Avrupa Ajansı (AVA) LONDON — Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held talks in Bishkek yesterday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, with bilateral relations, border delimitation, trade and regional transport projects among the issues discussed.
According to a regional assessment compiled by Avrupa Ajansı (AVA), the Aliyev-Pashinyan meeting was among a series of developments highlighting growing diplomatic and economic activity across the South Caucasus and Central Asia.
The talks between Aliyev and Pashinyan focused on the normalisation of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the ongoing border delimitation process and the implementation of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), a proposed transport initiative intended to strengthen regional connectivity.
Energy security also remained a key issue across the Caspian region. Kazakhstan is exploring alternative oil export routes as concerns over the security and operational reliability of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) continue to encourage efforts to diversify the country's export infrastructure.
Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have also continued to expand cooperation in transport, logistics, energy and investment. Their growing partnership is contributing to broader efforts to strengthen connectivity between Azerbaijan and the five Central Asian states and to develop the wider Middle Corridor.
The SCO Summit in Bishkek brought regional leaders together to discuss security, economic cooperation, transport connectivity and energy. The meeting took place against a backdrop of increasing efforts to strengthen links between Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
The United States is also expanding its economic engagement with Central Asia. A US congressional delegation recently visited Uzbekistan, with investment, critical minerals, trade and regional connectivity among the issues attracting increased attention.
In Kazakhstan, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is continuing institutional reforms under his “New Kazakhstan” agenda. The country's transition towards a new unicameral legislative structure marks another stage in the political and institutional changes being pursued by the government.
Armenia, meanwhile, is continuing to deepen its engagement with the European Union. Prime Minister Pashinyan has announced plans to put the country's EU membership aspirations to a national referendum, signalling a further evolution in Yerevan's foreign-policy direction.
The TRIPP initiative has also been identified as an important element of Armenia's transport strategy for the 2026-2031 period. If implemented, the route could have wider implications for connectivity between Azerbaijan, Armenia and Türkiye, as well as for the broader Middle Corridor linking Europe and Asia.
Armenia-Russia relations continue to evolve alongside these developments. Pashinyan has reiterated Armenia's increasingly independent foreign-policy approach, while questions surrounding Russia's role in regional security structures and Armenia's railway system remain part of the wider debate.
Nuclear diplomacy remains another important element of Kazakhstan's international agenda. President Tokayev has called for renewed international efforts to bring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) into force, reflecting Kazakhstan's long-standing position on nuclear disarmament and the legacy of the Semipalatinsk nuclear testing site.
The Aliyev-Pashinyan meeting in Bishkek, together with the wider discussions surrounding the SCO Summit, underline the growing importance of diplomacy, energy security and transport connectivity in shaping the strategic landscape of the South Caucasus and Central Asia.