Category: Azer News

The expansion of manufacturing in the Aghdam Industrial Park illustrates how investment in liberated territories can support employment, strengthen domestic production and introduce Azerbaijani goods to international markets. The production of specialist safety footwear and polyurethane boots links the rebuilding of Karabakh with the country’s ambition to develop a competitive non-oil economy.

The enterprise operating across 2.5 hectares in the industrial park manufactures protective footwear for industrial and working environments. Its products serve the domestic market and reach customers abroad, giving the facility a role in export development. Supplying these sectors creates opportunities for local industrial capabilities, skilled employment and stronger links between manufacturers and business customers.

The company’s disclosed export activity points to a growing international reach. In Kazakhstan, it has signed agreements with three companies and completed deliveries at different times. Further orders from the Central Asian market are under consideration, creating scope for deeper commercial relations. In Albania, an agreement with a local distributor envisages an initial shipment of 1,200 pairs of products, including natural-leather safety shoes with polyurethane soles and polyurethane boots. The order covers footwear in O4 and S5 safety classes and is ready for export.

The Canadian market adds another significant dimension. A Canadian company has ordered more than 3,500 pairs of polyurethane boots, with shipment planned for the following month. Italy represents a further European opportunity: negotiations on a cooperation agreement are continuing, initial orders have arrived, and the planned November shipment covers 1,200 pairs of polyurethane boots under the Made in Azerbaijan label. Interest from the United Arab Emirates and Jordan also creates prospects for additional market development.

The three quantified orders for Albania, Canada and Italy together account for more than 5,900 pairs. This figure provides a useful snapshot of the scale of the announced business pipeline, while Kazakhstan’s deliveries and potential new orders add another established export channel. Interest from the Gulf and the Middle East broadens the potential geography further.

For Azerbaijan, the significance of such projects extends beyond individual sales contracts. A manufacturer based in Aghdam contributes to the revival of economic activity across liberated territories and demonstrates how industrial infrastructure can support the next stage of regional development. Every operating facility creates demand for workers, transport, maintenance, packaging, utilities, suppliers and business services. As production expands, these connections can generate employment across a wider local economic network, supporting household incomes and strengthening the commercial life of surrounding communities.

The employment effect extends beyond the factory floor. Production requires operators, technicians, quality specialists, warehouse staff and managers, while shipments create work for drivers, freight forwarders and customs services. Training workers for these roles can build skills and support career paths. As suppliers and service providers respond to the factory’s needs, an industrial investment can stimulate economic activity across the region.

Industrial parks can bring together land, infrastructure, utilities and investor support in a planned environment, helping businesses establish operations and build supply relationships. In Aghdam, this model is particularly important because manufacturing can complement reconstruction in housing, roads, public services and agriculture. New jobs give residents opportunities to participate directly in the region’s economic recovery, while demand for local services can encourage further entrepreneurship.

Export growth also adds value to the national diversification agenda. International orders help manufacturers test their products against demanding customer requirements, improve production processes and build commercial credibility. The Made in Azerbaijan label gives overseas buyers a clear national identity for locally manufactured goods. Success in specialised footwear can also encourage the development of related activities, including materials processing, moulding, design, quality control, logistics and technical services.

The next stage of this progress will depend on production capacity, consistent quality, certification, competitive pricing and reliable delivery. The announced orders already provide a concrete indication of international demand and a foundation for future expansion.

Aghdam’s emerging manufacturing base shows how regional reconstruction and export-oriented industrialisation can reinforce one another. By turning investment into production, jobs and overseas sales, Azerbaijan can broaden the foundations of economic growth and strengthen the role of liberated territories in its national development. The journey from a 2.5-hectare industrial site to customers across several regions captures an important ambition: building a diversified economy whose products carry Azerbaijani value into global markets.

The opening ceremony of the 6th Korkut Ata Turkic World Film Festival has been held in Istanbul, Trkiye, bringing together filmmakers, cultural officials and representatives of the film industry from across the Turkic world.

The ceremony was attended by TURKSOY Secretary-General Sultan Raev, representatives of the culture ministries of Turkic states, film producers, members of the cinema community and media representatives.

Speakers at the opening ceremony highlighted how the shared history and spiritual heritage of Turkic nations are also reflected in cinema. The festival’s main programme was announced, and members of the international jury were introduced.

The ceremony concluded with a screening of Aytmatov, a film by Kyrgyz director Kanybek Kalmatov.

Running until November 7, the festival features several Azerbaijani productions in its competition programme. These include Taghiyev: The School in the feature film category, Azykh Cave in the documentary category and May You Live as Long as the Land in the short fiction film category.

In addition, two Azerbaijani films will be screened outside the competition programme: the feature film In a Southern City and the documentary 100 Years of the Baku Turkological Congress.

A total of 56 films from 10 countries and 10 autonomous republics will be presented during the festival. The event is expected to welcome 150 international guests and 300 local film industry professionals.

Azerbaijan is represented by a 20-member delegation comprising filmmakers and representatives of the Cinema Agency operating under the Ministry of Culture.

Established in 2021 by Trkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the festival aims to showcase the shared cultural heritage of Turkic-speaking countries and peoples to international audiences through cinema.

On November 2nd, Armenia’s prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, told parliament that his government would soon start commissioning designs for the railway, highway and power lines of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, or TRIPP. Parliament had voted on the ratification days earlier. Deputy prime minister Mher Grigoryan went further: delimitation of the border in Syunik, the southern province the route will cross, might be carried out in an “etraordinary” fashion, ahead of the eisting schedule, so that the infrastructure can proceed. Pashinyan’s own framing was characteristically grand. We all recognize the project’s effectiveness in ending a blockade that has lasted over 30 years.

But one neighbour was not celebrating the idea, as always. The ambassador of Iran in Yerevan, Khalil Shirgolami, said to the press that Tehran recognizes the sovereignty of Armenia but epects above all that there should not be any foreign military forces stationed on the Armenian-Iranian border, nor any threat of Iran coming out of it. Armenian authorities have assured him. However, Tehran seems to need more than assurances.

The shortest border, with the longest worry

The Armenia-Iran border spans just 44km, following the Aras River in the Syunik region. The border is the shortest land border of Iran, and as described by its strategists, is its lifeline to the north – the only direct passage to the South Caucasus, Russia, and further on to Europe. The goods pass across the border checkpoint of Agarak and Norduz, and there have been improvements made in their bridge capacities. Armenia and Iran traded approimately $104.8 million worth of goods in the first two months of 2026, an increase of 6% from the previous year.

It is clear for Tehran that this is more than an issue with lines in maps. TRIPP is a highway and railway that is going to pass close to the Iranian border and will be run by Americans in great numbers; the ambassador has cited plans according to which American companies are to have 74 percent share in management of the corridor. For Iranian strategists, this situation is nothing less than encirclement, despite all assurances of its non-military nature. It is all made worse by the war; the United States and Israel have launched attacks on Iran since February, and Mr Shirgolami has cited them while elaborating his point of view. Well in that point of view, it could easily be said that, perhaps, as tensions around the Strait of Hormuz continue, Iran views the South Caucasus as the net chokepoint.

This ambition appears to be more limited than obstruction. Iran is not interested in obstructing the route but in shaping it. He mentioned that technical details are being discussed and that the central issue is the modalities that can ensure that TRIPP is implemented in such a way that guarantees Armenian sovereignty, does not allow for any corridor outside Armenia, and ecludes the use of foreign military. He even proposed a special format of negotiations with Yerevan that will make it possible to settle any dispute quickly. In September, he indicated that the best option to address US concerns was an institutional mechanism. According to President Masoud Pezeshkian, who reportedly spoke to Pashinyan in July, “etra-regional powers” should not meddle in Armenian-Iranian affairs.

The tone has varied. A hardline adviser to the Supreme Leader, Ali Akbar Velayati, said last year that the route would become a “graveyard” for Trump’s “mercenaries”. The ambassador’s language is gentler, but the aim is the same: to etract, from Armenia, binding rules that outlast political promises. That is a sensible negotiating position. Iran cannot veto the project, and it cannot afford to alienate a government with a fresh electoral mandate. Its leverage lies in being the neighbour Armenia cannot ignore.

Lines and contest of the maps

Where Tehran’s concerns seem to cross into overreach is on delimitation. As presented by Baku in Azerbaijani commentary, the reason delimiting the Armenian-Azerbaijani border is of no consequence for the Armenian-Iranian border. Delimitation is a legal eercise and an effort to delineate a pre-eisting boundary between two states. The sequence of actions follows a north-south line and comes to a stop at the point of connection between the Armenian-Azerbaijani and Iranian borders. It involves no changes to land ownership and poses no threat to anyone. On the contrary, the eercise helps reduce uncertainty for all parties involved.

This eplanation is valid, as far as it goes; however, it does not resolve the political concern raised by Mher Grigoryan. Linking the delimitation with the construction of TRIPP and increasing the pace at which it is conducted imbues this process with new political dimensions. First of all, the pipeline goes through the border area and, therefore, the regulatory mechanism behind it, including security measures, becomes important for many years to come. Baku can insist on the irrationality of the fear of delimitation by Tehran and still recognize the need to address the project net to it.

Every party has a reason to be wary. For Azerbaijan and Trkiye, it is the constant connection between the mainland and Nakhchivan, and through Anatolia. For Armenia, it is the chance to leave the isolation zone and receive additional routes for trade and transportation. For the US, it is the possibility of having a strong influence in the region it has long neglected. For Iran, its role as a transit gateway to the south in the region and its Aras corridor, which would also connect Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan, would become weaker.

Whether TRIPP brings peace or ignites fire in the South Caucasus depends on how these interests can be reconciled. But the way to achieve this is clear: adopt the rules for implementation of the project, make it impossible for foreign countries to deploy their military forces within the region by writing it down in the documents of the project, and establish the permanent consultation channel between Armenia and Iran that Tehran asks for. It is not a costly option; however, viewing Yerevan as a sort of tributary state or third-degree country will not resolve anything, as this aniety persists. The alternative, a road built over an ally’s objections, in a region where a larger war is already burning, costs a good deal more.

An ehibition of handmade crafts titled ‘From Khari Bulbul to Tulip: Bonds of Brotherhood’ has opened in Bursa, Trkiye.

The ehibition is dedicated to Azerbaijan’s Victory in the Karabakh War and November 8 – Victory Day. Its main aim is to showcase the shared cultural heritage of the two brotherly nations, highlight women’s creativity in traditional handicrafts and promote national artistic traditions, while further strengthening Azerbaijani-Turkish friendship and solidarity through culture.

The ehibition was organized on the initiative of the Bursa-Azerbaijan Innovation and Solidarity Association (BAIDD), with the support of Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, the Bursa City Council and the Federation of Turkish-Azerbaijani Associations (TADEF).

Artists Ramila Ozden and Amina Yilmaz made particularly significant creative and artistic contributions to the ehibition.

The displayed works reflect the rich cultural heritage of Azerbaijan and Anatolia, featuring traditional national ornaments, intricate patterns and artistic elements that highlight the deep cultural and spiritual bonds between the two peoples.

The opening ceremony continued with an artistic programme.

The ehibition will remain open to visitors until November 8, Victory Day.

An interesting milestone is set to be recorded in UEFA Champions League history, as two Turkish head coaches will face each other for the first time in the competition’s main stage while managing opposing teams.

The fifth round of the league phase will see Shakhtar Donetsk take on Fenerbahçe, bringing Arda Turan and Emre Belözoglu together on opposite sides of the touchline.

The two coaches shared a long history as teammates in the Turkish national team during their playing careers. Arda represented Trkiye from 2006 to 2017, while Emre played for the national side between 2000 and 2019. Both were members of the Turkish squad that reached the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2008.

Their paths crossed again in 2012 at Spanish club Atlético Madrid. Emre joined the Madrid-based side from Fenerbahçe that summer, where Arda was already playing. One of their most memorable achievements together came on August 31, 2012, when Atlético Madrid defeated Chelsea 4-1 in the UEFA Super Cup final.

Ahead of the upcoming encounter, Arda Turan also spoke about his relationship with Emre Belözoglu. He described his fellow coach as someone who holds a special place in his life, saying they had maintained a big-brother and younger-brother relationship since their playing days.

Turan revealed that facing Fenerbahçe had been a childhood dream. He also stressed that he had no negative feelings towards the Istanbul club.

He described the prospect of facing Belözoglu in the Champions League at Stamford Bridge as a particularly special occasion.

‘Regardless of the result, this match will be one of the most beautiful memories of my life. Emre’s children are like the children of my own siblings to me. I wish him and his family all the very best,’ Turan said.

The Shakhtar Donetsk-Fenerbahçe match is scheduled for November 25 at Stamford Bridge in London, England. Kick-off is set for 23:00 Baku time, with Arda Turan and Emre Belözoglu preparing to face each other as rival head coaches.

The 21st round of the Azerbaijan Premier League has been designated the ‘Victory Round’ to mark the sith anniversary of the historic victory achieved in the 2020 Patriotic War.

The Professional Football League of Azerbaijan announced the decision.

Under the initiative, Azerbaijan’s national anthem will be performed before all matches scheduled for November 6-8 as part of the 21st round.

The initiative aims to commemorate the anniversary of the victory and honour the memory of those who sacrificed their lives for Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan has emphasised the importance of expanding cooperation with Central Asian countries in artificial intelligence, digital connectivity and technological innovation as part of efforts to diversify its economy and strengthen regional partnerships.

Deputy Minister of Economy Samad Bashirli made the remarks at the Second Tian Shan Forum, organised by the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Institute in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The forum, held under the theme “Expanding Sustainable Connectivity and Quality Investment in Central Asia,” brought together government officials, representatives of international financial institutions, business leaders and academics to discuss regional economic cooperation and investment opportunities.

Speaking during a session titled “Investments in Technological Advancement, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Connectivity,” Bashirli described Central Asia as one of Azerbaijan’s priority regions for economic partnership.

He highlighted the role of digital transformation in diversifying Azerbaijan’s economy and improving the competitiveness of its non-oil and gas sector.

The deputy minister also outlined measures being implemented to encourage innovation in Azerbaijan, alongside joint projects undertaken with countries across the region.

Bashirli stressed the importance of strengthening partnerships in innovation and artificial intelligence, introducing advanced technologies across different sectors of the economy and expanding exchanges of knowledge and expertise.

Discussions at the forum also addressed opportunities to deepen regional cooperation in trade, energy, transport and logistics.

Participants examined the development of digital trade, the application of artificial intelligence in economic activities and measures to strengthen human capital.

The forum additionally provided an opportunity to exchange views on attracting investment to Central Asia and expanding economic ties among participating countries.

Azerbaijan plans to allocate ?434 million ($255.29 million) in 2027 to finance the modernisation and reconstruction of the Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery, one of the country’s key strategic industrial facilities.

The funding is envisaged in the draft law “On the State Budget of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2027”, which has been submitted for discussion to the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Policy, Industry and Entrepreneurship.

The proposed allocation reflects the government’s continued commitment to upgrading the country’s oil refining infrastructure, improving industrial capabilities and strengthening the technological base of the domestic energy sector.

The Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery, operated by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), plays a central role in meeting domestic demand for petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel fuel and other refined oil products. Its modernisation is also important for improving production efficiency, enhancing product quality and aligning refinery operations with increasingly demanding environmental and technical standards.

The reconstruction programme forms part of Azerbaijan’s broader efforts to develop its energy infrastructure and increase the competitiveness of its downstream oil and gas industry.

Azerbaijan’s Minister of Emergency Situations, Colonel-General Kamaladdin Heydarov, met with a Belarusian delegation led by the Minister of Emergency Situations, Major-General of the Internal Service Vadim Sinyavski, who is visiting Azerbaijan to attend the 21st Men’s and 12th Women’s World Fire and Rescue Sports Championships in Baku.

According to Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations, Heydarov thanked the guests for taking part in the world championships and highlighted the importance of hosting such a prestigious international sporting event in Azerbaijan. He epressed confidence that the competition would strengthen professional ties among rescuers from member countries of the International Sport Federation of Firefighters and Rescuers and promote the development of fire and rescue sports.

Noting the consistently epanding high-level relations between Azerbaijan and Belarus, Heydarov said that the emergency management agencies of the two countries had established a long-standing and effective cooperation framework. He emphasized the importance of regular contacts and echanges of eperience in preventing emergencies and dealing with their consequences.

The Azerbaijani minister epressed confidence that Sinyavski’s visit and the signing of a regulation on cooperation and information echange between the two countries’ emergency ministries would contribute significantly to epanding the echange of operational information and epertise in emergency response.

For his part, Sinyavski praised the high standard of organization of the World Fire and Rescue Sports Championships in Baku.

He also highlighted the mutual benefits of cooperation between the relevant emergency management agencies of Azerbaijan and Belarus amid the rapid development of bilateral ties. The minister pointed out that visits at various levels, meetings and signed agreements had made a significant contribution to strengthening relations. Sinyavski epressed confidence that the talks held during the current visit and the newly signed document would pave the way for further epanding cooperation between the two ministries.

The meeting also featured an etensive echange of views on issues of mutual interest.

Following the talks, the two ministers signed a regulation on cooperation and information echange between the Crisis Management Center of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Republican Center for Emergency Management and Response of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Belarus.

Later, Sinyavski presented Heydarov with the “For Promoting Life Safety” badge in recognition of his significant contribution to improving the protection of the population and territories against natural and man-made emergencies, as well as strengthening cooperation with Belarus’s Ministry of Emergency Situations.

A video highlighting AIRE 2026, the 1st Azerbaijan International Real Estate Ehibition, has been shared on the social media accounts of President Ilham Aliyev.