ISLAMABAD : Monitoring Desk – The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan , HE Ilham Aliyev has expressed his vision on connectivity in Eurasia through his country via Zangezur Corridor. He has said that China, Central Asia will be able to transport their cargo to Europe. President has shared that Armenia will get access to Iran Railway through Nakhchivan and to Russia through mainland Azerbaijan. President was interviewed by media persons on 05 Jan 2026 in Baku.
“Of course, we expect cargo from China and Central Asian countries to travel along the Zangazur Corridor as well. We naturally view it primarily as a link with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, but also as an international transport corridor,” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said.
“Currently, there is only one railway route from Azerbaijan westward. There will be two. Two are always better than one, especially when you have no access to the world ocean and have to go through neighboring countries. It is always better to have an alternative for volumes, to be competitive, to prevent monopolization of the transit route by anyone, and, of course, to ensure more competitive tariffs, he mentioned.
President added, this is a very large sector of our interaction, and, of course, in this case, Azerbaijan is, I believe, a priority partner for the People’s Republic of China in this region, both in terms of volumes of trade and potential, and also as a country distributing the flow from the South Caucasus to further destinations, so to speak. And these flows, as we all understand, can go in many directions.
Aliyev said , from here, they can go in two directions to the West, and then again in two directions through the Zangazur Corridor in the southern direction, towards the Middle East and the Persian Gulf, and, of course, in the northern direction, which will also be fully utilized.
Therefore, Azerbaijan should play the role of a facilitator, so to speak – a country that contributes to the increase in cargo flows, a country that invests in its infrastructure and in the infrastructure of neighboring countries, and a distributor of flows, based, of course, on commercial viability and many other factors.
Therefore, Azerbaijan’s role as a transport hub, especially one that has no access to the world ocean, will naturally grow,” he noted.
ERA OF CONNECTIVITY AND ZANGEZUR CORRIDOR – by Tazeen Akhtar from Islamabad Pakistan
“In parallel with the construction work underway in Garabagh and East Zangezur, we will connect this region to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, whether it is green energy, agriculture or irrigation – large irrigation projects will be implemented there – or tourism. I want to say again that we would have done it anyway, but it is good that we are doing it peacefully,” President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said during an interview .
Emphasizing that Armenia will also only benefit from this, the Azerbaijani President said: “Because Armenia can and will get out of the deadlock it is currently in. Roads will be opened between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Roads will be opened between Türkiye and Armenia. Armenia will gain access to Iranian railways through Nakhchivan and to Russian railways through Azerbaijan. In other words, this is also beneficial for Armenia.”
“There should be no losers here. In any case, there will be no losers from an economic and transport point of view. If someone considers themselves a loser politically, this is, as they say, their own problem. But if everyone looks at this from the point of view of pragmatism, they can get something good for themselves here, President continued.
President said , “Our gas exports are growing with respect to both volume and geography. So far, we have supplied gas to 14 countries, 11 of them on a regular basis.”
“There are countries that received our gas in 2024 but then stopped because of other sources. It is kind of on demand: whenever they need it, we start supply; when they do not need it, we cut it. But in total, the geographical coverage of pipeline gas from Azerbaijan amounts to 14 countries, and two more European countries will be added this year. So in total, it will be 16, and this is the largest number with respect to pipeline gas.”
No other country in the world supplies pipeline gas to as many countries as Azerbaijan. Our exports last year exceeded 25 billion cubic meters, with potential for growth,” the head of state noted.
