Baku Hosts New Business Partnerships Worth $4.7 Billion

Cooperation and investment agreements worth a combined USD 4.7 billion were on the agenda at the 51st Annual Meetings of the Islamic Development Bank Group held in Baku, while Azerbaijan took significant steps toward its goal of becoming the financial and logistics hub of the Middle Corridor.

The 51st Annual Meetings of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group were held with the Private Sector Forum (PSF 2026) under Azerbaijan's hosting. Within the scope of the meetings, the signing of over 32 agreements and memoranda of understanding with a total value exceeding USD 4.7 billion is foreseen. These cooperations are expected to make significant contributions to Azerbaijan's vision of becoming a regional investment and trade center.

Azerbaijan's Minister of Economy Mikayıl Cabbarov emphasized in his opening remarks that Azerbaijan is an extremely attractive country for investment and noted that the partnership maintained with the IsDB Group since 1992 has progressed on the basis of mutual trust, shared priorities, and concrete results.

Minister Cabbarov stated that economic diversification ranks among the fundamental strategic objectives and that they see major opportunities in manufacturing, agriculture and food processing, logistics, renewable energy, digital technologies, and other non-oil sectors with high export potential. He further noted that the Alat Free Economic Zone (AFEZ), industrial parks, and tax and customs incentives are among the principal support measures offered to foreign investors.

Baku on the Middle Corridor and Turkic World Axis
The Middle Corridor, customs integration, and development of regional logistics networks were among the key topics that came to the fore at the meetings. This year, trade connections among member states of the Organization of Turkic States and the strengthening of digital trade platforms were particularly central to the agenda. These subjects are set to reinforce Azerbaijan's strategic role along the China–Central Asia–Caucasus–Turkey corridor in the context of the Zangezur Corridor and Caspian transit transportation. Efforts to position Baku Port and the Alat Free Economic Zone (AFEZ) as one of the most important trade and logistics centers of the Middle Corridor were also among the topics highlighted at the meetings.

IsDB Priorities
The following topics were seen to come to the fore in the Islamic Development Bank Group's forthcoming business plan:

• Transport infrastructure and energy projects
• Renewable energy and climate resilience
• Digital transformation and artificial intelligence
• Health systems
• SME financing

A Strategic Showcase
The meetings constitute an important international platform in terms of Azerbaijan's objectives of becoming an investment, finance, and logistics center. The Azerbaijani government views these meetings as a strategic platform for positioning the country as the investment, logistics, and finance center of the Turkic World. Over the coming 12–24 months, new investment opportunities are expected to emerge in many fields, notably energy, transport, and reconstruction.

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