Category: Azer News

Albania’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Besart Kadia has visited the Azerbaijan National Library, Azernews reports.

It was noted that the Director of the National Library, Professor Kerim Tahirov, briefed the guest on the library’s activities. He stated that the National Library, with a collection of nearly five million books, maintains book exchanges with national libraries in 90 countries and has signed memoranda of mutual cooperation with national libraries from 54 countries.

Kerim Tahirov provided detailed information on the library’s operations and projects, noting that a memorandum of cooperation between the National Libraries of Azerbaijan and Albania was signed in 2022.

The director particularly emphasized that an Azerbaijani Literature Section was opened at the Albanian National Library in 2025, and informed the ambassador that a similar section had been established at the Azerbaijan National Library two years earlier.

The Ambassador Besart Kadia stated that he would support the expansion of cooperation and international book exchange between the National Libraries of Azerbaijan and Albania and Azerbaijan.

Besart Kadia expressed his readiness to cooperate at all times and stressed the importance of organizing presentations at the National Library of Azerbaijan of books by Albanian writers and poets published by the embassy in Turkish and Azerbaijani.

The meeting also included an exchange of views on cooperation in the fields of professional experience-sharing between library specialists of both countries, as well as the preservation, digitization, and inclusion in academic circulation of books and manuscripts held by libraries.

At the end of the meeting, the director presented the guest with books about Azerbaijan.

The guests then toured the Azerbaijan National Library and expressed their high appreciation of the library.

The Albanian National Library was founded on July 10, 1920 and officially inaugurated on December 10, 1922 in the capital city of Tirana.

The library’s initial collection at the time of inauguration consisted of about 6,000 volumes, and over the decades its holdings grew significantly. By the end of World War II the collection had expanded to around 15,000 volumes, and by the late 1940s it reached roughly 100,000 items. In the years that followed, the collection continued to grow and today comprises more than one million items, including books, periodicals, maps, atlases, microfilms, and other materials.

From its earliest years, the National Library has served as Albania’s main repository for the written cultural heritage of the nation. It functions under the authority of the Ministry of Culture and plays a leading role in organizing library education, continuing professional development, and national bibliographic services. Among its responsibilities are cataloguing national publications, preserving rare and historical materials, and providing public access to research resources.

The institution also participates in international library organizations and digital initiatives, and its services include an online public access catalogue (OPAC), digitized collections, exhibitions, book launches, conferences, and cultural events.

With over 5 million books, manuscripts, and maps, the Azerbaijan National Library is considered one of the largest libraries in the Caucasus region. Since 1939, the library has borne the name of the eminent playwright Mirza Fatali Akhundov.

The library has an extensive collection of literature in Azerbaijani, Russian, English, and other languages. It has collected and preserved national editions, works of Azerbaijani and foreign authors about Azerbaijan published abroad.

The National Leader, Heydar Aliyev, visited the National Library four times in 1995-1997 and donated nearly 300 books from his personal library.

In 2004, the Mirza Fatali Akhundov Library was granted the status of a national library by the decision of Azerbaijan’s Cabinet of Ministers.

The building of the library is no less impressive. The library’s fa?ade is decorated with the statues of eminent poets and writers like Nizami Ganjavi, Mahsati Ganjavi, Uzeyir Hajibayli, Shota Rustaveli, Alexander Pushkin and many others.

The scope of the library’s activities is constantly expanding. In 2005, on the basis of legal copies received from publishing houses and printing companies, the library published the yearbook “Books of Azerbaijan” for 1990, 1991, 2000, and 2001.

Over the past years, the National Library has signed a memorandum on bilateral mutual cooperation with about 80 libraries.

In 2021, the Culture Ministry and Mirza Fatali Akhundov Library launched a joint campaign, “Let’s go to Garabagh with a book”, to restore libraries in the Garabagh region.

A large number of books were donated to the Garabagh Book Fund by a number of international organizations working in the field of culture, Turkic-speaking countries, famous foreign and local authors, publishers, and printing houses.

In 2025, Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) was officially signed between the National Libraries of Tajikistan and Azerbaijan during a ceremony held in Dushanbe.

The agreement was inked by the director of the Azerbaijani National Library, Karim Tahirov, and the director of the Tajikistan National Library, Farzalizada Jumakhon.

This memorandum provides a framework for enhanced collaboration between the two institutions, emphasising the exchange of books, publications, and other cultural materials to foster mutual understanding and strengthen the cultural ties between the two nations.

It also sets the stage for joint activities and projects aimed at promoting literacy, preserving cultural heritage, and supporting scholarly research.

The United States is hosting separate high-level discussions with Israel and Saudi Arabia in Washington, DC, focused on a potential US military operation involving Iran, Azernews reports via Axios, citing informed sources.

According to the report, the Donald Trump administration held meetings with Israeli officials on Tuesday and Wednesday, while talks with the Saudi delegation are scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Israel’s delegation was reportedly led by Major General Shlomi Binder, head of the Israel Defense Forces’ Intelligence Directorate (Aman).

Saudi Arabia was said to be represented by Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, the brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.

The consultations come amid heightened rhetoric over Iran. President Donald Trump recently warned that any future strikes against Iran would be ‘far worse’ than the attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities carried out in 2025. At the same time, Trump has reiterated his belief that Tehran is interested in reaching a nuclear deal with Washington.

Iranian officials, for their part, have stated that Tehran would respond if necessary, signaling readiness to counter any escalation.

As Armenia approaches its parliamentary elections scheduled for June, opposition forces appear increasingly eager to revive long-discredited narratives in an attempt to mobilize a shrinking and disoriented electorate. The closer election day comes, the more desperate the rhetoric sounds. Among the most active voices in this campaign of political nostalgia is Armenia’s former president and former leader of the so-called ‘Nagorno-Karabakh Republic,’ Robert Kocharyan.

Although Kocharyan has remained formally outside frontline politics for years, he has never fully disappeared from Armenia’s political landscape. Possessing long-standing networks within state institutions and society, he has retained a controversial but recognizable presence, particularly since the 2018 Velvet Revolution. Today, however, his attempted political comeback appears to be unfolding through a familiar proxy: his son, Levon Kocharyan.

At a recent meeting with residents of Abovyan, Levon Kocharyan openly declared that Yerevan ‘has the opportunity’ to raise the issue of the return of separatist elements to Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region. According to him, such a demand is ‘natural and logical,’ supposedly understandable, even acceptable, to the world’s major powers. He went further, accusing the current Armenian authorities of betraying national interests by refusing to place this issue on Armenia’s foreign policy agenda.

‘We believe such a possibility exists,’ Levon Kocharyan said. ‘How realistic it is can be discussed later, but registering this demand and including it in our foreign policy agenda is necessary.’

This rhetoric, however, collapses under even minimal legal and political scrutiny. From the standpoint of international law, there is no ambiguity: Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders, as confirmed by UN resolutions and the official positions of all major international actors. Following Azerbaijan’s restoration of full sovereignty over the region, any matters related to residence, movement, or citizenship fall exclusively under Azerbaijan’s domestic jurisdiction.

International law provides no mechanism for the collective ‘return’ of groups based on political identity, nor does it grant third states the right to place such demands on another sovereign state. At most, individual applications by specific persons may be considered solely within the framework of Azerbaijani legislation and without external political pressure. In this sense, even ‘registering’ such a demand in Armenia’s foreign policy agenda is not merely unrealistic; it is legally meaningless.

Robert Kocharyan himself has actively reinforced this narrative. In a message marking Armenia’s Army Day, he lamented what he described as the systematic weakening of Armenia’s armed forces over recent years, accusing the current leadership of undermining the army’s morale and capabilities. He expressed hope that Armenia could ‘restore the strength and spirit of the army’ to ensure ‘stable peace,’ while simultaneously invoking demographic decline, emigration, and alleged mismanagement by post-Soviet elites.

Yet these statements reveal a deeper contradiction. Kocharyan’s own political camp, the so-called ‘Karabakh clan’ was instrumental in creating the very structural, economic, and institutional failures he now decries. For decades, their governance model relied on corruption, militarization, and isolation, culminating in economic stagnation and mass emigration. The past they seek to revive is not one of stability, but of closed borders, international isolation, and permanent confrontation.

For nearly thirty years, the territories of Karabakh remained under the control of the same political group that now seeks to re-enter Armenia’s political mainstream. Yet the demographic and economic outcomes of this period sharply contradict today’s revisionist rhetoric. During the late Soviet period, the Armenian population in Karabakh was estimated at around 200,000-300,000. During the years of occupation and conflict, that figure fell dramatically, at various stages declining to 30,000-40,000, before being artificially raised to roughly 100,000-120,000 through ad hoc resettlement efforts, including Armenians brought from abroad, notably from Lebanon. These figures reflect not stability or development, but prolonged demographic erosion and economic stagnation under the so-called Karabakh clan.

The same pattern was evident across Armenia as a whole. At the time of the Soviet Union’s collapse, Armenia’s population stood at approximately 3.5 million. By the time Nikol Pashinyan came to power, it had fallen to around 2.8 million, with emigration becoming systemic: roughly one in six Armenians left the country. This sustained outflow was driven by chronic economic mismanagement, weak logistics, and a political system dominated by elite enrichment rather than national development.

Beyond economic failure, the period was also marked by grave abuses. Reports and testimonies point to the exploitation of prisoners as forced labor, the total destruction of Azerbaijani towns such as Aghdam, and the stripping and illicit sale of property from occupied territories, including through cross-border markets. The liberation of these territories later exposed the true scale of lost opportunity. In place of decades of neglect, assessments revealed the potential for up to 10 gigawatts of renewable energy generation in Karabakh, alongside export capacity valued at $4-5 billion- a stark contrast to the stagnation inherited from the previous era.

More importantly, the Kocharyan camp appears to fundamentally misread Armenian society. War fatigue is real. The overwhelming majority of Armenians are no longer interested in revanchist fantasies or symbolic foreign policy gestures with no practical outcome. Instead, they seek stability, economic opportunity, and an improvement in living standards, objectives that are achievable only through regional normalization and peace initiatives.

Against this backdrop, the Kocharyan’s statements sound less like a political program and more like an electoral performance aimed at a narrow audience unwilling to accept the new regional reality. Azerbaijan is not a state that can be pressured into revisiting settled questions of sovereignty, and no amount of rhetorical escalation will change that fact.

In reality, the Kocharyan bloc is fighting a wall and mistaking the resulting shock for political momentum. Their promises are not designed to be fulfilled; they are designed to be heard. As election day approaches, this dissonance grows louder. What remains is not a credible alternative vision for Armenia’s future, but a campaign built on denial, nostalgia, and the politics of false hope.

The 12th test launch of SpaceX’s next-generation Starship is scheduled for March 2026, marking the debut of the Starship V3 (Block 3) architecture, a more advanced and powerful version of the spacecraft, Azernews reports.

The launch had originally been planned earlier, but in November 2025, Booster 18 was damaged during testing. SpaceX is now preparing a new launch stack: Booster 19 and Ship 39, which must pass a series of critical pre-flight tests this week.

For the first time, the flight is expected to take off from the second launch pad (OLP-2, Pad 2) at Starbase in Texas. The mission profile will largely mirror previous Starship test flights, without attempting to recover the booster or spacecraft.

Elon Musk said that in 2026, SpaceX aims to ‘prove the full reusability of the Starship spacecraft,’ which he predicts could reduce the cost of access to space by up to 100 times.

As preparations near completion at Pad 2, SpaceX has already begun preliminary work to upgrade Pad 1, reflecting the company’s long-term expansion plans for Starbase.

The 11th test flight, which took place on October 13, 2025, marked the final flight of the Starship V2. The new V3 model is not only 1.5 meters taller, but also features larger propellant tanks, updated Raptor engines with higher thrust and lower weight, and new docking ports for in-orbit refueling, a critical capability for missions beyond low-Earth orbit. According to SpaceX, Starship V3 is the first version designed with Mars missions in mind.

Despite the success of the 11th flight, Musk acknowledged that the V3 version would require ‘learning a lot from scratch,’ as many of the spacecraft’s components and systems have been completely redesigned. SpaceX has also been experimenting with different thermal protection tiles, testing how they perform during atmospheric reentry.

Starship is central to NASA’s plans to return astronauts to the Moon, making the development of a lunar version of the spacecraft a top priority for SpaceX. The company faces competition from Blue Origin, which also holds a NASA agreement. NASA has emphasized that the lunar contractor will be selected based on speed and reliability in developing the spacecraft.

With its fully reusable design and orbital refueling capability, Starship V3 could eventually carry up to 100 passengers or massive cargo loads to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, potentially revolutionizing human space exploration.

The qualifying rounds for the Azerbaijan Chess Championship for players aged 8 to 16 have officially kicked off, Azernews reports.

The qualifiers are being held at both regional and city levels. Regional competitions are taking place in Shamakhi, Goranboy, Aghjabadi, Shamkir, Khachmaz, Lankaran, Goychay, Imishli, Gakh, and Shirvan. City championships are being held in Ganja and Sumgait.

The competitions are organized across 10 categories in 5 age groups.

In the regional qualifiers, the top two players in each age group, and in the Ganja and Sumgait city championships, the top three players will earn spots in the final stage of the Azerbaijan Championship, scheduled for March 24 to April 2.

It is noted that the Baku city championships and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic championship will begin in February.

The top six players from the Baku championships and the top three from the Nakhchivan championship will qualify for the finals.

The competitions are being overseen by a panel of referees appointed by the Azerbaijan Chess Federation.

Founded in 1926, the Azerbaijan Chess Federation (ACF) has played a pivotal role in shaping the country’s strong chess tradition.

The ACF organizes national and international tournaments, provides training programs, and supports the growth of chess at all levels, from school children to grandmasters.

The Federation is also responsible for the success of its national teams, which have consistently performed well in prestigious competitions such as the Chess Olympiad and the World Chess Championship.

On January 28, 2026, a conference titled “The Turkic Language Family: From the First Written Texts to the Modern Era” was held at the Yunus Emre Institute Turkish Cultural Center in Mexico City to mark World Turkic Language Family Day, Azernews reports. The event was jointly organized by the embassies of Azerbaijan, Trkiye, and Kazakhstan in Mexico, together with the Yunus Emre Institute.

Azerbaijan’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Mexico, Seymur Fataliyev, highlighted in his address the importance of the shared language factor as an integral part of culture that unites Turkic peoples. He described as a landmark decision the proclamation of December 15 as World Turkic Language Family Day during the 43rd session of UNESCO’s General Conference, held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in 2025. The ambassador noted that this step represents significant international recognition of the Turkic language as an essential component of universal cultural diversity.

Fataliyev emphasized that Azerbaijan has supported this initiative from its earliest days, as it serves the preservation, development, and international promotion of the Turkic language family. Referring to President Ilham Aliyev’s statement, “our family is the Turkic world,” the ambassador said this idea reflects both a sense of belonging and responsibility, underscoring unity based on shared history, collective cultural memory, and common values. He concluded by stressing that promoting the richness of the Turkic language family requires more than the declaration of a single commemorative day, calling instead for sustained, practical efforts and a systematic approach to language diplomacy.

Speeches were also delivered by Trkiye’s Ambassador Murat Selim Esenli and Kazakhstan’s Ambassador Almurat Turganbekov, who noted that the establishment of World Turkic Language Family Day opens new opportunities for strengthening ties among Turkic states. They emphasized that the richness and diversity of the Turkic world, united by history and culture, paves the way for a bright shared future. The speakers also highlighted the importance of cooperation within the framework of the Organization of Turkic States for the preservation and promotion of the Turkic language.

Later, Professor Mehmet Necati Kutlu, who lectures on Turkic language and culture at the Yunus Emre Institute, spoke about the Orkhon-Yenisey inscriptions as the earliest written sources of the Turks, their decipherment in 1893 by Danish scholar Vilhelm Thomsen, the development of Turkic alphabets, the geography of Turkic-speaking peoples, and shared vocabulary across Turkic languages.

The event continued with a question-and-answer session and was attended by representatives of Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Parliament, the diplomatic corps in Mexico, and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

Germany and Denmark have signed an agreement at the North Sea Summit in Hamburg to establish and jointly operate a major energy hub on the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea, Azernews reports.

The negotiations were attended by German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Katherina Reiche and Danish Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities Lars Aagaard.

Under the agreement, an energy hub will be built on Bornholm to transmit electricity generated by offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea to the national power grids of both Germany and Denmark. The two countries agreed to share the costs of constructing and maintaining the necessary infrastructure, including subsea cables and grid connections.

The project is expected to play a key role in strengthening energy security in Northern Europe and accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels. Experts note that Bornholm’s strategic location makes it an ideal junction point for cross-border energy distribution, potentially allowing additional countries to connect to the hub in the future.

In addition, according to DPA, energy ministers from Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Iceland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom signed a separate agreement at the summit focused on the large-scale development of offshore wind energy in the region. Investments in this sector are expected to reach approximately pound 9.5 billion by 2030.

Analysts believe these initiatives could turn the North Sea and Baltic Sea regions into Europe’s ‘green power plants’, supplying renewable electricity to millions of households. Some observers also suggest that such energy hubs may eventually support green hydrogen production, further expanding their role in Europe’s long-term climate strategy.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2026, based on insights from more than 11,000 experts across 116 economies, paints a stark picture of an international system entering a period of heightened fragmentation. For the next two years, respondents identify geoeconomic confrontation as the most severe global risk, followed closely by misinformation and disinformation, and the deepening polarisation of societies. Together, these trends reflect a world in which economic policy, information flows, and domestic politics are increasingly weaponised.

Rather than operating in isolation, these risks are mutually reinforcing. Trade restrictions, sanctions and economic decoupling exacerbate domestic economic stress; misinformation amplifies social divisions; and polarisation, in turn, weakens institutional resilience. For regions already shaped by geopolitical tension, such as the South Caucasus, this convergence of risks has particularly profound implications.

In the 2026 report, Azerbaijan’s risk profile is dominated by cybersecurity, environmental degradation and inflationary pressures. The emphasis on cybersecurity reflects the growing exposure of state institutions, financial systems and critical infrastructure to digital threats. As public services, energy systems and transport networks become more technologically integrated, the potential impact of cyber incidents increases exponentially.

Environmental risks also feature prominently. Air, water and soil pollution are identified not merely as ecological concerns but as long-term socio-economic stressors. Environmental degradation can undermine public health, constrain agricultural productivity and generate rising fiscal costs. In a region where climate adaptation is uneven, these pressures may accumulate gradually but prove structurally significant over time.

Inflation remains another key concern. Global volatility in energy, food and transport markets continues to affect price stability, with direct consequences for household purchasing power and social cohesion. While Azerbaijan has demonstrated a degree of macroeconomic resilience, persistent inflationary pressure risks eroding real incomes and amplifying social vulnerability.

Notably, the report also highlights non-weather-related natural disasters, drawing attention to industrial and technological risks. This points to the importance of regulatory oversight, infrastructure safety and emergency preparedness in a rapidly modernising economy.

Take Armenia, the country’s risk landscape, assessed in partnership with the CIVITTA Institution Research Centre, is marked by political fragility and socio-economic vulnerability. One of the most acute risks identified is the insufficiency of public services and social protection mechanisms, including education, infrastructure and pension provision. Weak service delivery directly affects public trust and intensifies social dissatisfaction.

The risk of state-based armed conflict is also ranked highly. This includes not only interstate conflict, but also proxy wars, internal unrest and politically motivated violence. Such risks are closely linked to Armenia’s internal political dynamics, where narratives of military defeat continue to shape public discourse.

The report underscores a deep legitimacy crisis between government and opposition forces. Periodic street protests, at times escalating into radical confrontation, reflect unresolved tensions within the political system. Misinformation and disinformation further compound these divisions, blurring accountability and distorting public debate.

Economic risks are equally pronounced. Limited employment opportunities, persistent unemployment and the threat of economic stagnation or recession constrain long-term development prospects. Of particular concern is the ongoing brain drain, as young and skilled citizens leave the country in search of stability and opportunity abroad. This trend not only weakens Armenia’s labour market but also undermines its future growth potential.

As regards Georgia’s risk profile, it highlights a different but equally complex set of challenges. Cybersecurity weaknesses and the risk of cyber warfare feature prominently, reflecting the country’s exposure to regional and global information security threats. As Georgia continues its digital transformation, the gap between technological adoption and cyber resilience remains a critical concern.

Economic opportunity and employment also rank among the top risks. Limited job creation and structural constraints in the economy increase vulnerability to external shocks and contribute to social dissatisfaction. These economic pressures intersect with environmental risks, particularly the loss of biodiversity and the potential collapse of ecosystems.

Such ecological degradation carries economic implications, especially for sectors such as agriculture and tourism, which are central to Georgia’s development model. The report also flags the negative consequences of artificial intelligence technologies, suggesting that unregulated or uneven technological adoption could exacerbate inequality and social disruption.

Taken together, the Global Risks Report 2026 underscores that the principal threats facing the South Caucasus are no longer confined to traditional security concerns. Instead, the region confronts a dense web of interconnected risks, where cyber threats, misinformation, environmental stress and socio-economic pressures reinforce one another.

Geoeconomic confrontation at the global level amplifies these regional vulnerabilities. Sanctions regimes, disrupted trade flows, and strategic competition among major powers constrain policy space for smaller states, while information warfare erodes trust both domestically and internationally.

The decision to circulate the report at the Davos Economic Forum signals that these risks are not peripheral to the global agenda. On the contrary, they illustrate how regional instability, digital insecurity and social fragmentation can spill over into broader international challenges.

For the South Caucasus, the message is clear: managing risk in the coming decade will require more than reactive crisis management. It will demand institutional resilience, credible governance, regional dialogue and long-term investment in human capital and environmental sustainability. In an increasingly fragmented world, the ability of states to navigate these intersecting pressures may prove as decisive as their traditional measures of power.

Last year, the ‘Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company’ (ASCO) carried out repairs on 26 vessels of various types at its Zig Ship Repair and Construction Plant (ZGTTZ), Azernews reports.

According to ASCO, eight of these vessels underwent major repairs, 16 received shipyard-level maintenance, and two underwent routine repairs. Twenty of the repaired vessels belonged to ASCO, while the rest were owned by external organizations.

The repair work was carried out in accordance with international conventions, with the participation of ASCO’s highly qualified specialists.

ZGTTZ offers large-scale professional ship repair and marine engineering services. Additionally, since 2017, the plant has been certified to construct small-capacity vessels, expanding its capabilities in shipbuilding.

Restoration work on tram infrastructure has been carried out, and preparations are underway to reintroduce tram services in Baku, according to Anar Rzayev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AYNA.

As reported by Azernews, speaking at a roundtable dedicated to the implementation of the ‘State Program for Improving Transport Infrastructure in Baku and Surrounding Areas for 2025-2030′ for 2025, Rzayev said that a preliminary feasibility study for launching a tram line from Mehdiabad settlement to the ’28 May’ metro station has already been completed, while design work is currently in progress.

He also noted that, taking the future tram line into account, the cross-section design of the road along the Sea Breeze route has been coordinated.

Rzayev highlighted the importance of the Absheron circular railway route, which plays a key role in passenger mobility between Baku and Sumgayit and across the Absheron Peninsula. The route consists of two lines-Baku-Khirdalan-Sumgayit and Baku-Pirshaghi-Sumgayit-and has undergone significant modernization in recent years, including service improvements and increased train frequency.

To further enhance railway transport infrastructure around Baku, plans are in place to restore the Yeni Surakhani-Hovsan, Bakikhanov-Bina-Gala, and Zabrat-Mashtaga-Baghlar railway lines. The project also includes the rehabilitation of existing stations and the construction of new stations along these routes.

Rzayev said that in 2025, analyses of road and railway infrastructure along these lines were conducted and design work was launched, with some design stages already completed. Optimization work has also been carried out on stations and stops along the routes to be restored, and their locations have been determined.

Work is also underway to improve the Baku-Khirdalan-Sumgayit line by increasing train departures and passenger capacity, as well as commissioning new stops. Construction of the Darnagul stop is currently progressing rapidly, with approximately 60 percent of the work already completed. Plans are also in place to open a stop at Bash Keshla station and establish a Binagadi stop.

In addition, the Baku-Pirshaghi-Sumgayit line is set to be upgraded, with increased train frequency and passenger capacity, as well as the introduction of new stops. Railway stops are planned in the Kurdakhani, Fatmayi, and Saray settlements along this line. A stop at Narimanov station is also planned.

As part of the State Program, the restoration of the Guzdek-Garadagh railway line is also envisaged. Once restored, this line will allow freight trains to operate on that route, thereby increasing passenger train capacity on the Baku-Khirdalan-Sumgayit line.

Rzayev added that Azerbaijan plans to purchase 20 new passenger trains by 2030. Work in this direction is ongoing, with analyses underway and negotiations being held with foreign companies.