Elchin Huseynli: Azerbaijan determined to expand co-op with Nepal

Azerbaijan is determined to expand cooperation with Nepal in a number of key areas and exchange experiences in public administration and infrastructure development, reads an article by Azerbaijani Ambassador to Nepal Elchin Huseynli for Nepal Khabar, Report informs.

"On November 8, Azerbaijan celebrates the 5th anniversary of the Victory Day in the Second Karabakh War, also known as the 44-day Patriotic War.

It was a historic day for the people of Azerbaijan – a country that for nearly three decades had been suffering from a foreign military aggression by neighboring Armenia and the occupation of one-fifth of its internationally recognized territories, accompanied by mass atrocities, grave war crimes, ethnic cleansing, terrorism and attacks against civilians.

Immediately after the war, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale demining and restoration works in the liberated territories focusing on destroyed infrastructure, housing, and cultural sites, and enabling safe conditions for the return of hundreds of thousands of displaced people through its "Great Return" program," reads the article.

"Despite being a winner on the battlefield, immediately after the end of the war in November 2020, Azerbaijan proposed a peace initiative in the region, declaring that its regional vision and approach are based on sustainable peacebuilding. Azerbaijan was first to come up with a proposal containing basic principles for the establishment of mutual relations with Armenia.

It was an unprecedented move, since it was Azerbaijan that had suffered from the grave economic, social, and humanitarian consequences of a 30-year-long military occupation, and the blatant violation of its territorial integrity and sovereignty. This move was vividly demonstrated in the country's forward-looking policy of peace and development in the South Caucasus.

Ensuring intensive negotiations led to the historic meeting of August 8, 2025 in Washington DC, where the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a Joint Declaration witnessed by the President of the United States. The sides, among others, emphasized the importance of maintaining and strengthening peace, reaffirmed their intention of opening communications between the two countries for intra-state, bilateral, and international transportation, including between the main part of Azerbaijan and its Nakhchivan exclave through the territory of Armenia, and resolved to build good neighborly relations on the basis of the inviolability of international borders and the inadmissibility of the use of force. Armenia undertook to work with the United States and mutually determined third parties, to set forth a framework for the 'Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity' (TRIPP) connectivity project in its territory," the author wrote.

"The new geopolitical reality created by Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus, which lies at the heart of several strategic connectivity routes between Europe and Asia, such as the Middle Corridor and the International North-South Transport Corridor, gives impetus and opens new possibilities for broader economic cooperation with South Asian countries, including Nepal.

Being the leading political and economic powerhouse in the region, Azerbaijan has recently stepped up its bilateral relations with Nepal. The two countries have been successfully interacting within multilateral formats, such as the UN and the Non-Aligned Movement for years. Upon the invitation of the President of Azerbaijan, the President of Nepal attended the global Climate Change Summit in November 2024 organized in Baku. At the meeting held on November 14, 2024 they noted the historic significance of this first meeting between the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Nepal and emphasized the importance of enhancing economic and trade ties. The same was expressed in their reciprocal congratulatory letters on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations celebrated on February 28, 2025," reads the article.

"Nepal was among the countries that officially welcomed the outcomes of the August 8, 2025 Washington agreements.

There is also a growing interest among Nepali private sector entities to promote business contacts and pursue joint projects with their Azerbaijani peers. A number of visits to Baku and discussions have taken place recently.

Academic collaboration has been carried out successfully owing to the partnership of the Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs (AIDIA) in Nepal and the ADA University in Azerbaijan.

On this historic day – the 5th anniversary of the Victory in the Second Karabakh War that marked the beginning of a new era of peace and prosperity, Azerbaijan remains determined and is more than ever well positioned to expand pragmatic cooperation and partner with Nepal, including in experience sharing in governance, infrastructure development, institutional modernization, digital innovation, energy transition, education and other areas," the article says.