BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 28. The official visit of Ethiopia's Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed Ali, to Azerbaijan on February 27 shows that Baku is developing relations with African countries with a new content, political analyst Azer Garayev told Trend.
According to him, the visit can be assessed as the beginning of a new stage in Baku-Addis Ababa relations. The visit covered a wide spectrum from political dialogue to economic cooperation, from energy partnership to digital transformation, and enriched the prospects for strategic cooperation between the two countries with concrete content.
"The main event of the visit was the one-on-one and extensive meetings of the Ethiopian Prime Minister with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. During the talks, the parties discussed the development of bilateral relations on an institutional basis, mutual support within international organizations, and the creation of new cooperation mechanisms.
The meetings emphasized that political relations are just beginning to take shape, but have great potential. In particular, the expansion of cooperation with Ethiopia, one of the leading states on the African continent, is noteworthy as a continuation of the course of geographical diversification in Azerbaijan's foreign policy," he noted.
Garayev pointed out that one of the important moments in the visit program was the Prime Minister's visit to the Sangachal oil terminal.
"This terminal, which is considered one of the largest energy logistics centers in the world, demonstrated the role Azerbaijan plays in global energy security. The guest was informed about the country's energy strategy, including projects implemented after the Contract of the Century, as well as internationally significant initiatives such as the Southern Gas Corridor. This presentation showed that the management and infrastructure experience gained by Azerbaijan in the energy sector can act as a model for developing countries," he explained.
The political analyst emphasized that the delegation's acquaintance with the Alat Free Economic Zone was an important stage that determined the future directions of economic cooperation.
"The zone, located at the intersection of the East-West and North-South transport corridors, was presented as one of the main platforms that will turn Azerbaijan into a regional industrial and logistics center. This direction is also of particular importance for Ethiopia, since the integration of African markets into Eurasian trade routes can create new investment opportunities," he said.
The analyst emphasized that the prime minister's visit to the ASAN service center within the framework of the visit once again demonstrated the growing international reputation of Azerbaijan's institutional innovations.
"The opening of a public services center based on the Azerbaijani model in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, shows that this cooperation has become a practical result. The implementation of the ASAN model is considered one of the most concrete examples of the Azerbaijani-Ethiopian partnership in terms of digitalization of public administration and optimization of citizen services. The meeting held by the Prime Minister at the AI Academy highlighted the future technological dimension of cooperation. Knowledge exchange in the field of artificial intelligence, human capital training, and innovation ecosystem development can occupy an important place in the long-term development agenda of the two countries. This direction is especially important in terms of expanding technology transfer and digital transformation cooperation between developing countries," he said.
According to him, several agreements and memorandums of understanding were signed within the framework of the visit, covering defense cooperation, agriculture, investment promotion, anti-corruption activities, media, and the climate agenda. In particular, the cooperation document on organizing the UN Climate Conference - COP32 session revealed the parties' intention to work together on the global agenda.
"The experience formed by Azerbaijan in the fields of energy, logistics, public administration, and digital technologies creates a practical cooperation platform for rapidly developing countries like Ethiopia. Thus, this visit can be assessed as not only the beginning of diplomatic relations between the two countries, but also an important political event that lays the foundation for long-term economic, technological, and institutional partnership," Garayev added.