The Ankara Center for Crisis and Policy Studies (ANKASAM) presents its interview with Dávid Biró, Senior Advisor and Research and Academic Network Lead at the Ludovika Center for Turkic Studies, on Azerbaijan’s full participation in the Central Asian Heads of State Consultative Meetings format and its regional implications.
1. As Turkmenistan prepares to host the upcoming Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia, what does Azerbaijan’s full-fledged participation in the format indicate about the evolving scope of regional cooperation?
The Consultative Meetings are a qualitative change in the ways of conducting Central Asia activities, which brings Azerbaijan from the status of an “invited guest of honour” to full-fledged participation. This change is reflected in the decision made at the Seventh Consultative Meeting in Tashkent in November 2025, and renamed as “Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia and Azerbaijan” in 2026 with the chairmanship of Turkmenistan, where the C5 format shall be expanded to the six-party format.
Hosting the first official summit in this new format in Avaza on 8 October 2026, Turkmenistan is contributing to the institutionalisation of a wider Central Asia–Caspian region, based on shared history, language affinities and interdependence in energy transport. Leaders of the two countries have explicitly said this is to build a ‘unified geopolitical and geo-economic space’, where Central Asia and Azerbaijan will play a pivotal role in the transcontinental, multivector connectivity between Asia and Europe.
The key to Azerbaijan’s full participation is from the periphery to the center of Central Asian regionalism: the country now coshapes agendas, joint declarations and concepts, such as the 2025 “Concept of regional security, stability and sustainable development in Central Asia,” rather than aligning with them ex post.
This is the case for many Central Asian capitals and Baku alike, which enjoy a substantial footing to further synchronize their perspectives on the region’s challenges, from security to climate, transport corridors to digital infrastructure, and which have a reliable West-facing gateway alongside their pivotal relationship with Russia and China.
2. Which areas offer the greatest potential for practical cooperation among the participating states in the coming years?
The draft agenda for the Avaza summit outlined by Turkmenistan already outlines the main areas of practical cooperation in five clusters: political‑diplomatic cooperation, trade and economic cooperation (energy and transport), environment and water resources, and cultural and educational cooperation. In my view, three overlapping areas stand out and will grow in the coming years: connectivity and logistics, energy and green transition, and cooperation in education and science and youth mobility, shaped by the human dimension.
First, transport and logistics are the natural backbone of the format: Central Asian countries are landlocked economies, which requires reliable corridors to the world market; Azerbaijan’s ports, rail systems and South Caucasus transit infrastructure provide such corridors. The Middle Corridor/Trans‑Caspian International Transport Route, leaders have been repeatedly emphasizing, will be helped by the coordination of customs regimes, harmonization of technical standards, and joint investment in ports, railway and dry ports in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.
Second, synergies of energy cooperation-oil, gas, electricity and renewables—are immediate and long-term: oil/gas pipelines of the Caspian can be integrated in the consultative format, while joint projects are possible in gas processing, petrochemicals, hydrogen and renewables, and can be linked to European decarbonization agendas. There is space for coordination on policies of supply diversification, investment, pricing, and infrastructure development of the gas, particularly due to the growing needs of European countries, as well as the ideas of security and sustainable development that are being embraced by the leaders of Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan and other regional leaders.
Third, opportunities for environmental cooperation, particularly in the area of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya basins and the Aral Sea, and in the cultural, educational and scientific field, are large, as the agenda of Avaza already contemplates an increase in exchanges. Climate adaptation, water use efficiency and desertification control will be the areas where joint initiatives can be introduced to strengthen “social infrastructure” of Central Asia-Azerbaijan integration and ensure sustainability of political decisions over time, as well as through student and youth programs.
3. How could the expanded format support stronger trade, transport, energy and digital connectivity across the Caspian region?
The expanded format is deliberately centered on connectivity, both physically and digitally, and the summit on Avaza is specifically focusing on how sustainable transport and logistics corridors can be built, how energy cooperation can be increased, and how trade can be facilitated. Its aim is to unite all five Central Asian states with Azerbaijan, which will subsequently allow the Middle Corridor, as well as the Trans-Caspian route and associated infrastructure (ports, rail lines, energy pipelines, fiber-optic cables etc.) to be planned and optimized in a single political framework, rather than in individual bilateral deals.
The informal meeting and the Declaration in Cholpon‑Ata already highlighted clear priorities as far as trade and transport are concerned, such as trade facilitation, coordinated transport and logistics policies, and consolidating strategic partnership across the Caspian. In the consultative format, it may manifest in joint promotion of the Middle Corridor on international platforms, preparation of common standards for digitalizing and simplifying customs clearance, as well as papers for interoperable e‑document systems, etc., which directly lead to cost and time reduction when transporting cargo from China to Central Asian countries and from the Caspian Sea to Europe.
In energy, the configuration of Central Asia and Azerbaijan can help facilitate more consistent discussions about energy routing of the Caspian, energy trade and integration of renewables, with Azerbaijan’s experience in managing large-scale energy projects, and Central Asia’s increasingly abundant energy resources. The consultative mechanism provides a platform to coordinate pipeline, LNG and interconnector projects with transport corridors and develop an energy- and logistics-integrated project framework instead of standalone ones.
Lastly, digital connectivity – as represented by “Digital SilkRoad” – can be integrated into the broader connectivity agenda of the format as promoted by the Azerbaijani leaders. Investments in cross‑border fiber‑optic cables, data centres and digital platforms for trade, transport and border management, not only would modernise the Middle Corridor, but might also help to make the Middle Corridor a more integrated and influential part of Eurasia in terms of physical and virtual infrastructure.
The Consultative Meeting in Avaza – and Azerbaijan’s wider engagement – is an integral part of a unified and coherent Central Asia–Caspian cooperation space where political dialogue and institutional arrangements are clearly focused on tangible connectivity and development outcomes.
