BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 11. The first official visit of President Ilham Aliyev to Slovakia marked a significant milestone in the history of bilateral relations, reflecting a new level of political dialogue and economic cooperation between Baku and Bratislava. At a time of shifting geopolitical dynamics in Europe and ongoing challenges in energy security, the agreements and discussions held on 8-9 December carry both symbolic weight and concrete practical value for the two countries. From the Hungarian perspective, the visit is seen as strategically important, reinforcing Budapest’s own energy and regional policies.
Commenting on the visit, Professor László Vasa, senior researcher at the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs (HIIA), told Trend that the real progress between the two countries already happened with the 2024 Joint Declaration on strategic partnership, which raised relations to the highest formal level. “This visit operationalizes it with concrete MoUs on defense industry, food safety, consular issues, culture and SME cooperation, plus the background of SOCAR’s pilot gas supplies to Slovakia,” he noted.
The analyst added that the visit marks a transition toward a more meaningful partnership, but still primarily in the energy-economic and niche defense-industrial fields. Its depth will depend on whether gas volumes grow, interconnectors are fully used and new projects in renewables or digital infrastructure follow, he pointed out.
“For Central Europe, a closer Baku-Bratislava axis strengthens the Southern Gas Corridor’s northern branch and reduces the region’s dependence on Russian and Ukrainian transit, which aligns with Hungary’s own diversification strategy and our growing ties with Azerbaijan,” Professor Vasa highlighted. He suggested that in the medium term, this could create a loose V4+Azerbaijan platform, where Hungary and Slovakia coordinate more closely on Caspian energy, connectivity and perhaps defense industry, slightly increasing Central Europe’s bargaining power inside the EU and vis-à-vis external suppliers.
According to Vasa, several main drivers define the partnership. “First, energy security and diversification: Slovakia is in a vulnerable position after the Ukraine transit stop and the politicisation of Russian gas; it needs new, non-Russian volumes fast. Azerbaijan wants to lock in new EU buyers for Southern Gas Corridor exports and future production, and Slovakia fits well as a landlocked, highly dependent market,” he said.
“Furthermore, defense-industrial and connectivity interests: Slovakia’s defense industry is looking for new markets; Azerbaijan is seeking technology transfer and joint production for export. And the logistics and East-West connectivity, where Central Europe links to the South Caucasus via the Black Sea and Türkiye, is also a factor,” he added.
From Budapest’s perspective, Vasa stressed, this rapprochement is mostly viewed positively and as complementary. It reinforces Hungary’s own Azerbaijan policy: more Caspian gas into Central Europe strengthens the Southern Gas Corridor branch that we also rely on and reduces the stigma that Hungary is ‘alone’ in engaging Baku.
Professor Vasa emphasized that gas cooperation lies at the core of the partnership. “With SOCAR now supplying Slovakia, Baku is no longer just a supplier for Italy and the Balkans, but a source reaching deep into Central Europe,” he said. “Slovakia is a landlocked market highly dependent on imports, and Azerbaijani gas via the Southern Gas Corridor provides a non-Russian alternative, strengthening energy security and diversification.”
He noted that the practical importance of the visit is in formalizing and expanding these flows. “If Slovakia can anchor regular SOCAR deliveries and establish multi-annual contracts, it will transform from a potential endpoint into a real anchor market at the northern end of the Vertical Corridor. That creates strong incentives to upgrade and fully use interconnectors along the Greece-Bulgaria-Romania-Hungary-Slovakia line, align regulatory rules, and coordinate capacity booking and reverse-flow options,” Vasa explained.
According to him, Azerbaijan has a solid track record of honoring long-term contracts toward EU buyers. “This reliability matches Central Europe’s interest in predictable, multi-year deliveries, as opposed to exposure to spot-market volatility. The structural limitation is export volumes, and expansion via new fields, TANAP/TAP upgrades, and Balkan interconnectors will take time and investment,” he added.
Vasa also linked Slovakia’s gas cooperation with Hungary’s broader energy strategy. “From Budapest, this visit is fully aligned with our multi-vector, pipeline-centric strategy: maintaining Russian gas, adding Azerbaijani gas volumes from the South, plus some LNG and renewables. Azerbaijani gas helps stabilise flows through the Balkans and strengthens the case for further interconnector investments. A visible Baku-Bratislava axis enhances the northward extension of the Southern Gas Corridor, indirectly benefiting Hungary by creating a larger, more liquid regional market for non-Russian gas.”
He underlined that the visit is more than a bilateral energy deal. “It sends a message that Azerbaijan is becoming a more integrated player in Europe’s pan-regional gas system. As the 12th European importer of Azeri gas, Slovakia demonstrates that the Southern Gas Corridor is no longer just a southern route - it has a real Central European reach,” he said.
Professor Vasa also underlined the symbolic and practical importance of Slovak involvement in Karabakh reconstruction. “It gives EU/NATO ‘stamp of legitimacy’ to the post-war reality and to the Great Return reconstruction agenda. A Slovak-led project in Karabakh and new MoUs on economic and tech cooperation signal that ties are not just about gas, but also about long-term development and investment. In Hungary, which is a fellow EU member and Azerbaijan’s partner, this is seen largely positively. It widens the group of EU states that have a tangible stake in Azerbaijan’s post-war reconstruction,” he explained.
“From a Hungarian perspective, stronger Azerbaijan-Slovakia cooperation is welcome: it raises the economic logic and EU visibility of the Vertical Corridor, while giving Budapest a chance to act as a key transit hub and political broker in Central Europe’s south-north energy architecture,” László Vasa concluded.