Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan have agreed to boost bilateral trade to $1 billion by 2030 and strengthen transport links across the Caspian Sea as Presidents Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Ilham Aliyev expanded economic and strategic cooperation during talks in Tashkent.


According to a new Euronews article, the treaty was one of the key outcomes of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s two-day state visit to Uzbekistan.


Before the signing ceremony, Mirziyoyev and Aliyev held a bilateral meeting and chaired the third session of the Supreme Interstate Council, a presidential-level body established in 2023 to coordinate long-term cooperation.


The two countries had already elevated their relationship by signing a Treaty on Allied Relations in 2024.



Following the talks, Mirziyoyev described Azerbaijan as “our reliable ally, strategic partner and brotherly state”.


Trade and investment


Aliyev said in an interview with Uzbekistan's state news agency UzA before his visit that bilateral trade reached $795 million in 2025, more than three times the previous year's figure. Trade in the first five months of 2026 totaled $144 million, up 33% year-on-year.


The countries established the Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan Investment Company in 2023 with $500 million in capital to support joint projects.


During the visit, the leaders inaugurated or launched Azerbaijani-backed projects in Uzbekistan spanning banking, construction, education, fuel retail, tourism, housing, mining and agriculture.


The projects include a gypsum plant, two STEAM schools, five planned SOCAR filling stations and a facility for processing silver-bearing ore.


Mirziyoyev said the projects form part of a wider investment portfolio covering energy, geology, chemicals, construction, finance and agriculture.


Azerbaijan's state-owned ABB is also in talks to acquire a 51% stake in Uzbekistan's Davr Bank. According to S&P Global, the deal is valued at more than $100 million and remains subject to regulatory approval.


Aliyev also said joint oil and gas exploration projects were nearing completion, with production drilling potentially beginning next year if the results are positive.


Another major project is Sea Breeze Uzbekistan, a year-round tourism and residential development planned by Azerbaijan's Agalarov Development at the Charvak reservoir in Tashkent region. Uzbek authorities estimate the investment at $5 billion across the 577-hectare site.


Public hearings on the project’s environmental impact assessment were held in January. Uzbek authorities said wastewater would be discharged outside the reservoir’s coastal zone and sent to treatment facilities.


Trans-Caspian links


Following the talks, Aliyev described Central Asia and Azerbaijan as “a single geopolitical and geo-economic region”.


The two presidents agreed to enhance connectivity through the Middle Corridor by improving logistics infrastructure and increasing freight traffic along the Trans-Caspian route linking Central Asia with the South Caucasus and Europe.


Mirziyoyev also announced plans to accelerate efforts to establish a joint fleet on the Caspian Sea.


Transit freight between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan reached 1.4 million tonnes in 2025. During the first half of 2026, the figure rose 12.2% year-on-year to 675,000 tonnes, according to figures Aliyev provided to UzA.


Aliyev also noted that the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, which is under development, could eventually connect with the Middle Corridor and routes through the South Caucasus.



The European Union is supporting the Trans-Caspian network through its Global Gateway strategy, which aims to reduce travel times between Europe and Central Asia to 15 days or less.


European and international partners announced active and planned investment commitments worth €10 billion in Central Asia’s transport sector in 2024.


In June, the European Commission signed agreements with international financial institutions that are expected to mobilise up to €2 billion for connectivity projects in the Black Sea region and the South Caucasus.


Energy could become another component of Caspian connectivity. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are working to establish a “green” energy corridor linking their power grids and exploring the possibility of transmitting renewable electricity across the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan and potentially onward to European markets.


Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan to co-host 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup


The two countries also signed agreements covering pensions, culture, tourism, cooperation between their foreign and justice ministries, and partnerships between cities.


The sides also signed agreements on pensions, culture and tourism, cooperation between their foreign and justice ministries, as well as twinning arrangements between cities: Urgench with Khankendi and Nakhchivan, and Bukhara with Lachin.



The agreements come as Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan prepare to jointly host the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup, following a FIFA Council decision in 2025.


Mirziyoyev announced a joint preparation programme titled “Two countries – one championship”.


The leaders also inaugurated a new campus of Nizami National Pedagogical University in New Tashkent. The 40-hectare complex is designed to accommodate 20,000 students.


They also launched construction of a four-hectare Azerbaijan Park in New Tashkent, while an Uzbekistan Park is planned for Baku.


The visit concluded with an exchange of the countries' highest state honours. Aliyev received Uzbekistan's Order of Oliy Darajali Dustlik, while Mirziyoyev was awarded Azerbaijan's Heydar Aliyev Order.


By Bakhtiyar Abbasov