BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 5. For many years, economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and the United Kingdom was primarily based on the energy sector. Joint production projects in the Caspian basin, international energy pipelines, and large-scale investments formed the foundation of strategic ties between the two countries, political analyst Azer Garayev told Trend.
"However, the new political and security landscape in the region has shifted cooperation to a completely different dimension. Today, collaboration goes beyond the energy framework and has entered a new phase that includes security, the defense industry, technology, and post-conflict reconstruction. This transformation is driven by mutual interests and growing political trust.
Yesterday, the UK’s ambassador to Azerbaijan, Fergus Auld, emphasized in his social media post that London views defense cooperation not merely as technical collaboration but as a long-term strategic mechanism based on trust. He also noted that the United Kingdom takes pride in its defense partnership with Azerbaijan. These remarks demonstrate London’s interest in expanding cooperation and extending it to new areas. One of the key events confirming the transition of the partnership to a strategic level was the visit of the UK’s Defense Minister, Lord Vernon Coaker, to Baku and his meeting with President Ilham Aliyev. President Ilham Aliyev highlighted the opening of a new chapter in cooperation in the defense industry between the two countries and described this as a sign of mutual trust. This clearly shows that a new page has indeed been opened in this field. President Ilham Aliyev also stated that there are good opportunities to further expand cooperation in trade, investment, and other areas. In other words, Azerbaijan and the United Kingdom intend to strengthen cooperation across all fields, and all the necessary conditions exist for this,” he said.
According to him, one of the key factors strengthening the practical basis of this partnership is the United Kingdom’s decision this year to lift the embargo on the export of weapons and defense industry products to Azerbaijan.
“The decision announced by Minister of State Stephen Doughty opens new opportunities for direct contracts, the transfer of modern technologies, and technological cooperation in the defense industry. This step is a clear expression of London’s political trust in Baku. During his visit, Coaker congratulated President Ilham Aliyev on the progress achieved in the normalization process with Armenia. This statement shows that London sees Azerbaijan as the driving force behind peace efforts in the region,” he said.
Garayev noted that the UK’s open support for the peace process demonstrates that this cooperation is important not only at a bilateral level but also for regional stability.
“London’s support for Azerbaijan’s initiatives and its approach to security cooperation as a contributing factor to peace in the region adds additional strategic value to these relations. Thus, the Azerbaijan–United Kingdom partnership is no longer limited to energy-based relations; it has evolved into a strategic alliance supported by political trust, security cooperation, technological production capabilities, and efforts to promote regional peace. In the future, the implementation of joint projects in the defense industry may further deepen these relations and elevate cooperation between the two countries to a new strategic stage,” the analyst added.
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