Deputy minister: Azerbaijan increasing its contribution to transport, energy infrastructure of South Caucasus

Azerbaijan is increasing its investment in the transport and energy infrastructure of the South Caucasus, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Fariz Rzayev said at the first Azerbaijan International Investment Forum (AIIF 2025), Report informs.

He noted that in the early 1990s, under the leadership of national leader Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan made a number of strategic decisions, opening the South Caucasus, Caspian Basin, and Central Asia to international cooperation and economic activity.

"Previously, the region was literally closed geopolitically, economically, and most importantly, in terms of transportation and connectivity. There were no corridors, no new pipelines, no railways," Rzayev noted.

He added that in the early 1990s, major oil and gas companies were invited to Azerbaijan to develop fields, and then new modern pipelines and export routes to the West were built.

"We are continuing this strategy by building the first railway physically connecting the South Caucasus, Caspian Basin, and Central Asia with Türkiye and Europe," the deputy minister said.

Rzayev also addressed the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP – a 42-kilometer section of the Zangazur Corridor on Armenian territory): "We must place the new TRIPP initiative in this historical context so we can discuss it in more detail."