Expanding cross-border commerce and strengthening regional trade corridors topped the agenda in Baku on Tuesday (24 February), as senior lawmakers from Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Georgia met to discuss deeper economic integration across the South Caucasus.
The talks focused on boosting connectivity between the three countries, including the development of new land and rail links designed to accelerate trade flows between Asia and Europe. Enhancing political dialogue between the national assemblies and coordinating approaches to regional security were also high on the agenda.
Fuat Oktay, head of the Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee, travelled to the Azerbaijani capital to attend the trilateral meeting with his Azerbaijani and Georgian counterparts.
Addressing reporters after the talks, Oktay described Azerbaijan as a “second homeland” for Türkiye and said the South Caucasus was undergoing rapid political and economic transformation.
He pointed to the ongoing normalisation process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which gathered pace in summer 2025 when Baku and Yerevan initialled a U.S.-backed peace agreement after decades of strained relations. Since then, he said, the two sides have taken tangible steps towards reopening cross-border commerce.
“Oil trade is now taking place directly between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Oktay said, describing the development as a concrete sign of improving ties.
He added that the diplomatic breakthrough had also created momentum for what he called a parallel normalisation process between Türkiye and Armenia. Ankara has long maintained that progress in Türkiye–Armenia relations should advance in step with improved ties between Baku and Yerevan.
A key pillar of the emerging regional framework is a proposed land corridor linking mainland Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave - and onward to eastern Türkiye - via Armenia’s Syunik province.
The route, formally titled the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) and widely referred to as the Zangezur Corridor, is intended to stimulate trade and reinforce regional connectivity.
Oktay said Georgia would also play an important role in the broader connectivity architecture. He highlighted the strategic value of the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway as a central component of the so-called Middle Corridor, a transport route linking China with European markets.
“The agreed TRIPP project is significant for the entire region,” Oktay said. “I believe Georgia will also benefit from it.”
Russian strikes hit several parts of Ukraine overnight, injuring at least six people and targeting energy and port infrastructure, as President Vol...
Tensions between North and South Korea have escalated after Pyongyang challenged Seoul’s account of a September landmine incident in a letter...
Uganda has introduced a 21-day quarantine for citizens returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo as authorities tighten Ebola preventio...
Around 11,000 people joined a demonstration in Orléans on Saturday against the National Rally congress, according to the local prefecture.
Uzbekistan summoned Iran’s ambassador following claims by several Iranian diplomatic missions that the historical and architectural heritage of Samarkand belongs to Persian or Iranian-Islamic civilisation, Tashkent's Foreign Ministry said.
Serbia's Aleksandar Vučić has conceded defeat after a student-led protest movement took the majority of seats in Sunday's parliamentary elections.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council says senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye will travel to Tehran to discuss regional security.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has returned to the South American nation almost a year after she secretly left the country to travel to Norway for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.
Thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday demanding an independent commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack, three days before a national election.
Saudi Arabia religious leaders have condemned attacks targeting holy sites and civilians after authorities reported intercepting two ballistic missiles launched towards the Mecca and Medina regions, while Yemen’s Houthi movement denied targeting the two cities.
Uzbekistan summoned Iran’s ambassador following claims by several Iranian diplomatic missions that the historical and architectural heritage of Samarkand belongs to Persian or Iranian-Islamic civilisation, Tashkent's Foreign Ministry said.
Israeli forces have maintained a tight closure on Hebron in the occupied West Bank for a second day, with Palestinian media reporting home raids, mass detentions and dozens of residents forced outside following a shooting incident the day before.
Foreign ministers meeting in Istanbul on Friday warned that renewed military strikes on Iran could deepen the regional conflict, urging diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment