10 Years of Friendship: From Brotherhood to Alliance

Today, the official website of Azerbaijan’s leading state news agency, AZERTAC, published an article by Abdusaid Kuchimov, Director General of the Uzbekistan National News Agency, and Vugar Aliyev, Chairman of the Board of AZERTAC, on the history and current state of cooperation between the two countries, rooted in centuries of deep ties and the closeness of their peoples:

The Past is the Foundation of the Present

Two suns rise upon one land,

Two roses glow upon one stem.

These lines by the great Uzbek poet and thinker Alisher Navoi vividly capture the history and current state of relations between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. Our peoples, with common historical roots, centuries-old bonds of friendship, and a shared spiritual heritage, are now confidently moving together along the path of common development.

Historical sources show how similar the languages, traditions, and customs of the Uzbek and Azerbaijani peoples are. Thus, in the 11th-14th centuries, during the Seljuk Empire, a significant portion of the territories of modern-day Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan was under a single state.

During the Timurid era, this rapprochement became even more evident: kinship ties between the two peoples strengthened, and Azerbaijani mudarrises served as mentors to some Timurid princes.

It is also known that Uzbek General Sabir Rakhimov studied in Baku, Samad Vurgun and Abdulla Aripov were cherished poets for both peoples, and Maqsud Sheikhzade was considered a “son of the Uzbek people”. There are many such examples.

Today, the fact that relations between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan have reached an unprecedentedly high level is by no means accidental. Moreover, it can be said without exaggeration that the past decade has become the crown of the chronicle of friendship between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.

Toward New Heights...

The year 2016 marked a turning point in Uzbekistan’s foreign policy, as Tashkent significantly increased its activity on the international stage. Restoring and deepening relations with the countries of Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Turkic world became a priority of the renewed foreign policy course. In this context, interaction with Azerbaijan took on particular importance: the bilateral dialogue reached a qualitatively new level, and diplomatic ties assumed a strategic character.

Relations between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, although neither cold nor conflict-ridden, still lacked the strong momentum of a strategic partnership. Despite historical, cultural, and linguistic closeness, political dialogue remained limited, and economic interaction was restrained. The enormous potential, especially in strategic areas such as transport, logistics, energy, and regional cooperation, had long gone unrealized. Under these conditions, it was the political will and determination of Presidents Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Ilham Aliyev that enabled the seizing of untapped opportunities.

Several key factors contributed to the rapprochement between Tashkent and Baku. First, both countries adopted a multi-vector foreign policy. Second, integration in the Turkic world intensified. Third, amid the growing confrontation between Russia and the West, the need for alternative transit routes linking Central Asia and the Caucasus grew. As a result, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan became geographically and strategically complementary.

Since 2017-2018, a stable and regular political dialogue has been established between the leaders of the two countries. High-level visits ceased to be purely symbolic and took on concrete substance through economic, investment, and infrastructure projects. As a result, relations moved from a declarative format to a genuine strategic partnership.

It is important to note that Uzbekistan began to view Azerbaijan not only as a key state in the Caucasus but also as a geostrategic bridge providing Central Asia with access to global markets. The issue of diversifying routes to Europe via the Caspian Sea became a particular priority for Tashkent, which significantly strengthened Baku’s role as a transport and logistics hub.

In recent years, the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, known as the “Middle Corridor”, has become the most important geoeconomic pillar of bilateral relations. Plans to increase trade along the China – Central Asia – Caucasus – Europe route have aligned the strategic interests of Tashkent and Baku. As the need for alternative transport networks that bypass traditional northern routes grows, Azerbaijan’s importance to Uzbekistan has increased manyfold.

Economic indicators confirm qualitative changes in relations. After 2016, trade turnover between the two countries increased severalfold and, in recent years, has shown a steady upward trend.

Most importantly, bilateral ties were not limited to economic pragmatism. The leadership of Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan infused cooperation with broader political and civilizational substance grounded in the concepts of brotherhood, alliance, and Turkic unity. This gave the partnership an ideological and value-based foundation. Interaction within the Organization of Turkic States played a significant role in strengthening mutual trust.

In 2024, relations reached a qualitatively new level: the countries signed the Treaty on Allied Relations, marking the transition to the highest level of political interaction. Thus, ties between Tashkent and Baku were transformed from a strategic partnership to an alliance model grounded in long-term geopolitical alignment.

Overall, relations between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan have consistently evolved into a comprehensive partnership grounded in geoeconomic interests, transport security, Turkic integration, and regional political rapprochement. This rapprochement is not situational but deeply rooted, reflecting long-term strategic interests in the new geopolitical reality of Eurasia.

Economic Diplomacy, Transport Corridors, and the Synergy of Energy Interests

One of the key features of the current stage of relations has been the shift from political declarations to deep economic pragmatism. Whereas cultural and historical closeness previously took priority, transport, logistics, industrial cooperation, and investment have moved to the center of interaction. This has made it possible to move bilateral ties out of the realm of emotional diplomacy and bring them to the level of a practical geoeconomic partnership.

For Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan’s strategic importance is determined primarily by its transit potential in the Caspian region. As a landlocked country, Uzbekistan has consistently pursued a policy of diversifying its foreign trade routes. Amid growing geopolitical risks along traditional routes through Russia, the search for alternative transport corridors has become increasingly relevant. In this context, Baku has become a key hub linking Central Asia to European and Black Sea markets.

The Baku – Tbilisi – Kars railway line, the Alat International Sea Port, and the Trans-Caspian transport infrastructure are playing an increasingly important role in Uzbekistan’s foreign economic strategy. In particular, in recent years, efforts to move Uzbek cargo across the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, with subsequent access to the markets of Türkiye and Europe, have intensified sharply. This development has both economic and political significance, as the expansion of transport routes reduces dependence on external pressures.

After 2022, amid the war between Russia and Ukraine, the global logistics system underwent major transformations. The Middle Corridor project became a central topic on the international agenda. This route, running from China and Central Asia across the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye, acquired both economic and geopolitical significance. Uzbekistan seeks to become an active participant in this corridor, while Baku acts not merely as a transit territory but as one of the main architects of new regional logistics. In recent years, the Government of Azerbaijan has invested substantial funds in modernizing port, railway, and customs infrastructure, thereby opening new economic opportunities for Uzbekistan.

The development of industrial cooperation accompanied rapprochement in the transport sector. In particular, automotive manufacturing has become a new area of bilateral interaction. The implementation of the project to produce cars in the Hajigabul Industrial Park, with the participation of the Uzbek company UzAuto Motors and Azerbaijani partners, is regarded as an example of deep industrial integration that brings together technology, capital, and sales markets.

Cooperative projects are also expanding in agriculture, the textile industry, and the pharmaceutical industry. It is fundamentally important that a model of joint production, rather than the traditional “seller – buyer” scheme, is taking shape in bilateral relations. This approach ensures the partnership’s sustainability and long-term nature.

A new stage is also emerging in the investment sphere. The parties agreed to establish a joint investment fund to finance projects in energy, infrastructure, construction, and industry. This mechanism moves cooperation from the framework of declarative political closeness into the sphere of institutional economic interaction.

Energy remains one of the most important areas of cooperation, where the parties’ interests complement each other. Uzbekistan views Azerbaijan’s energy infrastructure and extensive export experience as an important model. In the future, Caspian routes could play a key role in bringing Central Asian resources to Western markets.

In recent years, cooperation on green energy has also been actively discussed. Azerbaijan is advancing a strategy to export green energy to Europe via the Black Sea, while Uzbekistan is implementing large-scale reforms in renewable energy. Similar approaches in this area offer great prospects for deepening the partnership.

It is also important that Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan act not as competitors in their foreign economic policy, but as strategic partners. Their activity is helping to accelerate economic integration between Central Asia and the Caucasus, indicating the formation of a new Eurasian economic space.

The substance of relations between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan is measured not by political declarations but by the effective alignment of transport corridors, the development of industrial cooperation, the creation of investment platforms, and the synergy of geoeconomic interests. Today, cooperation between our states is recognized as a pillar of the new regional economic architecture.

The Turkic World, Security Architecture, and the Future Formula of Alliance

It is no longer sufficient to view relations between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan solely through a bilateral lens. In recent years, this rapprochement has become part of broader geopolitical processes – the deepening of Turkic integration, the shifting balance of power in Eurasia, and the formation of a new regional security architecture. In this context, Tashkent and Baku are acting not merely as partners but as key components of an emerging political space.

Uzbekistan’s accession to the Organization of Turkic States in 2019 marked the start of a new stage in the development of cooperation. This decision was not symbolic – it signified the reorientation of Tashkent’s geopolitical identity. Whereas Uzbekistan had previously been cautious about Turkic integration, under President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the country embraced this platform as a key instrument of its foreign policy.

Azerbaijan, under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, played a crucial role in this process. Alongside Türkiye, Baku is a driver of Turkic integration, consistently promoting deep cooperation across transport, the economy, education, and security. Uzbekistan, in turn, with its significant demographic, economic, and geographical potential, is well positioned to become a central participant in these processes, thereby leading to the convergence of the two countries’ strategic interests.

Turkic integration today has moved beyond cultural cooperation to encompass clear economic interests and common security priorities. Transport corridors, energy networks, and digital infrastructure linking Central Asia and the Caucasus are being developed within the framework of interaction among Turkic states, thereby institutionally strengthening relations between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.

After the return of Karabakh in 2020, Azerbaijan gained new political weight in the region. Uzbekistan’s support for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity became an important factor in strengthening mutual trust. Uzbekistan’s construction of a school in the city of Fuzuli became a symbolic confirmation of this. Through this step, Tashkent demonstrated its direct involvement in the reconstruction of Karabakh and its readiness to invest in a long-term strategic partnership, confirming political statements with concrete actions.

At the same time, security is becoming an increasingly prominent focus in relations between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. This is not about forming a military alliance but about coordinating efforts to ensure regional stability. The situation in Afghanistan, transnational threats, and issues of cyber and logistics security are bringing the two countries’ positions closer together. As transport routes become more active, the need for coordinated approaches to protecting them is also growing. The Caspian – Caucasus – Central Asia route is becoming a vital communication artery, increasing the need for coordination between Tashkent and Baku on security.

Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan follow similar foreign policy approaches, seeking to build balanced relations with key centers of power and avoid dependence on any global players. Multi-vector diplomacy further contributes to the stability of bilateral ties.

The Treaty on Allied Relations, signed in 2024, was the logical outcome of these processes. It is not merely a diplomatic document but a new political formula for interaction, grounded not in rhetoric about “brotherly peoples” but in clearly defined geopolitical and geoeconomic interests.

In the coming years, the success of this alliance will hinge on several key factors: the practical implementation of transport projects, the deepening of industrial cooperation, and the transformation of Turkic integration from a predominantly cultural platform into an effective economic mechanism.

Relations between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan today are regarded as one of the most dynamic and effective models of regional cooperation. This rapprochement is not the result of short-term political circumstances but the natural outcome of the formation of a new geopolitical environment, transport chains, and integration processes in Eurasia.

Conclusion

For centuries, the history of friendship between the Azerbaijani and Uzbek peoples has been reflected in the works of the great thinkers of both countries and has been passed down from generation to generation as a shared spiritual heritage.

For example, the work of one of the greatest representatives of Azerbaijani poetry, the poet Nizami Ganjavi, had a tremendous influence on the development of Uzbek literature.

An outstanding representative not only of Uzbek but of all Turkic literature – the thinker, poet, scholar, statesman, public figure, and patron of science and art Alisher Navoi – continued Nizami’s traditions in creating his great work, “Khamsa”, demonstrating the greatness of the common language. Later, Navoi himself was recognized in Azerbaijani literature as a mentor.

One of the brightest figures in Azerbaijani poetry, Muhammad Fuzuli, regarded Navoi as his teacher and wrote naziras in response to Navoi’s ghazals. At the same time, many Uzbek literary figures regarded Fuzuli as their mentor.

Overall, a unique dialogue developed between Nizami and Navoi, forming a single spiritual and literary bond embodied in the works of Fuzuli, Nasimi, Vagif, Agahi, Muqimi, and Khwarizmi. Thanks to this, Maqsud Sheikhzade, who wrote “Poem about Tashkent” (“Tashkentname”), is held in such high esteem in Uzbekistan, while every Azerbaijani understands, without translation, the lines of Abdulla Aripov from his poem “Azerbaijan”.

As the great Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjavi wrote:

If friends are so close that they seem to breathe as one,

A hundred sorrows, having fled, will never return to them.

May the friendship and brotherhood among our peoples be unbreakable, illuminating our shared path toward new heights!

Abdusaid Kuchimov,

Director General of the Uzbekistan National News Agency – UzA

Vugar Aliyev,

Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijan State News Agency – AZERTAC