BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 15. Kyrgyz President
Sadyr Japarov is in Baku on a working visit to attend the 7th
Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building
Measures in Asia (CICA), which Azerbaijan will host under its
chairmanship on October 15.
The visit continues active dialogue between the two countries,
which formalized their alliance on July 31, 2026, by signing a
treaty to that effect. The focus is now on translating the
agreements reached into practical results, including expanding
trade, attracting investment, strengthening banking ties and
improving transport connectivity.
In 2025, bilateral trade between Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan
totaled $77.17 million, approximately 1.9 times the figure recorded
in 2024. The positive trend has continued in 2026. From January
through July, Azerbaijan's exports to Kyrgyzstan reached $30.03
million, 28.2% higher than the figure for the whole of 2025.
Imports from Kyrgyzstan totaled $4.03 million over the same
period.
The Azerbaijan-Kyrgyzstan Development Fund is one of the
mechanisms for expanding economic ties. Established in 2022, the
fund saw its capital increased to $200 million in July 2026. Its
expanded financial capacity is expected to support new joint
projects and strengthen industrial cooperation.
Speaking about the fund's activities, Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev said: "Today, we agreed to double the capital of the
Joint Azerbaijan-Kyrgyzstan investment fund to $200 million. I am
confident that this is also not the limit, because the presentation
we received on the Fund’s activities indicates that it is being
filled with concrete substance. A great number of projects are
being implemented in Kyrgyzstan, creating joint ventures, new jobs,
and strengthening the economic potential of our interaction."
These projects include carpet manufacturing at the Bishkek Free
Economic Zone. The facility is designed to produce more than
100,000 square meters of carpets per month. Total investment
amounts to approximately $3.2 million, including $1 million
provided by the fund. The project is expected to create 36
jobs.
Cooperation also extends to other sectors. In energy, the two
sides are considering small hydropower projects on the Tyup and
Kulun rivers, with planned capacities of 9 megawatts and 5.4
megawatts, respectively. Other promising areas include healthcare,
light industry, sea buckthorn processing and the production of
construction materials.
The financial sector could provide another avenue for closer
economic integration. Talantbek Omuraliev, CEO of Kyrgyzstan's
DosCredobank, told Trend exclusively on the sidelines of B2B meetings
held as part of the TÜRKFİN fintech mission in Baku that the bank
was interested in cooperation with Azerbaijani financial
institutions. "DosCredobank is currently a leader in the fintech
sector. We have a mobile app, Simbank, used by approximately
700,000 people, and we have plans for further expansion," he
said.
According to Omuraliev, the bank is interested in establishing
correspondent banking relationships with Azerbaijani banks and
integrating payment solutions. "There is interest, for instance, in
establishing correspondent banking relationships with Azerbaijani
banks; we would certainly be interested in pursuing this if there
is reciprocal interest. We are also interested in integrating
payment solutions and are exploring opportunities to do so," he
said.
Direct banking links could simplify settlements between
companies in the two countries and create additional conditions for
trade growth. As bilateral trade expands, accessible and convenient
payment mechanisms are becoming an important complement to
investment and industrial projects.
Energy also remains a promising area of cooperation. Former
Kyrgyz Energy Minister Taalaibek Ibraev previously told Trend on the sidelines of Baku Energy Week that
Bishkek was interested in expanding cooperation with Azerbaijan
both in petroleum product supplies and in green energy. "We are
interested in developing cooperation with Azerbaijan. This concerns
not only the power sector but also collaboration in the field of
fuel and lubricants. Joint work is already underway, and we would
like to increase its efficiency and productivity, as well as scale
up the volume of petroleum product supplies. In addition, we are
interested in interaction in the field of green energy," he
said.
Ibraev noted that it was too early to speak of concrete results,
but meetings with representatives of the oil refining and
hydropower sectors were planned. In July 2026, the two sides signed
a memorandum on petroleum product supplies and a roadmap for energy
cooperation for 2026-2028.
Another area is mining cooperation between Azerbaijan's AzerGold
and Kyrgyzstan's Kyrgyzaltyn. Such projects could broaden the
bilateral agenda, traditionally focused on trade and investment, by
adding industrial cooperation and the joint development of
production capacity.
Further trade growth will depend not only on production volumes
and access to financing but also on the cost of transporting goods.
As a landlocked country, Kyrgyzstan relies on dependable transit
routes and predictable tariffs to access international markets.
At the eighth Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of
Central Asia, held in Awaza on October 8, Japarov called for
practical measures to improve the efficiency of transport
corridors. In particular, he highlighted the need to coordinate
end-to-end tariffs and transport schedules, reduce delays and
introduce digital cargo tracking.
"The effectiveness of economic cooperation depends directly on
the region's transport connectivity. Access to external markets is
determined by the reliability of routes, transportation costs and
the predictability of transit conditions provided by our
countries," Japarov said.
He also stressed that every country should be able to
participate fully in regional transport projects and benefit
economically from them.
For Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan, this agenda is closely linked to
the development of the Middle Corridor, which connects China and
Central Asia with the Caspian region and the South Caucasus. The
China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is becoming an important part
of the region's transport infrastructure. In the longer term,
developing the eastern sections of the route and coordinating
transit arrangements with Caspian and South Caucasus routes could
expand opportunities for delivering goods to international
markets.
However, new infrastructure projects are only part of the
equation. Coordinated tariffs, schedules and digital solutions can
make transportation more predictable and reduce business costs. For
countries seeking to expand bilateral trade, these factors are key
to competitiveness.
In Awaza, Japarov also proposed creating a unified electronic
trading platform for Central Asia and Azerbaijan. He said such a
mechanism could give consumers and businesses broader access to
goods produced across the region.
"Our citizens actively use international electronic trading
platforms to purchase goods from third countries. In this regard,
we propose creating a unified electronic trading platform for
Central Asia and Azerbaijan. This would give consumers and
businesses broader access to goods produced in the countries of our
region," the Kyrgyz president said.
Another proposal from Japarov concerns selecting joint
industrial projects and identifying participants, funding sources
and implementation timelines. According to him, Kyrgyzstan's trade
with Central Asian countries and Azerbaijan nearly doubled over
four years, reaching $3.5 billion in 2025.
These initiatives complement the bilateral agenda and
demonstrate that stronger economic ties depend not only on
individual agreements but also on the conditions in which
businesses operate. Simplifying trade procedures, improving
logistics transparency and expanding digital tools could make it
easier for companies to enter neighboring markets.
CICA is particularly important for Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan in
this context. The organization, which brings together 28 Asian
countries, provides a multilateral platform that places bilateral
allied relations within a broader regional framework. During its
2024-2026 chairmanship, Azerbaijan has focused on connectivity,
digitalization and sustainable development - priorities that align
directly with Baku's and Bishkek's interests in developing the
Middle Corridor, industrial projects and transport routes.
Participation in the summit allows the two countries not only to
strengthen political dialogue but also to advance practical
initiatives within a wider regional framework.
The alliance between Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan gained fresh
momentum with the signing of the relevant treaty on July 31, 2026.
President Ilham Aliyev stressed at the time that the new status
entailed mutual responsibility and support in trade and economic
affairs, security and international relations.
"Allied relations entail great responsibility, and we are
prepared to shoulder it. We will continue to support each other in
all undertakings: on international platforms, in the trade and
economic sphere, and in strengthening security," the President of
Azerbaijan said.
The increase in the capital of the Azerbaijan-Kyrgyzstan
Development Fund provides a financial foundation for new projects,
DosCredobank's interest points to opportunities for closer banking
integration, and Japarov's proposals on transport tariffs and
electronic trade address the conditions that shape day-to-day
business activity.
These areas are interconnected. Industrial projects can increase
the supply of goods, financial integration can facilitate payments,
and coordinated transport arrangements can lower delivery costs.
Together, these factors can help sustain more stable growth in
bilateral trade.
Japarov's visit to Baku for the CICA summit comes amid
intensified bilateral and regional dialogue. The next step for
Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan is not simply to expand the list of
agreements but to implement them in practice - from launching
production facilities and establishing new supply chains to
simplifying payments and making transport routes more
competitive.
