The South Caucasus must be ready to take potential business opportunities presented by the conflict in Iran. That’s the opinion of Rusif Huseynov, from the Topchubashov Center think tank, who suggested that investors spooked by instability in the Middle East may shift their focus to the region.
Speaking on AnewZ Day Break programme on Tuesday (3rd March), Huseynov, Director of the Baku-based thinktank, said, “Our geopolitical significance has been elevated, especially in terms of connectivity, but for other reasons as well. Even if the conflict around Iran is coming to an end tomorrow, the instability in the Middle East will definitely last for some time.
“It will scare away investors, businesspeople, [and] other companies who want to deal with the region. And in this case, the South Caucasus may receive huge business opportunities… We must be prepared [to be] able to digest these opportunities.”
Since conflict broke out in Iran and the wider Middle East region at the weekend, flights have been rerouted above Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Flight trackers show a bottleneck of planes above the South Caucasus, while Iranian airspace remains closed.
Meanwhile the tourism and business hubs of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Doha in Qatar have been rocked by Iranian missile strikes that have caused airports to suspend flights or close entirely.
Huseynov warned, however, of the risk of the conflict spilling over to Armenia and Azerbaijan and the refugee crisis this could spark.
“The spillover effect of the conflict in and around Iran… would be the worst nightmare for all three South Caucasus countries. [...] It's about the possible exodus of Iranian refugees northward. It can be a humanitarian catastrophe.”
Huseynov added that leaders in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia should make efforts to achieve de-esculation between Iran and the USA. But he admitted that such an outcome was “complicated” to bring about at present.
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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is on a five-day visit to China, his fourth trip in four years, highlighting Spain’s push to strengthen economic and strategic relations with the world’s second-largest economy.
Nine suspects have been formally arrested over last week’s gun attack near Israel’s consulate in Istanbul, judicial officials have said. The assault left one attacker dead and two Turkish police officers lightly wounded.
Azerbaijani and Armenian civil society representatives have convened for a new round of dialogue under the ‘Peace Bridge’ initiative, as both sides seek to sustain engagement ahead of key political developments in the region.
Hungarians vote in elections on Sunday that could see the end of hard right nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s more than 15 year rule. Opinion polls show Orbán’s Fidesz party trailing 45-year-old Péter Magyar’s centre-right opposition Tisza party.
U.S. and Iranian negotiators held their highest-level talks in half a century in Pakistan on Saturday in an effort to end their six-week war, as President Donald Trump said the U.S. military had begun the process of clearing the Strait of Hormuz.
At least 30 people were killed on Saturday in a stampede at Haiti’s Laferrière Citadel World Heritage Site, with authorities warning that the death toll could rise.
Israel has reprimanded Spain’s most senior diplomat in Tel Aviv after a giant effigy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was blown up in a Spanish town.
Nine suspects were arrested on Saturday (11 April) in connection with a terror attack targeting a police post in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district.
Nine suspects have been formally arrested over last week’s gun attack near Israel’s consulate in Istanbul, judicial officials have said. The assault left one attacker dead and two Turkish police officers lightly wounded.
Azerbaijani and Armenian civil society representatives have convened for a new round of dialogue under the ‘Peace Bridge’ initiative, as both sides seek to sustain engagement ahead of key political developments in the region.
The reopening of Azerbaijan’s embassy in Iran reflects the “special relationship” between the two countries, a regional expert has said.
Cement maker Lafarge was found guilty by a French court on Monday (13 April) of paying millions to jihadist groups, including ISIS, to keep a plant running during the Syrian civil war.
Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that talks with Pakistan had been positive, while Türkiye stressed the importance of stronger ties between Kabul and Islamabad.
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