On October 13, a trilateral meeting between representatives of Azerbaijan, Russia, and Iran took place in Baku. This event is notable as it came just days after the talks between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Dushanbe, where both sides effectively agreed to resume a full-scale political dialogue, with a particular focus on shared interests in the fields of energy and transportation.
Against this backdrop, the Baku meeting became a logical continuation of the growing trend toward regional cooperation. It holds special significance not only for the three participating states but for the entire region, reflecting their ambition to build a new architecture of collaboration stretching from the Caspian Sea to the Indian Ocean. The format — chaired by Azerbaijan’s Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, and Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash — demonstrates a shift toward an institutionalized level of dialogue.
At the heart of the talks was the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which connects Russia to Iran via Azerbaijan and onward to ports on the Indian Ocean. For Azerbaijan, the corridor has strategic importance: it transforms the country into a key link in global logistics, bridging Europe, the Caucasus, and South Asia. For Russia, it represents a vital land route to southern markets, while Iran sees it as an opportunity to enhance its role in Eurasian trade and offset some of the limitations imposed by international sanctions.
Transit volumes along this route have shown consistent growth in recent years. According to Azerbaijan’s State Statistics Committee, 9.8 million tons of cargo were transported through the country via the North–South Corridor in 2024 — an increase of 5.7% over the previous year. In the first half of 2025, the figure reached about 4.69 million tons, indicating continued positive momentum. In total, 33.26 million tons of cargo were transported through all international transport corridors crossing Azerbaijan in 2024, nearly one-third of which belonged to the North–South route. This trend underscores Azerbaijan’s rising role as a transit hub of Eurasia.
However, despite this growth, customs-related bottlenecks remain a major obstacle. Administrative barriers, differing customs standards, duplicated documentation, and the lack of a unified digital platform among Azerbaijan, Russia, and Iran increase costs and prolong delivery times. Even where electronic declarations exist, many procedures are still carried out manually, undermining efficiency.
Significantly, during the Baku meeting, the sides agreed to simplify border-crossing procedures and accelerate the digitalization of transport and customs processes. These steps may become the foundation for a “smart corridor,” enabling real-time data exchange among agencies. A joint working group on road transport will also be established to coordinate technical issues and remove logistical barriers.
The timing of these initiatives coincides with intensified construction on the Rasht–Astara railway section and progress on the Zangezur Corridor, adding further depth to the meeting’s outcomes. This alignment suggests that the agreements are part of a broader regional strategy to build interconnected infrastructure. The Rasht–Astara line, about 162 km long, represents the missing link in the railway connection between Russia and Iran. Once completed, it will create a continuous route from St. Petersburg to Bandar Abbas, effectively linking the Baltic Sea with the Indian Ocean. Russia has allocated $1.3 billion in credit for the project, which is expected to be operational by 2027 with a capacity of up to 10 million tons per year.
In parallel, the Zangezur Corridor is advancing, connecting mainland Azerbaijan with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and Turkey. Azerbaijan has already completed its 110 km section from Horadiz to the Armenian border and is constructing bridges and engineering structures. Together, these routes are redrawing the logistics map of the region, positioning Azerbaijan as a crossroads linking the East–West and North–South axes.
Alongside transport cooperation, energy integration was also discussed. Russia expressed readiness to expand electricity exchange with Azerbaijan and Iran, increasing transmission capacity up to 400 megawatts. This initiative reflects the emergence of a “North–South Energy Corridor,” with Azerbaijan as the central link. In recent years, new substations have been built and power lines modernized, turning the country’s southern regions into a key node of the developing Caspian energy ring.
Upgrades and new installations — including the Astara, Ali-Bayramli, Yalama, and Imamzade substations — now enable synchronization of voltage and frequency among the three countries’ grids. Between 2023 and 2024, the companies Azerenerji, Tavanir, and Inter RAO carried out test synchronizations on 220 kV lines connecting Lankaran and Iran’s Astara. In the future, capacity will increase to 400 MW, allowing Azerbaijan not only to export power but also to balance flows depending on seasonal demand.
For Russia, the project opens up a long-sought southern electricity export route, while for Iran it provides an opportunity to import energy during peak demand and reach northern markets. In this sense, the North–South corridor is evolving from a mere infrastructure initiative into a geo-economic instrument of interdependence — one that enhances regional resilience and connectivity.
Thus, Azerbaijan is reinforcing its position not only as a logistical and energy hub between North and South but also as a mediator between different political and economic systems. The trilateral format established in Baku has the potential to mature into a long-term regional platform uniting transport, energy, and trade interests. In this regard, the Baku meeting was not simply a diplomatic event but a milestone in the creation of a new Eurasian infrastructure framework — one in which the South Caucasus emerges as an autonomous center of attraction and stability.
Ilgar Velizade
