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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