Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev is participating in the forum as a full-fledged member. It is worth recalling that he took part in the C5 format for the first time—in 2023 in Dushanbe and in 2024 in Astana—still as an honorary guest. This year’s summit effectively marks the start of institutionalizing the new C5 + Azerbaijan format.
A Central Asian actor
Can the C5 format be viewed as the emergence of a new collective player in international politics? Recent trends strongly suggest that the answer is yes. A distinct regional platform is forming—one that coordinates macroeconomic policies and political positioning at the intersection of interests of the Euro-Atlantic community, China, the Russian Federation, and the Global South. Unlike BRICS, which originated from theoretical constructs in Goldman Sachs reports, this format stems from the actual political will of its members.
Regional leaders themselves speak of the formation of a de facto bloc. As Ilham Aliyev noted: “The countries of Central Asia and the Caspian are united not only by geography but also by historical and cultural ties, shared religious and spiritual values, traditions, and customs.” The same idea was developed by Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in his article “Central Asia on the Threshold of a New Era,” where he stated: “At the state level, conditions have been created for elevating our cooperation to a new stage of regional consolidation.”
Mirziyoyev emphasized that former barriers of the post-Soviet era “have turned into bridges of friendship and cooperation.” A symbolic confirmation of this was the signing of the Khujand Declaration in March 2025, which synchronized the borders of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, helping resolve part of the region’s inherited disputes.
Against a background of political stabilization, Central Asian states are demonstrating steady industrial momentum. Industrial output is growing by more than 6 percent annually—twice the global average. According to the IMF’s World Economic Outlook, Uzbekistan (6.8%), Kyrgyzstan (8%), and Tajikistan (7.5%) are among the fifteen fastest-growing economies in the world. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan entered the list of the world’s 50 largest economies for the first time in the October World Economic Outlook report.
Economic expansion in Central Asia is closely linked with new models of regional industrial cooperation: joint investment funds (Uzbek-Kyrgyz, Uzbek-Tajik, Kazakh-Kyrgyz) and cross-regional projects in energy, automotive manufacturing, electrical engineering, textiles, and agriculture.
To these mechanisms one must add the Azerbaijan–Uzbekistan investment company established in 2023 with capital of $500 million, including for projects in third countries. Negotiations on a $300 million Azerbaijan–Kazakhstan investment fund are also nearing completion. A strategic partnership agreement was signed between Kazakhstan’s Samruk-Kazyna and the Azerbaijan Investment Holding.
Small and medium business ties are also important. Roughly 250 companies with Kazakh capital and about 120 with Uzbek investment operate in Azerbaijan.
Transport cooperation highlights the scale of integration: cargo flows between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan surpassed 3.5 million tons in 2024 (up 20%), and between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan 1.3 million tons (up 18%). This makes the transit sector one of the main drivers of regional integration. Overall, Azerbaijan’s trade turnover with Central Asian states increased by 58 percent in the first nine months of 2025, exceeding $1 billion.
Caspian cluster exposure
A key tool for strengthening cooperation is the region-wide Action Plan for Developing Industrial Cooperation for 2025–2027. Tashkent hosted the first meeting of Central Asian trade and investment ministers with Azerbaijan’s participation. Within the C5 + Azerbaijan format, the sides agreed to nearly double mutual trade—to $20 billion.
A major engine of trade expansion is the mass production of goods in economic zones located along transport arteries, enabling exports to neighboring and distant markets—the EU, Russia, China, and the Gulf states.
The Caspian region offers the most promising cross-border economic interaction zone for Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Here, the North–South and Middle Corridor routes intersect. Along these directions, attractive industrial clusters are emerging—many within free economic zones and industrial parks of the Caspian states.
This approach encourages a transition from a raw-material model to a diversified economy incorporating innovation and venture development. Global experience shows that sustainable growth points arise where transport corridors intersect—hence the concept of “corridor modeling.” Such corridors attract businesses eager to use the advantages of logistics connectivity.
A critical element of this architecture is the Greater Baku–Absheron agglomeration with the multimodal Port of Alat, resource-development zones along the East–West and North–South routes, including the new Zangezur and Karabakh regions, as well as Azerbaijan’s agricultural and industrial growth hubs. Over the past five years, these areas have generated the country’s highest growth rates.
Combined, this infrastructural and economic architecture transforms Azerbaijan into the industrial and energy gateway of Central Asia toward the West.
Ilgar Huseynov
Translated from haqqin.az
