India, Azerbaijan seek stronger trade and energy ties in Baku

S Jaishankar and Jeyhun Bayramov held talks in Baku to expand bilateral cooperation. The meeting signalled closer coordination on commerce, connectivity, energy and regional diplomacy.Baku,Oct 23, 2026 20:34 ISTExternal Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov on Friday, focusing on strengthening cooperation in trade, investment, energy, tourism and connectivity, news agency Press Trust of India reported.During his day-long visit to Azerbaijan, Jaishankar also discussed regional and international developments, cooperation in multilateral forums and ways to deepen political and people-to-people ties between the two countries.In a press statement after the meeting in Baku, Jaishankar described the discussions as “very productive” and said they had helped chart the way forward for bilateral relations. “Our talks dwelt on further expanding our bilateral relations. We spoke about economic cooperation, including in trade, investment and energy, which are central to our bilateral ties. Given our complementary economies, we believe that there is very good scope for further enhancement of our bilateral trade and investment,” he said.The two ministers also discussed ongoing activities and exchanges and ways to take them forward. On connectivity, Jaishankar said both countries were involved in the International North-South Transport Corridor and had agreed to coordinate more closely. “We spoke about connectivity, because that is so important in a globalised economy. We are both invested in the International North-South Transport Corridor. That's very important for us. We agreed today that we will coordinate more closely in that regard,” he said.The 7,200-km corridor is a transport network designed to move freight among India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe. India supports the project. In a post on X, Jaishankar said the two sides had agreed to deepen political consultations, increase visits, expand economic activity, improve connectivity and promote people-to-people ties. He also said they had agreed to strengthen cooperation in oil and energy and extend it to other sectors.Bayramov said he was delighted to welcome Jaishankar and exchange views on the state and prospects of Azerbaijan-India relations, including political dialogue, trade and investment, energy, tourism and cultural ties. “We also discussed regional and international developments, and cooperation within multilateral frameworks. Emphasised the importance of continued dialogue and exploring opportunities for cooperation in areas of mutual interest,” he posted on X.On air connectivity, Jaishankar said daily flights were operating but both sides needed to consider ways to increase them further. He also thanked Bayramov for helping evacuate Indian nationals, particularly students, from Iran during the conflict earlier this year. “We have Indian students in Azerbaijan. I want to thank you for the care and consideration with which you look after them,” PTI quoted him as saying.Jaishankar suggested resuming and increasing the participation of Azerbaijani professionals from different fields in the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation programme.Referring to regional developments, Jaishankar welcomed the August peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia and expressed hope that it would lead to lasting peace. “India has a very clear position that disputes should be settled through dialogue and diplomacy. And in that context, we had, of course, our discussions covered the Middle East, Europe and Eurasia,” he said.He said the two sides had assessed the global impact of conflicts, particularly on economies in the Global South, which faced problems related to food, fuel, fertiliser and finance. “We have a common interest in really promoting peace and progress and prosperity,” he said, adding that terrorism, conflict and instability were “our common enemies”.Jaishankar said the two countries had also exchanged views on reforming and expanding international and regional organisations to make them more contemporary and relevant. He invited Bayramov to visit India at a convenient time.Earlier, Jaishankar called on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral ties. He conveyed greetings from President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Jaishankar said his visit followed the recent meeting between Modi and Aliyev on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek.“Our discussions were focused; they were forward-looking, and we exchanged views on various aspects of our relationship. In fact, the President was kind enough to give a lot of time to review really the entire gamut of our ties, including ongoing cooperation, what we could be doing more, what we could be doing differently,” Jaishankar said.“We also discussed important regional and global developments from a strategic perspective,” he said, adding that both countries were independently minded and could take their own positions on important issues.The two sides agreed to exchange trade delegations and groups working in other areas of cooperation. Jaishankar said India and Azerbaijan shared a long history of cultural and people-to-people exchanges. “We respect each other's culture and values, and that provides a very good foundation to work towards a more contemporary partnership,” he said.He said mechanisms such as Foreign Office Consultations could provide a detailed roadmap for developing bilateral ties. Referring to a recent visit by the Minister of State for External Affairs to Baku for the seventh summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, Jaishankar said India highly valued Azerbaijan's chairmanship of the grouping.The visit focused on expanding India-Azerbaijan relations through stronger economic cooperation, better connectivity, greater exchanges and continued dialogue on regional and global issues.With PTI Inputs- Ends