Jaishankar meets Aliyev in Baku as India, Azerbaijan seek closer ties

New Delhi: The external affairs minister, S Jaishankar, met Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, in Baku on Friday as the two countries explored expanding bilateral relations following earlier diplomatic differences. He also held talks with the foreign minister, Jeyhun Bayramov, covering trade, investment, energy, transport and regional developments.

According to the Azerbaijani presidency, Jaishankar conveyed greetings from the president, Droupadi Murmu, and the prime minister, Narendra Modi, and said he was visiting on Modi’s instructions. Both sides identified opportunities for cooperation in political, economic, high-technology, cultural and humanitarian fields.

In an official post on X, Jaishankar said: “Pleased to call on @presidentaz Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan in Baku this morning. Conveyed the greetings of@rashtrapatibhvn and PM Modi. Discussed strengthening the relationship between our two countries. Appreciate his positive sentiments for this shared endeavour.”

Aliyev also recalled his September 1 meeting with Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek.

Trade and regional connectivity take centre stage

Discussions with Bayramov covered tourism, education, science and cultural cooperation, alongside energy and investment. Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said the ministers also reviewed opportunities involving the East-West and North-South transport corridors, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, Port of Baku and Alat Free Economic Zone.

At a joint press conference, Bayramov said bilateral trade reached $600 million during the first nine months of 2026, with more than 1,000 Indian companies operating in Azerbaijan. India’s embassy had recorded trade of $401 million in 2025, while ONGC Videsh has invested over $1.2 billion in Azerbaijan’s oil and gas assets.

Jaishankar invited Bayramov to visit India and thanked Azerbaijan for helping evacuate Indian nationals, particularly students, from Iran earlier this year. The ministers also discussed Azerbaijan-Armenia normalization, regional confidence-building measures and continuing landmine threats.

Earlier diplomatic differences acknowledged

Bayramov acknowledged that disagreements in recent years had affected bilateral ties and international cooperation. “Today, we discussed all these issues very openly and in detail,” he said, expressing hope that the engagement would create new opportunities.

Relations faced strains during Operation Sindoor in May 2025, when Azerbaijan condemned Indian military strikes in Pakistan and expressed solidarity with Islamabad. Baku also called for restraint and a diplomatic resolution.

On October 16, India’s ambassador to Azerbaijan, Abhay Kumar, presented his credentials to president, Aliyev. During the meeting, he conveyed New Delhi’s commitment to expanding bilateral cooperation, with discussions also highlighting historical and cultural connections between the two countries.

Friday’s engagement followed foreign office consultations in April and the visit of the minister of state for external affairs, Kirti Vardhan Singh, to the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) summit in Baku on October 15.

No new bilateral agreement was announced in the official accounts reviewed. The discussions nevertheless established further ministerial exchanges and expanded economic cooperation as priorities for continued engagement.