Category: Azer News

Azerbaijan and Iran have reviewed the current state of bilateral cooperation in the energy sector during a meeting between Azerbaijan’s Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov and Iran’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Azerbaijan, Mojtaba Demirchilou, AzerNEWS reports, citing the Ministry.

The discussions focused on ongoing joint energy projects, their implementation status, and prospects for further development. The sides exchanged views on strengthening collaboration and accelerating the execution of agreed initiatives.

It was noted that the upcoming session of the Azerbaijan-Iran State Commission on Economic, Trade and Humanitarian Cooperation, scheduled to be held in Baku in the coming days, is expected to give additional momentum to the advancement of existing projects.

Growing trade and investment ties

Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Iran continues to demonstrate steady growth. In 2024, bilateral trade reached $647 million, marking a 33% increase compared to 2023.

Of this total, Azerbaijan exported goods worth $14 million to Iran, while imports from Iran amounted to $633 million. Key imports from Iran include poultry, frozen fish, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, tea, confectionery, construction materials, and various industrial goods. Azerbaijan’s exports to Iran mainly consist of semi-finished steel products, natural gas, electricity, food industry waste, and other commodities.

Currently, more than 1,000 Iranian companies are registered in Azerbaijan. Iranian investments in Azerbaijan have exceeded $3.4 billion, reflecting expanding business engagement between the two neighboring countries.

To date, approximately 30 bilateral agreements have been signed, covering areas such as investment promotion and protection, energy, transport, customs cooperation, tourism, and other sectors.

The continued dialogue and expanding economic indicators underscore the strategic importance of Azerbaijan-Iran relations, particularly in the energy sector, which remains a central pillar of bilateral cooperation.

‘Today, Azerbaijan fully provides itself with key energy sources and even exports them to global markets,’ said President Ilham Aliyev at a meeting dedicated to the unified action plan on ‘Azerbaijan’s New Digital Architecture.’

‘Considering that our plans for the development of renewable energy are also clearly defined – and have been repeatedly discussed – our generation capacity will further increase in the future based on the contracts that have been signed,’ the head of state added.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Norwegian Armed Forces, Eirik Kristoffersen, has stated that he does not rule out the possibility of a Russian attack and confirmed that Oslo is preparing for such a scenario.

As reported by AzerNEWS, citing foreign media reports, Kristoffersen said Russia could potentially launch an attack on Norway under the pretext of securing nuclear facilities located in the country’s far north.

‘We do not exclude the possibility of territorial incursions by Russia. This could form part of a broader plan to protect its nuclear capabilities – the only real instrument it has left that poses a credible threat to the United States,’ Kristoffersen said.

He noted that a significant portion of Russia’s nuclear arsenal is based on the Kola Peninsula, near the Norwegian border. According to the Norwegian military chief, this factor could prove decisive in the event of a direct confrontation between Moscow and NATO.

The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have discussed opportunities to expand cooperation in the areas of finance and investment, AzerNEWS reports, citing the Bank.

Senior officials from the Central Bank and the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan participated in a roundtable meeting held as part of a U.S. Chamber of Commerce business mission to Azerbaijan.

Speaking at the event, dedicated to ‘Finance and Investment,’ CBA Governor Taleh Kazimov emphasized that economic and financial cooperation between Azerbaijan and the United States has significantly expanded in recent years and has reached a strategic level. He noted that the existing partnership, built on mutual trust, creates strong prospects for sustainable development.

Kazimov provided detailed information on the country’s macroeconomic stability, the resilience of the banking and financial sector, the development of financial technologies, digitalization initiatives, sustainable finance instruments, and cross-border payment infrastructure. He highlighted the importance of expanding cooperation with U.S. companies, promoting the exchange of advanced technologies and expertise, and strengthening ties with U.S. banks through previous banking missions.

The CBA governor also expressed gratitude to Kush Choksi, Senior Vice President for International Affairs and Head of Middle East and Trkiye Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, stating his confidence that the business mission would further strengthen business and investment ties between the two countries and reinforce mutual trust. He underscored the Chamber’s role as an important platform fostering trade, innovation, and shared prosperity, and serving as a bridge in the development of bilateral economic relations.

The event concluded with a Q and A session involving representatives of leading U.S. multinational companies, followed by an exchange of views on expanding financial and investment cooperation.

As part of the business mission, a series of meetings have also been organized with Azerbaijani government agencies, senior officials, and private sector representatives, underscoring the importance of deepening economic partnership between the two countries.

The United States is continuing to supply military equipment and weapons to the Middle East, with fresh flight-tracking data indicating sustained airlift activity from Europe toward the region, Azernews reports.

Open-source aviation data shows multiple US military aircraft operating along established corridors from Western and Central Europe through southeastern Europe and Trkiye, before heading toward destinations in the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. The flights, conducted by aircraft using US military call signs, suggest ongoing logistical operations rather than isolated movements.

Such air routes have traditionally been used to transport military hardware, ammunition, and support equipment to US forces and allied partners in the region. The pattern of repeated flights along similar paths points to a coordinated and continuous supply effort.

The renewed activity comes amid heightened regional tensions and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, where Washington has pledged to maintain both its military presence and its support for allies. US officials have repeatedly stated that these transfers are aimed at ensuring regional security and protecting American interests.

While the Pentagon has not issued detailed public statements on individual flights, analysts note that airlift operations of this scale typically indicate the movement of time-sensitive or high-priority military cargo, underscoring the strategic importance the region continues to hold for US defense planning.

Libraries are at the heart of cultural and educational development, serving as hubs for knowledge, research, and community engagement. Strengthening their operations and expanding access to information is a key priority in fostering an informed and culturally aware society.

Improving library operations remains one of the main priorities of the Azerbaijan Culture Ministry. Currently, nearly 3,000 libraries operate across the country, and efforts to enhance their work are focused primarily on digitalization and strengthening human resources. Regular training sessions are organized in Baku and across regions to support these initiatives.

These remarks were made by Farid Jafarov, Deputy Culture Minister, on February 11 during a collegial meeting dedicated to the Ministry’s 2025 activities, AzerNEWS reports, citing Azertag.

Last year, the process of digitizing more than 850,000 books was completed. At the same time, libraries actively participated in international collaborations and various partnership projects. In addition, significant steps were taken to return rare manuscripts to the country, preserving and strengthening the nation’s cultural heritage.

Vice President of the United States JD Vance and his spouse Usha Vance visited the Alley of Martyrs on February 11, AzerNEWS reports.

The Vice President paid tribute to the Azerbaijani heroes who sacrificed their lives for the country’s independence and territorial integrity and placed a wreath at the Eternal Flame Monument.

Azercell announces the launch of a new IoT and M2M platform developed specifically for corporate customers as part of the Azercell Business digital ecosystem. The new platform provides advanced tools for centralized management and monitoring of IoT and M2M devices, supporting increased operational efficiency and greater transparency across business processes.

The solution enables enterprises to monitor device status and traffic consumption in real time, flexibly allocate data pool resources and optimize operational costs. This approach supports improved risk management and ensures more effective use of resources.

IoT and M2M solutions can be effectively applied across a wide range of industries, including logistics, transportation, manufacturing, finance, sales, the oil and gas sector, as well as smart city initiatives.

The platform features a customer-centric and intuitive interface, high standards of information security and a scalable architecture. These features allow businesses to efficiently manage existing IoT projects while seamlessly integrating next-generation solutions into a unified digital environment.

Through this initiative, Azercell continues to contribute to accelerating digital transformation and the adoption of intelligent technologies in the country.

The opening ceremony of the photo exhibition “Squares of Europe” has taken place at Crescent Mall, AzerNEWS reports.

The event was organized by the European Union Delegation to Azerbaijan in partnership with Arts Council Azerbaijan and supported by the Embassies of EU Member States, within the sixth FantazEU Cultural Heritage Festival.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador of the European Union to Azerbaijan Marijana Kujundzic underlined that the exhibition brings together both well-known and lesser-known squares from European cities, highlighting their historical, architectural, and social significance. She noted that the project showcases the richness and diversity of Europe’s urban heritage and is especially symbolic this year, which has been declared the Year of Urban Planning and Architecture in Azerbaijan.

Dadas Mammadov, head and curator of the Arts Council Azerbaijan festival, remarked that FantazEU is being held for the sixth time and has become an important platform for cultural dialogue between Azerbaijan and the European Union. In his address, he underscored the festival’s importance as a sustainable cultural initiative that unites international partners and expressed his gratitude to the European Union and the embassies of EU Member States for their cooperation and support.

The exhibition features photographs provided by the embassies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, and Azerbaijan. The display explores the role of public squares as centers of civic life, historical memory, and social interaction.

Media partners of the event are Azernews.Az, Trend.Az, Day.Az and Milli.Az.

A renewed analysis of radar data from Venus, collected by NASA’s Magellan spacecraft in the early 1990s, has revealed evidence of a large underground cavity formed by ancient lava flows-the first subsurface structure of its kind ever identified on a neighboring planet, AzerNEWS reports.

According to the researchers, the radar signals are consistent with a geological feature known as a lava tube, a structure commonly found in volcanic regions on Earth. Lava tubes have also been detected on the Moon and are believed to exist on Mars, but this marks the first time such a formation has been directly identified on Venus.

Although Venus is concealed beneath thick, toxic clouds, radar imaging is able to penetrate this dense atmosphere. Given the planet’s long history of intense volcanic activity, scientists have long suspected the presence of lava tubes beneath its surface.

‘Moving from theory to direct observation is a major step forward,’ said Lorenzo Bruzzone, a radar and planetary scientist at the University of Trento in Italy and lead author of the study, published Monday in Nature Communications. ‘It opens new research directions and provides valuable information for future missions to explore Venus.’

The team analyzed remote sensing data collected by Magellan in 1990 and 1992, identifying surface features that suggest underground cavities beneath them. Using a newly developed data-analysis technique, the scientists were able to detect structures consistent with lava tubes.

The formation, interpreted as part of an empty lava tube, lies on the western slope of Nix Mons, a massive shield volcano about 362 kilometers wide located in Venus’s northern hemisphere. The surrounding terrain is scattered with craters formed by surface deposits.

‘Our understanding of Venus remains limited, and until now we have lacked direct observations of processes occurring beneath its surface,’ said Leonardo Carrer, a radar specialist at the University of Trento and co-author of the study.

Venus, with a diameter of roughly 12,000 kilometers, is slightly smaller than Earth. The Magellan mission mapped 98 percent of the planet’s surface, providing crucial insights into a world that hosts more volcanoes than any other planet in the Solar System and shows widespread evidence of ancient lava flows.

Based on the radar data, the visible portion of the lava tube has an estimated diameter of about one kilometer, with a roof thickness of at least 150 meters. Due to limitations in the Magellan dataset, only part of the structure can be directly observed, but researchers believe it likely extends for several kilometers. Its size suggests it may be larger and taller than any lava tube on Earth and even bigger than those predicted on Mars or observed on the Moon.

Lava tubes are considered promising locations for future space exploration. On Venus, such underground structures could potentially offer natural shielding from extreme surface temperatures and radiation, making them intriguing targets for future robotic-or even human-missions.