Azerbaijan and US sign Charter on Strategic Partnership - UPDATED

Report presents the Charter on Strategic Partnership between Azerbaijan and the United States signed on February 10:

The Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the United States of America:

1. Reaffirm their support for each other's sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders as the foundation of their bilateral relations;

2. Proceed from the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the United States of America regarding the establishment of a Working Group to develop a Strategic Partnership Charter between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America signed on August 8, 2025, in Washington D.C.;

3. Affirm the importance of their strategic partnership across areas of mutual interest and shared benefit, including regional connectivity, economic investment, and security cooperation;

4. Underline their shared desire to strengthen their relationship across issues of mutual interest, including the diplomatic, economic, energy, technological, and security fields;

5. Affirm the vital importance of engaging not only government agencies, but also the private sectors of both countries in planning and implementing a strategic partnership and enhanced cooperation.

Section I: Regional Connectivity, Including Energy, Trade, and Transit

The Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America intend to work together to promote regional connectivity, with a focus on the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor (Middle Corridor) by cooperation on land, maritime, and air transportation infrastructure development; energy and data connectivity; trade and transit facilitation; customs control and border crossing; international multi-modal logistics; and other related areas. They acknowledge the importance of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), as a multi-modal connectivity project that will provide unimpeded connectivity between the main part of the Republic of Azerbaijan and its Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic with reciprocal benefits for international and intra-state connectivity for the countries involved, and unlock the region"s potential for international trade and transit in line with the Washington Peace Summit Declaration of August 8, 2025.

The Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America intend to work toward improving the business climate, and trade and investment flows to promote bilateral economic relations while building upon the productive history of the Azerbaijan-U.S. relationship, which has resulted in the implementation of such projects as the Contract of the Century, the Southern Gas Corridor, and benefited both sides and the broader region through close collaboration. To this end:

1. The Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America intend to expand cooperation to promote economic growth and regional connectivity with a focus on developing the Middle Corridor across the energy, transport and digital infrastructure sectors, including through the development of the TRIPP and other projects;

2. Recognizing the importance of regional connectivity, the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America intend to explore opportunities to mobilize public and private sector investment in the energy and transport sectors as well as digital infrastructure development;

3. Acknowledging the Republic of Azerbaijan"s strategic importance as a reliable partner in energy security, the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America intend to expand energy cooperation including in the oil, gas and electricity sectors bilaterally and through partnerships with third countries toward implementation of joint projects, such as interconnector projects, and diversifying supply routes;

4. The Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America intend to deepen civil nuclear cooperation;

5. The Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America express their intention to cooperate in facilitating the transit of critical minerals via the Middle Corridor to global markets.

Section II: Economic Investment, Including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Infrastructure

1. The Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America intend to expand cooperation to enhance economic growth, promote investment, and improve the bilateral business climate. The United States of America welcomes the Republic of Azerbaijan's efforts to further integrate into the global economy and enhance its position as an energy, trade, data, finance, transport and logistics hub for the Caspian region.

2. The Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America intend to identify strategic opportunities to increase bilateral trade and investment, including through exploring the possibility of convening economic or trade dialogue platforms;

3. The Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America intend to expand cooperation to advance bilateral and regional economic, trade and investment cooperation with the active participation of the private sector;

4. The Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America intend to expand collaboration on developing AI partnerships, and, where appropriate, to promote cooperation in the space industry and investments in digital infrastructure, including the development of AI data centers in the Republic of Azerbaijan in cooperation with the private sector;

5. Building on international best practices, the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America intend to examine the creation of dedicated mechanisms, such as joint R&D support instruments, innovation bridge platforms, and sector-focused initiatives in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence – designed to catalyze private venture capital, de-risk early-stage technology development, and accelerate commercialization;

6. The Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America intend to share best practices and provide technical assistance in application of emerging technologies, platforms, and business practices, foster partnerships for talent development and growth of a skilled tech workforce in the Republic of Azerbaijan based upon a supportive regulatory environment and promote investments for cross-border and Trans-Caspian digital connectivity;

7. The Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America intend to cooperate at the intergovernmental level and through public-private partnerships to support joint research, development, commercialization, technology protection, and voluntary transfer of technologies on mutually determined terms for the development of digital infrastructure and application of AI in the Republic of Azerbaijan, consistent with legal and regulatory frameworks;

Section III: Security Cooperation

Peace in the South Caucasus is in the shared interest of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America and security cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America benefits both nations as well as international and regional peace and security. The United States deeply values Azerbaijan's contributions to international peacekeeping efforts where Azerbaijani forces served alongside the United States and coalition partners to advance international and regional security.

1. The Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America intend to expand the scope of their defense and security cooperation, including defense sales;

2. Given their shared commitment to countering the scourge of terrorism, the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America intend to expand their existing counterterrorism cooperation;

3. The Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America intend to cooperate to increase capabilities in the field of cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection;

4. Being mindful of serious challenges faced by the Republic of Azerbaijan due to contamination with landmines and other explosives, the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America intend to cooperate in capacity building in humanitarian de-mining through financial support and technology transfer.

Section IV: Institutional Framework and implementation

Recognizing the shared desire to implement the commitments of this Charter, the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America may, as part of the existing Strategic Partnership framework, establish working groups on areas of cooperation, including economy and trade; energy; connectivity, AI, and digital development; and security and defense.

Within three months from the signing of the present Charter, the respective Working Groups intend to decide on the list of projects and roadmaps for their implementation.

The Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America intend to meet regularly, at least once in a year within the framework of the present Charter and may create other dialogue platforms as necessary and mutually determined for the implementation of their partnership.

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A Charter on Strategic Partnership between Azerbaijan and the United States was signed on February 10, Report informs.

The "Charter on Strategic Partnership between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the United States of America" was signed by President Ilham Aliyev from the Azerbaijani side and by US Vice President JD Vance from the US side.