Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan Elevate Relations to Alliance

Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan Elevate Relations to Alliance

Executive Summary:

• Baku and Bishkek elevated their relationship to an alliance at the end of July during a meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan.
• Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan’s strengthening relations are occurring alongside increased engagement between Azerbaijan and Central Asia as a whole through growing engagement in organizations such as the Organization of Turkic States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Central Asia–Azerbaijan framework.
• High-level political engagement between Baku and Bishkek has intensified considerably in recent years, especially since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, prompting Eurasian countries, Europe, and the People’s Republic of China to seek alternative transport routes.

On July 30–31, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev paid a state visit to Kyrgyzstan, where he held one-on-one meetings with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov. He also participated in the Informal Meeting of the Heads of State of Azerbaijan and the Central Asian countries in Cholpon-Ata. During the visit, the two leaders signed the Treaty on Allied Relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Kyrgyz Republic, elevating bilateral ties to their highest institutional level and further bolstering the strategic partnership between the two Turkic countries (President of Azerbaijan, July 31).

The momentum continued during Aliyev’s working visit to Kyrgyzstan on August 31–September 1 (President of Azerbaijan, August 31). He attended the opening of the Sixth World Nomad Games and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek (President of Azerbaijan, August 31; President of Azerbaijan, September 1). The visit was primarily multilateral. It also further demonstrated the growing political importance of Kyrgyzstan–Azerbaijan ties and the close interactions between the two countries’ leadership.

Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan established diplomatic relations in 1993. Bilateral engagement remained relatively limited, however, for much of the following three decades (Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, accessed August 5). High-level political engagement has intensified considerably in recent years. Aliyev paid a state visit to Kyrgyzstan in October 2022. During the visit, the two sides signed the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership and convened the inaugural meeting of the Azerbaijan–Kyrgyzstan Interstate Council (President of Azerbaijan, October 12, 2022). He returned to Kyrgyzstan for the Commonwealth of Independent States Summit in October 2023 and the 11th Summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in November 2024 to reinforce bilateral cooperation and advance broader regional integration (President of Azerbaijan, October 12, 2023; President of Azerbaijan, November 6, 2024). Political momentum accelerated further during Japarov’s state visit to Azerbaijan in April 2024. The two states signed a broad package of agreements covering transport, investment, energy, agriculture, education, tourism, and cultural cooperation (President of Azerbaijan, April 25, 2024).

This process has unfolded alongside the OTS’s institutional evolution. Since its transformation from the Turkic Council in 2021, the OTS has steadily expanded its cooperation beyond cultural and linguistic issues to include transportation, customs harmonization, digital connectivity, investment, disaster management, and defense-industrial collaboration (Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, September 2024). The 11th OTS Summit in Bishkek in November 2024 emphasized regional connectivity, digital transformation, and coordinated economic integration (OTS, November 6, 2024). Subsequently, the 12th Summit in Gabala in October 2025, hosted by Azerbaijan, further strengthened these priorities and reinforced Baku’s role as one of the organization’s leading strategic actors (OTS, October 7, 2025). The informal OTS Summit in Turkistan, Kazakhstan, in May of this year continued this trajectory by emphasizing transport integration, digital infrastructure, and closer coordination among member states (OTS, May 15, 2026).

Alongside its growing leadership within the OTS, Baku has also deepened its institutional engagement with Central Asia. In November 2025, Azerbaijan became the first non-Central Asian country to participate as a full member in the Consultative Meetings of the Heads of State of Central Asia. This development reflected the growing recognition that the South Caucasus and Central Asia constitute an interconnected geopolitical and geo-economic space linked by the Caspian Sea (see EDM, January 21). Aliyev further articulated this vision during the Informal Meeting of the Heads of State of Azerbaijan and the Central Asian Countries in Cholpon-Ata on July 31, where he stated, “Today, Central Asia and Azerbaijan represent a unified geopolitical and geoeconomic region, the importance of which is steadily growing” (President of Azerbaijan, July 31).

This approach views the South Caucasus and Central Asia as components of a shared strategic space connected through expanding transport, energy, and digital connectivity. Aliyev has consistently promoted this concept since the 2024 Astana Consultative Meeting, reinforcing it following Azerbaijan’s accession to the Consultative Meetings in 2025 (President of Azerbaijan, August 9, 2024, November 16, 2025). His July visit to Kyrgyzstan represented the culmination of the strategic partnership. During the visit, the two presidents co-chaired the third meeting of the Azerbaijan–Kyrgyzstan Interstate Council, reviewed progress across numerous sectors, and signed the Treaty on Allied Relations. They also witnessed the signing of multiple agreements covering industrial cooperation, investment promotion, transportation, digital development, agriculture, environmental protection, tourism, and interregional cooperation (President of Azerbaijan; Report News Agency, July 31).

During the July meeting, Bishkek and Baku decided to double the authorized capital of the Azerbaijan–Kyrgyzstan Development Fund from $100 million to $200 million. Established in 2024 to finance joint investment projects, the expansion reflects growing confidence in the long-term economic potential of bilateral cooperation (Trend News Agency, July 30; AKI Press, July 31). The fund is expected to support industrial production, logistics, infrastructure, agriculture, and small and medium-sized enterprises, further integrating the two economies.

Transport and logistics remain central to the strategic partnership. Both countries frame the Middle Corridor as the principal framework for expanding trade between Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and European markets (Trend News Agency, August 7). After Russia’s war against Ukraine began in 2022, disruptions to traditional supply channels significantly increased the Middle Corridor’s geopolitical and economic importance. Governments and businesses seek alternative routes connecting the People’s Republic of China and Central Asia with Europe while bypassing Russian territory (Baku Dialogues, October 18, 2022). For example, the implementation of the 530-kilometer-long (330-mile-long) China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan (CKU) railway is expected to increase and diversify freight flows along the Middle Corridor (see EDM, January 27; AZERNEWS, July 21).

Besides Kyrgyzstan, Baku has deepened strategic partnerships with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, while also expanding cooperation with Turkmenistan in transport and energy (see EDM, April 30, July 6). The OTS, the Middle Corridor, and the Central Asia–Azerbaijan framework have emerged as the principal drivers of this engagement, providing institutional mechanisms to advance political dialogue, regional connectivity, trade, investment, and infrastructure development (see EDM, February 19, 2025, January 21). These multilateral platforms have accelerated Azerbaijan’s integration with Central Asia and reinforced its role as a bridge between the region and Europe (Eurasianet, August 4). Aliyev noted that since the beginning of 2023, he had visited Central Asian countries 16 times, while Central Asian leaders had made 26 visits to Azerbaijan, underscoring the intensity of high-level diplomacy and the deepening strategic partnership (President of Azerbaijan, July 31).

The Azerbaijan–Kyrgyzstan alliance illustrates a broad transformation underway across Eurasia. Middle powers are creating new regional mechanisms that strengthen connectivity, reduce dependence on traditional transit routes, and enhance their collective strategic influence. As the Middle Corridor continues to gain importance in Eurasian trade and the OTS expands its institutional capacity, partnerships such as the one between Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan are likely to become more consequential for the wider Eurasian region’s future geopolitical landscape.