Azerbaijan serves as gateway to Central Asia, Apollo Global Management executive says

Azerbaijan effectively serves as a gateway to Central Asia, providing the region's raw materials with access to Western markets, Jonathan Barr, Managing Director for Credit and Structured Finance at Apollo Global Management, said at the Second Azerbaijan International Investment Forum (AIIF 2026) in Baku on Friday, Report informs.

According to him, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan possess significant raw material resources but lack direct access to international markets that Azerbaijan enjoys.

"Azerbaijan effectively acts as a gateway to Central Asia," Barr noted, adding that when Apollo evaluates investments in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, it also considers opportunities to strengthen Azerbaijan's position and facilitate the flow of commodities from these countries through Azerbaijan.

Barr highlighted that Apollo is among the major financial institutions with substantial investments in the region, having invested $1 billion in TANAP alongside SOCAR, $2 billion with BP in TAP and TANAP, and made several investments in financial institutions.

"A few months ago, we announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with SOCAR to increase our presence in the region through SOCAR and direct billions of dollars in investments into regional infrastructure," he noted.

According to Barr, Apollo's priority areas include expanding pipeline infrastructure, as well as investing in railways and processing facilities to transport more commodities from Central Asia through Azerbaijan to global markets.

He also pointed to the potential of the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline, which he estimated could double or triple the volume of gas supplied to Southern Europe. He added that Azerbaijani gas currently accounts for approximately 5% of total EU gas imports, a figure that could potentially increase to around 10%.