
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, a whole week
of ECO events with the participation of a wide range of
stakeholders is being held for the first time this year. “All these
events are aimed at forming a common ECO development strategy for
the next decade,” he emphasized.
Azerbaijan as a strategic transportation and energy hub
Asad Majid Khan also noted that Azerbaijan traditionally plays
an important and active role in the organization’s activities. The
official launch of the ECO Clean Energy Center, the establishment
of which has already been approved and ratified by a number of
member countries, is planned within the framework of the current
summit. “This will give the summit a special significance,” he
emphasized, “especially in the current conditions of serious
geopolitical transformations, creating the need for a personal
meeting of the region’s leaders to exchange views and determine
further guidelines for the ECO work.
The organization unites 10 countries of South and Central Asia
and the Middle East, covering a huge economic and demographic
potential. Azerbaijan, being a full member of ECO since 1992, due
to its unique geostrategic position in the South Caucasus region at
the crossroads of international East-West and North-South transport
corridors, plays the role of a connecting link between the member
In particular, major infrastructure projects such as:
– Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK), connecting Azerbaijan, Georgia, and
Türkiye, provides reliable land access to European markets,
reinforcing the country’s role as a transportation bridge between
East and West;
– Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and
Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum, creating the basis for energy security and
exports of Azerbaijani gas;
– Alat International Sea Trade Port, turning Azerbaijan into the
main logistics hub of the Caspian region.
All these projects not only strengthen Azerbaijan’s position in
the ECO but also make a significant contribution to the development
of transportation and energy infrastructure in the Eurasian
A special role is played by the development of the Middle
Corridor passing through Azerbaijan and connecting China and
Europe, as well as the formation of the Caspian Green Energy
Corridor connecting Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to
transport green energy and achieve climate goals.
In addition, the Lapis Lazuli project creates a transportation
corridor that will connect the city of Torghundi in Afghanistan’s
Herat province to Ashgabat in Turkmenistan, then to the Caspian
port of Turkmenbashi, a new port in Alat (Azerbaijan), Tbilisi and
Ankara with branches to Poti and Batumi, and from Ankara to
Istanbul. Thus, Azerbaijan becomes an integral part of this
multilevel route, opening access for Central Asian countries to
European markets.
Results of Azerbaijan’s chairmanship in ECO
Meanwhile, during Azerbaijan’s chairmanship of ECO in 2023,
notable progress was achieved in key areas. Thus, the 9th meeting
of the ECO Council of Heads of Customs Administrations (CHCHA) was
held in Baku, where progress was made on several issues,
– preparation for the launch of the ECO Anti-Smuggling and
Customs Offenses Database;
– development of an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system;
– Finalization of the Agreement on Mutual Administrative
Assistance in Customs Matters;
– Identification of capacity-building needs in the area of customs
cooperation.
Significant growth of trade turnover
An important indicator of the effectiveness of cooperation
between Azerbaijan and ECO countries is the growth of trade
turnover. The volume of trade turnover between Azerbaijan and ECO
member countries amounted to $3.5 billion in the period from
January through May of the current year.
According to Trend’s calculations based on the data of the State
Customs Committee, this figure increased by $328 million, or 10.2
percent, compared to the same period of 2024. Thus, in January-May
2024, the volume of trade turnover between Azerbaijan and member
countries of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) amounted
to $3.2 billion.
The table below shows the volume of trade operations conducted
between Azerbaijan and ECO member countries from January through
May of the current year in thousand US dollars.
In particular, only one of the ECO member countries (Turkey) was
among the main countries to which Azerbaijan exported crude oil
during the reporting period of the current year. During this
period, 34,800 tons of crude oil worth $16.9 million were exported
At the same time, the main countries to which Azerbaijan
exported non-oil products were the three ECO member countries
(Turkey, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan). Thus, non-oil products worth
USD 251.4 million were exported to Turkey, $44.8 million to
Kazakhstan, and $19.3 million to Uzbekistan.
This significant trade turnover confirms the dynamic development
of Azerbaijan’s economic ties with ECO partners.
Thus, the ECO summit in Khankendi opens a new page in the
development of economic cooperation in the region, strengthening
Azerbaijan’s position as a strategic center of transport, energy,
and logistics corridors. The Summit and ECO Week demonstrate the
determination of the ECO Member States to jointly build a
prosperous, interconnected, and sustainable future, where
Azerbaijan plays one of the key roles.