India, Azerbaijan agree to deepen trade, energy and connectivity ties

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday held "very productive" talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov in Baku, with the two sides agreeing to strengthen cooperation in trade, investment, energy, tourism and connectivity.

Jaishankar, who arrived in Azerbaijan on a day-long visit to review bilateral relations, said the discussions had helped establish a pathway for taking ties between the two countries forward.

"We spoke about economic cooperation, including trade, investment and energy, which are central to our bilateral ties... We believe there is very good scope for further enhancement of bilateral trade and investment. We also discussed various activities and exchanges," he said in a press statement.

The two ministers also exchanged views on regional and international developments and discussed cooperation within multilateral frameworks.

𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆

Jaishankar said both countries had agreed to coordinate more closely on the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), highlighting the importance of connectivity in a globalised economy.

"We spoke about connectivity because it is so important in a globalised economy," he said.

The INSTC is a 7,200-km multimodal transport project designed to facilitate freight movement between India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.

India has been supporting the project as part of efforts to strengthen trade and transport connectivity across the region.

The two sides also agreed to deepen cooperation in the oil and energy sector and explore opportunities to expand their partnership into other areas.

Discussions included the possibility of increasing daily flights between India and Azerbaijan to improve connectivity.

In a post on X, Bayramov said he was delighted to welcome Jaishankar and exchange views on the current state and future prospects of Azerbaijan-India relations.

The talks covered political dialogue, trade and investment, energy, tourism and cultural ties, he said.

𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱

Jaishankar thanked Azerbaijan's leadership for facilitating the evacuation of Indian nationals, particularly students, from Iran earlier this year during the regional conflict.

He also welcomed the August peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia and expressed hope that it would lead to lasting peace in the region.

"India has a very clear position that disputes should be settled through dialogue and diplomacy. And in that context, we had, of course, our discussions covered the Middle East, Eurasia and Europe," he said.

The External Affairs Minister said the two countries assessed the global implications of ongoing conflicts, particularly their impact on developing economies.

He noted that disruptions had created significant challenges for Global South countries in areas such as food, fuel, fertilisers and finance.

"We have a common interest in really promoting peace and progress and prosperity," Jaishankar said, describing terrorism, conflict and instability as common threats.

The ministers also exchanged views on reforming and expanding international and regional organisations to make them more contemporary and relevant.

Jaishankar invited Bayramov to visit India.

𝗝𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗮𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝘇𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗶𝗷𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁

Earlier, Jaishankar called on Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral ties.

He conveyed greetings from President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Azerbaijani leader.

Recalling the recent meeting between Modi and Aliyev on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Jaishankar said his visit was a follow-up to those discussions.

"We exchanged views on various aspects of our relationship. In fact, the President was kind enough to give a lot of time to review the entire gamut of our ties, including ongoing cooperation," he said.

Jaishankar added that the meeting also covered important regional and global developments from a strategic perspective.

The visit focused on expanding bilateral cooperation while strengthening dialogue on connectivity, regional stability and shared economic interests.