Treaty Signing and High-Level Talks
Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan signed a Treaty on Eternal Friendship on Sunday in Tashkent, during Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's two-day state visit. The signing ceremony followed a narrow-format meeting and the third session of the Supreme Interstate Council, co-chaired by President Aliyev and his Uzbek counterpart, Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
According to a report carried by Sputnik International, Azerbaijani Presidential Aide Hikmet Hajiyev confirmed the country's intention to sign the treaty, noting that bilateral relations already have the character of a strategic alliance.
Trade and Investment Targets
The two countries set a target of raising bilateral trade to $1 billion (€856 million) by 2030. As reported by Euronews.com, President Aliyev, speaking to Uzbekistan's state news agency UzA before his visit, said trade reached $795 million (€680 million) in 2025, more than three times the previous year's level. Trade between January and May 2026 reached $144 million (€123 million), up 33% year-on-year.
In 2023, the two governments established the Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan Investment Company with $500 million (€428 million) in capital to finance projects in both countries. During the visit, the leaders inaugurated or launched Azerbaijani-backed projects in banking, construction, education, fuel retail, tourism, housing, mining, and agriculture. These include a gypsum plant, two STEAM schools, five planned SOCAR filling stations, and a facility to process silver-bearing ore.
President Mirziyoyev described the projects as part of a broader investment portfolio covering energy, geology, chemicals, construction, finance, and agriculture. In the banking sector, Azerbaijan's state-owned ABB is negotiating the acquisition of a 51% stake in Uzbekistan's Davr Bank. According to S&P Global, the deal exceeds $100 million (€86 million) and remains subject to regulatory approvals.
Energy and Connectivity
President Aliyev said bilateral oil and gas exploration projects were nearing their final stage, with drilling of production wells potentially starting next year if exploration results are positive. He also noted that the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, now under development, could eventually connect with the Middle Corridor and other routes through the South Caucasus.
The two leaders agreed to strengthen connectivity through the Middle Corridor, focusing on improving logistics infrastructure and increasing freight traffic along the trans-Caspian network. President Mirziyoyev announced plans to step up work on creating a joint fleet on the Caspian Sea. Transit freight between the two countries reached 1.4 million tonnes in 2025, and in the first half of 2026 volumes rose 12.2% year-on-year to 675,000 tonnes.
According to Euronews.com, the European Union is backing the Trans-Caspian network through its Global Gateway strategy, aiming to connect Europe and Central Asia in 15 days or less. In 2024, European and international partners announced €10 billion in ongoing and planned transport investment commitments in Central Asia. In June, the European Commission signed agreements with international financial institutions expected to mobilise up to €2 billion for connectivity projects in the Black Sea region and South Caucasus.
Additionally, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan are developing a green-energy corridor to connect their power systems and explore transmitting renewable electricity across the Caspian to Azerbaijan and potentially onwards to European markets.
Major Projects and Cultural Initiatives
As part of the visit, the leaders inaugurated the new campus of the Nizami National Pedagogical University in New Tashkent, a 40-hectare complex designed for 20,000 students. They also launched work on a four-hectare Azerbaijan Park in New Tashkent, mirroring an Uzbekistan Park planned in Baku.
A notable project highlighted by Euronews.com is the Sea Breeze Uzbekistan development, a planned year-round tourism and residential project by Azerbaijan's Agalarov Development at the Charvak reservoir in the Bostanlyk district of Tashkent region. Uzbek government figures put planned investment in the 577-hectare project at $5 billion (€4.28 billion). A public environmental impact assessment hearing was held in January, and Uzbek authorities said wastewater would be carried outside the reservoir's coastal zone to treatment facilities.
Sports and Cultural Cooperation
Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan will jointly host the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2027, following a FIFA Council decision in 2025. President Mirziyoyev announced a joint programme dubbed "Two countries – one championship" as part of preparations for the tournament.
The visit also included an exchange of the countries' highest state honours: President Aliyev received Uzbekistan's Order of Oliy Darajali Dustlik, while President Mirziyoyev was awarded Azerbaijan's Heydar Aliyev Order.
The two sides signed agreements on pensions, culture, and tourism, as well as cooperation between their foreign and justice ministries. They also agreed on city-to-city partnerships pairing Urgench with Khankendi and Nakhchivan, and Bukhara with Lachin.
The relationship has deepened since the two countries upgraded their ties by signing a Treaty on Allied Relations in 2024.