Europe looks to Central Asia for transit. Azerbaijan is the gatekeeper

[ad_1] BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 24. On the finish of November, Tashkent will as soon as once more take heart stage in Eurasian politics. On November 26, 2025, Uzbekistan will host the Third EU-Central Asia Financial Discussion board, a key platform for discussing the way forward for cooperation between the European Union and the international locations of the area.

Consideration to Central Asia at present is unprecedented. Over the previous yr, Tashkent, Astana, and different regional capitals have commonly hosted main summits, starting from EU-Central Asia to China-Central Asia, whereas the U.S.-Central Asia format has even reached the extent of a high-profile assembly in Washington.

Amid this diplomatic exercise, one element stands out: no transit, logistics, or power undertaking in Eurasia might be totally carried out with out Azerbaijan. Baku will not be merely part of the connectivity structure - it has grow to be its central supporting pillar. For European, American, or Chinese language tasks aimed toward enhancing transport corridors, Azerbaijan will not be non-obligatory - it's central.

At this time, Baku is Central Asia’s gateway to Europe and concurrently Europe’s key entry level to East Asian markets. That's the reason the upcoming EU-Central Asia Discussion board offers a well timed alternative to brazenly acknowledge that any dialogue of regional tasks, provide chains, or new routes is meaningless if it excludes Azerbaijan.

A current milestone underlines this actuality: Azerbaijan’s full inclusion within the Central Asian consultative format. The area has lengthy ceased to be restricted to simply 5 international locations, and Baku’s participation underscores that no transit, logistics, or power undertaking in Eurasia can succeed at present with out Azerbaijan. As Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev famous, Azerbaijan will make a "substantial contribution to strengthening interregional cooperation", whereas Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasised that with Baku concerned, "the area’s voice will grow to be much more vital" on the worldwide stage.

The Third EU-Central Asia Financial Discussion board in Tashkent will convey collectively representatives from the EU, the area’s governments, the non-public sector, worldwide monetary establishments, and organizations. Key matters embody enhancing the enterprise local weather, increasing commerce, fostering regional integration, growing worth chains, and strengthening expertise.

The next day, the Trans-Caspian Investor Discussion board will take place - one other clear sign that the EU is betting on the Center Hall. Below the World Gateway initiative, the EU is already channeling a 12 billion euro funding bundle into Central Asia, 10 billion euros of which is earmarked for the event of the Trans-Caspian transport hall.

In the meantime, China is actively deepening its engagement within the area. On the China–Central Asia Summit in June, Chinese language President Xi Jinping confirmed plans to offer round $210 million in monetary help, a part of which can assist infrastructure tasks below the Belt and Street Initiative. Azerbaijan is amongst the undertaking’s largest buyers, rating second solely to China in phrases of funding quantity.

The U.S.-Central Asia Summit, held on November 6 in Washington, additionally targeted on commerce and transport hyperlinks. There, U.S. President Donald Trump highlighted Azerbaijan’s pivotal position within the TRIPP undertaking (The Trump Route for Worldwide Peace and Prosperity): "This can be a new highway passing via a few of the most vital locations on this planet. It is going to enhance industrial exercise throughout the Caspian and provides a strong impetus to the event of Central Asian international locations".

The Zangezur Hall, or TRIPP, is already seen as a brand new infrastructural artery of the Center Hall. Over the previous two years, freight volumes alongside the route have elevated by almost 90%. This development has been made attainable by Azerbaijan’s transport capability: the most important Caspian fleet, a community of worldwide airports, and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway all make the nation indispensable for Eurasian logistics. Provided that the EU is already investing 10 billion euros in growing the identical route, it's clear that TRIPP will not be solely a U.S. curiosity but in addition a strategic necessity for Europe.

On the identical time, renewable power initiatives are advancing. In November 2024, throughout COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan signed a strategic partnership settlement for the manufacturing and transmission of inexperienced power. The Central Asia-Azerbaijan Inexperienced Power Hall undertaking is being promoted with assist from the Asian Growth Financial institution and the Asian Infrastructure Funding Financial institution.

Azerbaijan’s Power Minister, Parviz Shahbazov, just lately said that intensive work is underway to make sure the supply of 4 out of 6 GW of renewable power produced in Azerbaijan via the Caspian-Black Sea-Europe hall by 2032. He emphasised that the Azerbaijan-Türkiye-Europe and Azerbaijan-Georgia-Türkiye-Bulgaria tasks might function a bridge between Central Asia and Europe, forming a unified inexperienced power platform from Asia to the EU.

Integrating fiber-optic techniques into these routes additional amplifies the affect: that is not nearly power, but in addition about digital and transport connectivity, additional rising Azerbaijan’s strategic significance.

At this time, because the world’s main powers maintain parallel summits with Central Asia, a transparent image emerges: the house between the Caspian and the Tien Shan is progressively changing into one of many key nodes of world connectivity. But nobody in Brussels, Beijing, or Washington can afford to disregard the purpose the place all these routes converge - Azerbaijan.

President Ilham Aliyev's constant technique has turned Baku right into a central hub of the Eurasian structure, whether or not in transport, power, or communications. Because of this coverage, Azerbaijan has grow to be not solely a dependable companion for Central Asian international locations but in addition a key operator of the routes via which the area reaches Europe.

Forward of the Third EU-Central Asia Financial Discussion board, Brussels faces a second of fact: Central Asia can't be thought of in isolation from Azerbaijan. No route, power hall, or inexperienced undertaking within the area might be sustainable with out passing via Baku.

If the EU actually intends to strengthen its partnership with Central Asia, it should acknowledge Azerbaijan’s pivotal position in all regional tasks. With out it, the image is incomplete and the technique unworkable. At this time, nobody in Eurasia doubts that Azerbaijan performs a central, system-shaping position in regional initiatives. It’s time for Europe to see this clearly as nicely.

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