Category: Azer News

Iranian Ambassador to Georgia Seyyed Ali Moujani has been summoned to the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs over a social media post concerning Queen Ketevan.

According to the Georgian Foreign Ministry, Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandre Khvtisiashvili told the Iranian ambassador during the meeting that his statements published on social media went beyond the scope of diplomatic activities.

The Iranian diplomat was informed that diplomatic representatives accredited in Georgia must operate within the framework of their diplomatic mandate and authority, observe accepted norms of diplomatic relations, and refrain from commenting on the host country’s historical and domestic affairs.

Earlier, Moujani posted an image of Georgian Queen Ketevan projected onto the facade of the Iranian Embassy and said he would soon present the findings of his preliminary research into the historical figure.

Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Georgian Parliament, Nikoloz Samkharadze, has called on Iran’s ambassador to Georgia to remain within the framework of diplomatic protocol and refrain from making historical references.

Speaking to Georgia’s First Channel, Samkharadze said this was not the first time the Iranian ambassador had made controversial remarks, including statements concerning historical facts.

The digital sector still accounts for a relatively small share of Azerbaijan’s economy, but recent figures show that it is growing significantly faster than the economy as a whole. The results for January-August 2026 are particularly notable in terms of investment: investment in the information and communications sector increased by 49.4% in real terms to ?320 million ($188.24 million). During the same period, the value added generated by the sector increased by 10.7% to ?1.775 billion ($1.04 billion).

These two figures actually illustrate the main question facing Azerbaijan’s digital economy. On the one hand, investment is increasing by 49.4%. On the other hand, the sector’s real value added is growing by 10.7%. In other words, the increase in capital investment is considerably higher than the sector’s current economic growth. This is not a problem in itself. In particular, returns from infrastructure-related investments may materialize over years rather than immediately. The main issue is how much additional value, productivity, new services and exports the ?320 million ($188.24 million) investment can generate in the coming years.

The information and communications sector currently accounts for 2% of Azerbaijan’s total GDP. In January-August, the country’s GDP amounted to ?87.7 billion ($51.59 billion), of which ?61.5 billion ($36.18 billion) came from the non-oil and gas sector. The ICT sector’s share of non-oil and gas GDP reaching 2.9% also shows that the sector is still relatively small. Nevertheless, while the non-oil and gas economy grew by 2.1% in real terms in the first eight months of 2026, growth in the information and communications sector stood at 10.7%.

The ICT sector is growing significantly faster than the economy as a whole. The bigger issue is what lies behind this growth and whether it is translating into higher productivity, stronger investment returns and greater economic value.

The sector providing ?2.748 billion ($1.616 billion) worth of services in the first eight months of 2026 presents an interesting detail in this regard. Of this amount, ?868 million ($510.6 million), or 31.6%, came from mobile communications, while ?455 million ($267.6 million), or 16.6%, came from internet services. Software development and related consulting services accounted for ?435 million ($255.9 million), or 15.8%, of total services. More interestingly, software development and related consulting services increased by 39.4% in real terms over the year. Growth in internet services stood at 21.3%, while information services grew by 13.4%.

These figures can be considered one of the possible signs of structural change in the ICT sector. Mobile communications is still the sector’s largest source of revenue, but the faster growth of software development and related services shows that activities generating higher added value are expanding.

This is precisely where the main opportunity for Azerbaijan emerges. The future of the digital economy will depend on how effectively Azerbaijan can turn better connectivity and wider digital access into higher-value economic activity. A greater economic impact can come from exporting software, cloud services, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data services and other digital products to regional markets.

The ?320 million ($188.2 million) invested in the ICT sector is significant, particularly when compared with the sector’s overall contribution to the economy. Azerbaijan’s total investment in fixed capital across the economy reached ?12.68 billion ($7.46 billion) in the first eight months of 2026, with information and communications accounting for approximately 2.5% of the total.

On the other hand, the fact that the average monthly nominal wage in the ICT sector reached ?2,137 ($1,257) in January-July 2026 is also noteworthy. This figure is significantly higher than the average monthly wage nationwide. At the same time, the number of employees working under employment contracts in the sector stood at 34,200 as of August 1. The sector currently employs a relatively small workforce, although its wage levels suggest room for further growth in higher-income employment.

As a result, the key indicator for Azerbaijan’s digital economy in the coming years should not be simply how many percent the ICT sector grows. More important questions will be how much productivity the investment generates, how much exports of software and digital services increase, how the number of highly skilled jobs changes, and how much the ICT sector’s 2.9% share of non-oil and gas GDP rises.

Azerbaijan is already investing more resources in digitalization. The main issue now is not for that investment to create greater consumption of digital services within the country, but to translate into the production of higher-value-added products and services and their expansion into foreign markets. If this happens, the sector that currently accounts for 2% of GDP could become a more significant pillar of Azerbaijan’s non-oil economy in the future.

On September 30, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received Lord Vernon Coaker, Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The minister expressed gratitude for the reception and stated that he was greatly honored to be in Azerbaijan and meet with the President of Azerbaijan.

Touching upon the importance of the ADEX 2026 and Securex Caspian exhibitions held in Baku, Lord Vernon Coaker noted his country’s interest in participating in the events. He thanked President Ilham Aliyev for the high-level organization of the exhibitions.

Stating that Azerbaijan is a very important and friendly country for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the minister emphasized the UK’s interest in continuing this friendship.

Expressing gratitude to Lord Vernon Coaker for attending the exhibitions, the head of state noted that the ADEX exhibition has grown into an important international event over the years.

President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that a new chapter has been opened in the bilateral partnership between Azerbaijan and the United Kingdom – cooperation in the field of the defence industry.

The head of state mentioned that investments have been made in the defense industry in Azerbaijan for more than 20 years, and products are already manufactured for domestic consumption and export. President Ilham Aliyev touched upon potential cooperation with leading companies regarding the delivery of modern weapons and equipment to Azerbaijan, as well as the establishment of joint ventures in Azerbaijan, highlighting the importance of partnership with the United Kingdom in this context.

Azercosmos is seeking to expand the international reach of its satellite services, using platforms such as ADEX 2026 to showcase Azerbaijani space technologies to potential foreign customers and explore new export opportunities.

Speaking to AzerNews on the sidelines of ADEX 2026, Yolchu Hasanov, Advisor to the Chairman of Azercosmos, said the company’s participation in the exhibition is focused on presenting new technologies and products to both domestic and international customers.

‘Our participation in ADEX as Azercosmos is primarily aimed at introducing new technologies and presenting our new products to both local and foreign customers. We are showcasing our solutions in telecommunications as well as the solutions we provide using Earth observation satellites,’ Hasanov said.

Beyond demonstrating existing capabilities, ADEX provides Azercosmos with an opportunity to establish direct contacts with international participants and visitors. According to Hasanov, such meetings form part of the company’s strategy to increase its export potential.

‘The main objective, as I mentioned, is both to present our capabilities to local customers and to hold productive meetings with participants and visitors coming from abroad. As a result of these meetings, our primary goal is to increase our export potential to foreign countries,’ he said.

Azercosmos is seeking to take solutions already applied domestically and adapt them for customers in international markets.

‘We want to implement the solutions that we apply in Azerbaijan in foreign countries as well,’ Hasanov said.

The company has already established a significant international footprint through its telecommunications satellite services.

Hasanov noted that Azercosmos telecommunications satellite services are currently used across 39 African countries.

‘Our telecommunications satellite is currently used in 39 African countries. It is used for television broadcasting as well as data and internet services,’ he said.

Africa therefore represents an established market for Azercosmos, while Central Asia is increasingly emerging as another direction for the company’s international expansion.

Hasanov said Azercosmos has begun applying abroad the experience it has accumulated through Earth observation projects in Azerbaijan, with particular attention currently being paid to Central Asian markets.

‘In the field of Earth observation satellites, we have started applying the same work and solutions that we have implemented in Azerbaijan in foreign countries, particularly in Central Asia,’ he said.

According to Hasanov, Azercosmos is also exploring opportunities across Central Asia and the wider Turkic-speaking world, where the company sees potential to deploy its expertise and technological capabilities.

The approach reflects an effort by Azercosmos to move beyond providing satellite capacity alone and expand the export of satellite-based services and solutions developed through its experience in Azerbaijan.

Its presence at ADEX 2026 consequently serves a dual purpose: presenting Azerbaijan’s existing space capabilities to domestic users while connecting those technologies with potential customers abroad.

With telecommunications services already reaching dozens of African countries and Earth observation solutions increasingly being promoted in Central Asia, Azercosmos is positioning international markets as an important component of its future growth.

A post highlighting the ADEX 2026 exhibition has been shared on the social media accounts of President Ilham Aliyev.

The post reads: ‘ADEX 2026 – the 6th Azerbaijan International Defence Exhibition and Securex Caspian – the 15th International Exhibition for Internal Security, Safety and Rescue Equipment were held at the Baku Expo Center.

President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva viewed the exhibitions.”

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Tuesday that the country had been “on the wrong path for a long time,” citing deindustrialization and Brexit as he pledged to break with the direction of the past 40 years.

Addressing the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, Burnham said his government would publish a 10-year plan for Britain later this year.

He also said a strengthened water bill would be brought before Parliament, leasehold reform legislation would be introduced before Christmas, and ministers would draw up a national energy plan.

Still, Burnham said the government would pursue its agenda “responsibly” while sticking to its fiscal rules.

‘Strengthening defense capability and ensuring national security are among the priority areas of Azerbaijan’s state policy,’ President Ilham Aliyev said in his address to the participants of ADEX 2026 – the 6th Azerbaijan International Defence Exhibition and Securex Caspian 2026 – the 15th Anniversary International Exhibition for Internal Security, Safety and Rescue Equipment.

‘As a result of consistent measures, our country’s defense industry, having undergone significant development, has now entered a qualitatively new stage and significantly expanded its production capabilities. Defense products manufactured by local enterprises, while occupying an important place in the supply of our Armed Forces, also stand out for their competitiveness in international markets and are met with particular interest by relevant institutions in various countries. The achievements made by Azerbaijan in the field of defense industry serve to strengthen our country’s military-technical potential and deepen cooperation with friendly and partner states,’ the head of state said in his address.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev addressed the participants of ADEX 2026 – the 6th Azerbaijan International Defence Exhibition and Securex Caspian 2026 – the 15th Anniversary International Exhibition for Internal Security, Safety and Rescue Equipment.

AzerNEWS presents the address:

“Esteemed exhibition participants and dear guests,

I congratulate you on the occasion of the opening of ADEX 2026 – the 6th Azerbaijan International Defence Exhibition and Securex Caspian 2026 – the 15th Anniversary International Exhibition for Internal Security, Safety and Rescue Equipment, and sincerely welcome you to Azerbaijan.

It is gratifying to witness that the ADEX exhibition, traditionally held in the city of Baku, has transformed into one of the region’s most authoritative and beneficial defense industry platforms. The growing interest in this exhibition year after year, along with the participation of numerous countries and leading companies, clearly reflects the relevance and international prestige of the event.

Bringing together defense industry institutions, military experts, and companies from friendly and partner nations, this important international exhibition creates valuable opportunities to showcase the latest technologies across various sectors of the defense industry, modern weapons systems, samples of military equipment, and innovative solutions; discuss new prospects for cooperation; and establish mutually beneficial partnerships.

Strengthening defense capability and ensuring national security are among the priority areas of Azerbaijan’s state policy. As a result of consistent measures, our country’s defense industry, having undergone significant development, has now entered a qualitatively new stage and significantly expanded its production capabilities. Defense products manufactured by local enterprises, while occupying an important place in the supply of our Armed Forces, also stand out for their competitiveness in international markets and are met with particular interest by relevant institutions in various countries. The achievements made by Azerbaijan in the field of defense industry serve to strengthen our country’s military-technical potential and deepen cooperation with friendly and partner states.

Today, the quality and reliability of Azerbaijan’s defense industry products are highly appreciated at the international level. The ADEX exhibition is of particular significance in presenting to the international community the strength and potential of our country’s defense-industrial complex, including its innovative technologies, as well as modern products and new achievements of defense industry enterprises from our partner countries.

The Securex Caspian exhibition, taking place alongside ADEX and marking its 15th anniversary edition this year, has, for its part, gained great prestige as one of the specialized events demonstrating advanced technologies in the fields of security, protection, rescue, and emergency management.

I am confident that the ADEX and Securex Caspian exhibitions will make an important contribution to establishing new business contacts among participants, as well as strengthening military-technical cooperation.

I sincerely welcome each of you once again and wish the exhibitions every success and all participants fruitful work!”

Trkiye is continuing preparations to establish a second Turkish Trade Center in the United States as part of efforts to expand the presence of Turkish companies in the US market and strengthen exports of goods and services, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat said.

‘We aim to further increase the effectiveness of our Turkish business community in the US market and strengthen our exports of goods and services,’ Bolat said.

According to a written statement from the Ministry of Trade, Bolat is currently in the United States to attend meetings of G20 trade ministers and the ministerial meeting of the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity (GFSEC).

As part of his visit, Bolat, accompanied by an official delegation, visited the TOBB Turkish Trade Center (TOBB TTM) in Chicago, which was established by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Trkiye (TOBB) with support from the Ministry of Trade.

Bolat said the United States is the world’s largest importing country, with a population of approximately 375 million and an import volume of $3.3 trillion.

He said the delegation had examined the activities of TOBB TTM on site, noting that the facility provides Turkish companies with important opportunities under the Overseas Logistics Distribution Networks (YLDA) Project, in addition to operating as a trade center.

Bolat recalled that the ministry introduced YLDA support in 2022, saying the objective was to establish an end-to-end logistics infrastructure that would allow Turkish exporters to access international supply and distribution chains more quickly and under more competitive conditions.

He said three YLDA projects are currently active in Europe, centered on Dsseldorf, Frankfurt-Alzenau and Berlin-Marseille, while two are operating in the United States, based in Chicago and New Jersey, in line with projects approved by the Ministry of Trade.

According to Bolat, these networks contribute to increasing Trkiye’s goods and services export capacity and help exporters maintain sustainable operations in major international markets.

‘The activities carried out by TOBB in the US under the Turkish Trade Center structure have been transformed into a Chicago-centered YLDA operation within the framework of our Ministry’s YLDA support. The Chicago-centered YLDA project was approved by our Ministry on October 21, 2022,’ Bolat said.

‘Under this framework, satellite warehouses have been planned in major commercial centers such as Las Vegas, Tacoma, Kent, Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, Savannah, Dallas, New Jersey and Philadelphia,’ he added.

Bolat said the Chicago-centered YLDA project provides Turkish companies with support in areas including market research, establishing business contacts, company formation, legal and financial consultancy, as well as logistics and operational processes.

The infrastructure also provides a range of services for Turkish export products from a single point, including storage, loading and unloading, handling, shipment, cargo consolidation and splitting, and distribution to different regions across the United States.

‘This infrastructure makes it possible to deliver Turkish export products to their final buyers in less than 24 hours, reduce transportation costs through cargo consolidation and provide Turkish companies with savings of up to 50 percent on storage costs,’ Bolat said.

Bolat said 165 companies had benefited from YLDA services to date.

He added that more than 500 Turkish companies had received support over the past five years, including 150 companies during the past year, to increase their exports to the US market, with such support continuing.

Bolat said trade and economic relations between Trkiye and the United States were developing with strong momentum.

Bilateral trade volume reached $38.5 billion last year, and Trkiye expects it to increase by around 10 percent to between $42 billion and $43 billion by the end of this year, he said.

The two countries are targeting bilateral trade of $50 billion by the end of 2028, according to Bolat.

He said the mutual increase in exports and imports was a positive development in terms of deepening economic relations between Trkiye and the United States.

‘We consider the TOBB Turkish Trade Center and YLDA structure in Chicago to be important infrastructure that increases the competitiveness of our Turkish companies in the US and North American markets. We are also continuing preparations to establish a second Turkish Trade Center in the United States,’ Bolat said.

‘Thus, we aim to further increase the effectiveness of our Turkish business community in the US market and strengthen our exports of goods and services,’ he added.

The United States and Iran have moved to discussions on the mechanism for implementing a plan to resolve their conflict and on guarantees under their indirect negotiations, Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya reported.

According to the broadcaster, mediators have already conveyed Washington’s response to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

It was noted that Iran’s proposed seven-day plan would require “significant adjustments’ before any progress could be made. The main issues currently under discussion are the sequence for implementing the agreements and which side should take the first step.

The situation has heightened concerns on both sides over the possibility of renewed military conflict.

It was previously reported that efforts by Qatari mediators to achieve a diplomatic breakthrough between the United States and Iran had so far failed to produce results.

According to Axios, US officials believe President Donald Trump could order the resumption of large-scale military operations after the midterm elections.