Category: Azer News

SOCAR plans to implement strategic initiatives in the coming years aimed at reducing the intensity of drinking water consumption across its operations.

The announcement was made by Madina Hajiyeva, Head of the Planning Department at SOCAR’s Environmental Protection Division, during a roundtable discussion in Baku titled ‘Water Security in Azerbaijan: Regulation, Risks and Responsible Business Practices,’ AzerNEWS reports.

Hajiyeva noted that SOCAR is engaged not only in oil and gas exploration, but also in refining and petrochemical production, sectors that require significant volumes of water resources, including potable water.

‘Currently, we are conducting strategic planning to reduce the intensity of drinking water consumption through the implementation of relevant initiatives,’ she said. ‘This process will include infrastructure development, expansion of wastewater recycling, and the introduction of closed-loop water circulation systems at water-intensive facilities.’

She added that for the past three years SOCAR has been carefully preparing its sustainability report, which is reviewed and enhanced by Ernst and Young.

‘As SOCAR products are exported not only to Russia and post-Soviet countries but also to Europe, we take high-quality reporting very seriously,’ Hajiyeva emphasized. ‘Every drop of water we use is accurately accounted for and reflected in our reports.’

According to her, the company is taking a major step this year by introducing key performance indicators (KPIs) in the water sector. While many companies typically include facilities accounting for 90% of total drinking water withdrawal in their reporting, SOCAR has decided that every division consuming more than 1% of total water usage will be incorporated into its KPI system.

This approach will cover upstream production operations, all oil and gas extraction platforms, as well as petrochemical manufacturing, reinforcing SOCAR’s commitment to transparency, efficiency, and sustainable water management.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to President of the Republic of Estonia Alar Karis, AzerNEWS reports.

“Esteemed Mr. President,

On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I extend my sincere congratulations to you and your people on the occasion of the national holiday of the Republic of Estonia – Independence Day.

I believe that the ties of friendship and cooperation between Azerbaijan and Estonia will continue to develop and expand in line with the interests of our peoples.

On this festive day, I wish you robust health, success in your endeavors, and the people of Estonia everlasting peace and prosperity,” the letter reads.

The documentary film “Memory of Generation” (N?sil Yaddasi), produced by Kinobiz Film, has been screened at the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center in Ismayilli for a local audience, AzerNEWS reports.

The film focuses on the 1918 genocide against Azerbaijanis in the Ismayilli region. Its central narrative follows a veteran of the 44-day Patriotic War, who sets out to locate a martyr’s grave revealed to him in a dream by his grandfather. Along this journey, he uncovers the history of his family. The documentary also incorporates archival materials and historical maps to enrich the storytelling.

The film is directed and written by Babek Abbaszade, produced by Ramil Alakbarov, with cinematography by Bulud Guliyev, editing by Rza Asgarov, lighting design by Sabit Gadirov, sound design by Mehman Nadirov, and music composed by Nigar Suleyman.

The documentary was selected as the winner in the 2025 Film Support Competition, organized by the Azerbaijan Film Agency, which supports films in the post-production phase.

During the event, director Babek Abbaszade shared insights about the making of the film, highlighting the significance of bringing the little-studied Ismayilli genocide to the big screen and stressing the participation of 2020 war veteran Nureddin Azizli.

Producer Ramil Alakbarov then introduced the creative team to the audience.

In addition to the film’s participants and heroes, members of the Ismayilli community attended the screening.

Following the showing, a lively discussion and exchange of ideas took place between the filmmakers and the audience.

On February 24, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jeyhun Bayramov, received delegations led by Fuat Oktay, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Grand National Assembly of Trkiye, and Nikoloz Samkharadze, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, AzerNEWS reports.

According to a statement released by Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the meeting discussed the current state and development prospects of the allied relations between Azerbaijan and Trkiye, as well as the strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Georgia, in addition to the security situation in the wider region.

During the meeting, the importance of expanding interparliamentary cooperation was emphasized, particularly through regular contacts between the foreign affairs committees. The parties expressed satisfaction with the 10th trilateral meeting of the foreign relations committees of the parliaments of Azerbaijan, Trkiye, and Georgia, noting that it had given additional impetus to relations.

The sides also noted that trilateral cooperation formats among the parliaments, as well as among the foreign and defense ministers, contribute to strengthening peace, stability, security, and prosperity in the region. Energy security, transport and communication projects, including the development of the Middle Corridor, and regional economic integration were among the key topics discussed.

In addition, views were exchanged on ensuring sustainable peace and stability in the region in the post-conflict period, the normalization process, and the role of parliamentary diplomacy in this regard. Minister Jeyhun Bayramov provided detailed information about the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace and normalization process, outlining the steps taken by Azerbaijan and the country’s expectations.

On March 4, the first-ever National Forum on Cochlear Implantation – 2026 will take place in the republic at the Nizami Cinema Center, AzerNEWS reports.

The event, dedicated to the International Cochlear Implantation Day, is organized by the Social Support for People with Cochlear Implants Public Association.

The main objective of the forum is to enhance the quality of life of cochlear implant users across the country, strengthen their social integration, and raise public awareness in this field.

The event will bring together neurosurgeons, otorhinolaryngologists, geneticists, audiologists, speech therapists, and rehabilitation specialists. Experts will provide in-depth information on cochlear implantation, stages of rehabilitation, the importance of early intervention, and the specifics of social adaptation.

Mehriban Huseynova, Chairperson of the public association, emphasized that the forum’s primary mission is to support implant users and promote their full integration into society. According to her, over the years the organization has helped hundreds of children and young people successfully navigate the path of social adaptation, many of whom now lead active and accomplished lives.

She also highlighted plans to expand international cooperation and introduce advanced global practices in Azerbaijan in the near future. In her words, elevating state support for cochlear implantation to a new level represents a significant social and humanitarian step for thousands of families.

It is worth noting that the phased implementation of Azerbaijan’s social and medical program on cochlear implantation began in 2015. Since 2020, the inclusion of these surgeries in the country’s compulsory medical insurance system has created new opportunities for both children and adult patients.

Importantly, cochlear implants and speech processors are replaced every five years with state support. This substantially reduces the financial burden on parents and ensures continuity in children’s auditory, speech, and social development.

The National Forum on Cochlear Implantation – 2026 is expected to make a meaningful contribution to educational outreach, increase public attention to the issue, and strengthen the principles of an inclusive society in the country.

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

A group of Azerbaijani non-governmental organization (NGO) leaders has sent an open letter to senior British and international legal officials, criticizing what they describe as a politically motivated and biased inquiry targeting Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

AzerNEWS reports that the letter was addressed to Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the UK House of Commons; Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, Speaker of the House of Lords; Claudio Visco, President of the International Bar Association; and Fergus Auld, the UK Ambassador to Azerbaijan.

The letter reads:

Dear Sirs,

We, representatives of Azerbaijani civil society specializing in human rights, freedoms, and cultural heritage, address you regarding the open disrespect shown by a number of members of the UK Parliament and the leadership of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute toward the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as their initiation of a political campaign against our country based on unchecked, unverified, and false information.

In this context, they have announced an inquiry titled “The Destruction of Armenian Cultural Heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh.”

First and foremost, it must be stated clearly that there is no territorial or administrative unit called “Nagorno-Karabakh” in Azerbaijan. The Garabagh region is the sovereign territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, a fact unequivocally recognized by the international community, including the United Kingdom. Therefore, the use of the term “Nagorno-Karabakh” in the inquiry is legally and historically incorrect and entirely unacceptable. Such terminology constitutes a blatant political campaign directed against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Azerbaijani state. This approach alone demonstrates that the inquiry fails to meet basic standards of objectivity and legal credibility.

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has ended, and both states have made significant progress in the peace process. The text of the Peace Agreement has already been finalized and was initialed during the Summit Meeting held in Washington on August 8 last year. It is evident that the peace agreement to be signed addresses all outstanding issues between the two states. Under these circumstances, the initiation of such an inquiry by actors outside the region raises serious questions about its true intent and objectives. This initiative appears aimed at undermining the normalization process between the two countries, eroding trust, fueling revanchism, and reviving separatist tendencies. Such an approach cannot serve the interests of the British government, which has supported the normalization process from the outset and has already established strategic partnerships with both Azerbaijan and Armenia. This raises a legitimate question: whose interests are actually being served by this initiative joined by certain British parliamentarians?

The content and formulation of the inquiry questions clearly reveal that it is not intended as an objective investigation. Rather than neutrally establishing facts, the questions are framed in a way that presumes violations have already occurred. Anyone reviewing the questions can clearly see that this inquiry is a biased scenario designed to create misleading perceptions within the international community and prepared on the basis of a political order from certain interest groups.

The composition of the panel and the controversial, biased activities of its members in the past raise serious concerns about their neutrality. The British MPs represented on the panel have, for decades, consistently demonstrated anti-Azerbaijani positions. Notably, apart from traditional parliamentarians who previously supported Armenia’s aggression and occupation policies against Azerbaijan, no parliamentarian with a neutral stance on the issue has been included in the panel. Under such circumstances, how can anyone expect objectivity from this inquiry? It is clear that the purpose is not to reach any impartial legal conclusion, but rather to keep an already existing biased position active within the UK Parliament and to weaken the British government’s support for normalization efforts.

Furthermore, at the initial stage of the inquiry, no Azerbaijani official institution was contacted, and the information collected was neither verified nor confirmed. At the second stage, responses to inquiry questions are reportedly accepted only via email, which raises legitimate concerns regarding transparency and procedural integrity.

Within the framework of the inquiry, it is expected that at the first hearing to be held in the UK Parliament on February 25, an NGO called the Center for Justice and Truth will present a report at the invitation of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI). The report published on the organization’s website grossly distorts the region’s history, presents it through a separatist lens, and questions the fact that Garabagh is the territory of Azerbaijan. IBAHRI’s decision to rely on such a biased organization for the first parliamentary hearing once again reveals the true purpose of the inquiry.

During nearly thirty years of occupation, hundreds of Azerbaijani cultural, religious, and historical heritage sites in Garabagh, Eastern Zangezur, and even within the territory of Armenia were systematically destroyed, desecrated, or had their origins falsified by Armenian authorities. At the same time, ethnic cleansing, war crimes, and crimes against humanity were committed against the Azerbaijani people. Why does IBAHRI ignore these documented violations of international law? Is such an approach compatible with the principles of legal objectivity and impartiality?

It should be particularly emphasized that IBAHRI, on its official website, declares the promotion of the rule of law and the preparation of impartial reports in the field of international fact-finding as its core principles. If IBAHRI does not suspend the current inquiry and fails to act in accordance with these principles, then it should remove these declarations from its official website.

We demand that the activities of the initiators of this inquiry be examined within the relevant ethical mechanisms of the UK Parliament as actions that sabotage the official foreign policy course of the British government regarding the region. We strongly condemn this biased approach as a precedent of instrumentalizing law for political purposes.

We demand the immediate suspension of this inquiry.

We call on the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Azerbaijan, Fergus Auld, to urgently investigate this matter and to take action to stop this provocation. We also declare our readiness to meet with Ambassador Fergus Auld to discuss this issue.

The open letter was signed by the following individuals:

1. Amir Aliyev – Chairman of the “Center for the Promotion of Human Rights” Public Union

2. Rizvan Nabiyev – Member of the Board of Directors of the “Legal Analysis and Research” Public Union

3. Novella Jafarova – Chairman of the “Azerbaijan Women’s Rights Society named after D. Aliyeva” Public Union

4. Saadat Bananyarli – Chairman of the “Azerbaijan National Branch of the International Human Rights Society” Public Union

5. Saida Gojamanli – Chairman of the “Protection of Human Rights and Rule of Law” Public Union

6. Alimammad Nuriyev – Head of the “Constitution” Research Foundation

7. Zaur Ibrahimli – Member of the Board of Directors of the Azerbaijan National NGO Forum

8. Oguz Mammadov – Chairman of the “Zangi – Study of Historical Heritage” Public Union

9. Dilgam Ahmed – Chairman of the “Chapar” National Heritage Research Center Public Union

10. Fariz Khalilli – Chairman of the “Miras” Social Union for the Study of Cultural Heritage

11. Khalid Kazimov – Chairman of the “Regional Human Rights and Media Center” Public Union

12. Irada Rzazadeh – Chairman of the “For the Social Welfare of Citizens” Public Union.

The State Agency for Monitoring of State Enterprises under the Ministry of Finance of Azerbaijan will begin monitoring the budgets, financial forecasts, and performance indicators of state companies and public legal entities starting in April, AzerNEWS reports via the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Following a Presidential Decree issued on December 29, 2025, the agency will analyze budget implementation and financial performance based on data and reports submitted by state enterprises and public legal entities. These submissions will follow the standardized forms approved by the Ministry’s Collegium. Enterprises are required to provide monthly and quarterly financial reports, annual budget forecasts, and budget execution data through these forms.

During monitoring, the agency will review enterprises’ budget parameters and implementation, assess financial information by sector and supervisory body, and evaluate expenditures by function and type. Advanced assessment tools used by international financial organizations will also be applied to measure efficiency and identify fiscal risks that could affect other enterprises, state finances, the state budget, off-budget state funds, or public debt.

The Ministry of Finance will report the results of the monitoring and analysis to the head of state every quarter.

The initiative aims to increase profitability, enhance accounting and reporting standards, reduce reliance on state budget resources, and proactively identify potential obligations for the state budget and off-budget funds over the medium and long term.

The text of the Collegium decision and the approved reporting forms in Excel format have been published on the Ministry’s official website for public access.

There are wars declared with tanks and parades. And then there are wars conducted in the shadows through cyber-attacks, intimidation, energy sabotage and propaganda. In 2025, Azerbaijan has found itself confronting the latter.

What is unfolding is not an open military confrontation. It is subtler, deniable and deliberately fragmented. Yet taken together, the cyber offensives, the attacks on diplomatic missions, the pressure on diaspora communities, the targeting of energy infrastructure, the pattern is hard to ignore. It bears the hallmarks of a hybrid campaign emanating from Moscow.

The deterioration did not happen in a vacuum. Azerbaijan’s deepening engagement with the west, particularly the United States, has recalibrated the geopolitical equation. The high-level meeting on 8 August between the presidents of the United States and Azerbaijan, followed by the vice-president’s visit and the signing of a strategic charter, signalled something more than routine diplomacy. It suggested a long-term alignment. In Moscow, such signals rarely go unanswered.

The pressure has literally been multidimensional.

In cyberspace, Azerbaijan’s media landscape faced a sweeping assault in February 2025. According to the country’s parliamentary commission on foreign interference and hybrid threats, the operation was linked to the Russian state-affiliated hacker group APT29. The attacks reportedly came in the wake of Baku’s decision to close the Russian House cultural centre and the local bureau of Sputnik. The message was unmistakable: symbolic sovereignty would carry digital consequences. Over the course of the year, Azerbaijani resources were targeted repeatedly from Russian-linked sources, underscoring that this was not an isolated incident but a sustained campaign.

Beyond the virtual domain, the physical risks have been more alarming. Azerbaijan’s embassy in Ukraine was struck by rocket fire three times amid the ongoing war. Diplomatic missions are protected under international law; targeting them erodes the very architecture of state relations. While the broader theatre was Ukraine’s battlefield, the recurrence of strikes on Azerbaijani diplomatic property cannot be dismissed as mere collateral coincidence.

Energy infrastructure, too, has been drawn into the crossfire. In August 2025, a strike hit the gas distribution and compressor station in Orlivka near the Romanian border, a key node of the Trans-Balkan gas corridor. The site was expected to facilitate imports of Azerbaijani gas via SOCAR, the state energy company, into south-eastern Europe. Shortly afterwards, drone attacks targeted a SOCAR-owned oil depot near Odesa. These incidents were not random acts of wartime chaos. They struck at the connective tissue of Azerbaijan’s expanding energy footprint in Europe, a footprint that competes directly with Russian leverage.

At the same time, Azerbaijani communities in Russia have faced mounting pressure. Incidents in Yekaterinburg and other regions, including reports of unjustified detentions and even killings, have fuelled fears that diaspora populations are being instrumentalised. Hybrid conflict often operates by amplifying vulnerability: economic, informational, communal.

The information space has been no less contested. Russian media narratives about Azerbaijan have hardened conspicuously. Public figures such as Konstantin Zatulin, alongside a constellation of commentators and bloggers, have levelled accusations and thinly veiled threats against Baku. Propaganda, in this context, serves both as domestic conditioning and as external signalling – preparing audiences for a tougher line while attempting to delegitimise Azerbaijan’s independent course.

Even aviation has not been immune. The controversy surrounding an AZAL aircraft incident earlier this year fed into a climate of distrust and accusation. In hybrid confrontation, ambiguity is a tool. Events are rarely clarified; they are weaponised.

What, then, is the strategic logic? First, energy. Azerbaijan’s growing role as a supplier to Europe, particularly as the continent seeks alternatives to Russian gas, challenges Moscow’s long-standing dominance. Projects connected to the Trans-Balkan route and SOCAR’s activities in Ukraine represent not just commercial ventures but geopolitical statements.

Second, is the alignment, in other words, Baku’s increasingly visible partnership with Washington alters the balance in the South Caucasus. For a Kremlin accustomed to viewing the region as its privileged sphere of influence, such recalibration is perceived as encroachment.

Third, is the precedent. If Azerbaijan can pursue a multi-vector policy that strengthens western ties while maintaining sovereignty, it offers a model uncomfortably at odds with Russia’s integrationist ambitions in the post-Soviet space.

Hybrid warfare thrives on deniability. Each cyber-attack can be dismissed as the work of rogue actors. Each infrastructure strike can be folded into the fog of war in Ukraine. Each propaganda salvo can be waved away as free speech. But strategy reveals itself in accumulation.

For Azerbaijan, the response has so far combined restraint with consolidation of western partnerships. The challenge is to avoid escalation while defending sovereignty – a delicate balance in a region where miscalculation has often proved costly.

For Europe, the lesson is equally stark. Hybrid pressure is no longer confined to the Baltic states or Ukraine. It extends along energy corridors, through digital networks and into diaspora communities. The South Caucasus is not peripheral; it is increasingly central to the continent’s energy security and geopolitical resilience.

The undeclared front is already open. The question is not whether hybrid confrontation exists, but how far it will be allowed to advance before it is recognised as what it is: a strategic campaign to shape the choices of a sovereign state through coercion without formal war.

Apple is planning to shift part of its Mac Mini desktop computer production to the United States, AzerNEWS reports.

A new production line at the Foxconn facility in Houston, Texas, is expected to begin operations later this year. Initially, the Houston plant will focus on meeting domestic demand, while production of Mac Mini computers will continue in Asia.

Historically, most of Apple’s products, including the iPhone and iPad, have been manufactured in Asia, particularly in China. In recent years, however, Apple has been diversifying its supply chain, moving some production to countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, and India.

Industry analysts suggest that this move could be part of Apple’s broader strategy to reduce dependency on Asia, mitigate geopolitical risks, and strengthen its ‘Made in America’ profile. Some observers also note that localized production may shorten supply chains, improve logistics, and allow Apple to respond more quickly to U.S. market demand.

In addition, the Houston facility could become a testbed for next-generation Mac manufacturing technologies, potentially paving the way for other Apple products to be produced domestically in the future.

A meeting has been held to discuss the scientific and scientific-technical activities of the Digital Folklore and Artificial Intelligence Department of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) Folklore Institute for 2026, AzerNEWS reports.

Hikmat Guliyev, Director of the Folklore Institute and acting head of the Digital Folklore and Artificial Intelligence Department, Doctor of Philology, emphasized that digital transformation processes and the application of artificial intelligence create new tasks and challenges for scientific institutions. He specifically noted the necessity of applying these approaches in the field of folklore studies.

The agenda of the meeting included issues raised at the conference on the “New Digital Architecture of Azerbaijan,” chaired by President Ilham Aliyev, and dedicated to the unified action plan. It was highlighted that the formation of a nationwide digital governance model, integration of information resources, and the application of artificial intelligence technologies should be considered priority directions in the work of scientific institutions.

The meeting also discussed the department’s scientific and scientific-technical activity plan for 2026. It was noted that the department’s priority areas include studying new virtual socio-cultural dynamics created by digital transformations based on socio-anthropological approaches to folklore and researching various aspects of Internet folklore.

Moreover, the development of the architecture of the National Digital Folklore Database, the application of artificial intelligence in research processes, and the analysis of scientific-theoretical issues were identified as key directions in the activity plan.

It was emphasized during the meeting that the department’s work is not limited to digitalization and the application of artificial intelligence. It also covers strengthening the integration of electronic scientific information databases across the Institute, as well as organizing seminars and training in this field. The department’s activities involve not only scientific researchers but also engineers-programmers and specialists working in electronic information systems management and other technical areas.

Sarkhan Khaveri, Head of the Science and Education Department of the ANAS Presidium, Doctor of Philology; Deputy Director for Scientific Work, Afaq Ramazanova; Scientific Secretary Elchin Abbasov; and other staff emphasized that the tasks facing the department are of significant importance for organizing the Institute’s activities at the level of modern challenges and requirements.