When heads of state from the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) gather in Khankendi — the heart of a liberated and rejuvenated Karabakh — on July 3–4, 2025, it won’t just be another summit on regional economics. The 17th ECO Summit is poised to blow past protocol and morph into a high-octane act of strategic symbolism. What’s at stake? A seismic shift in the very soul of post-Soviet and Islamic Eurasia.
Let’s get one thing straight: picking Khankendi as the venue wasn’t about diplomacy-as-usual. It was a power move — a geopolitical statement told not in the tired language of military dominance, but in the vocabulary of sustainable development, interconnected futures, and a new playbook for the region. Karabakh, once a war zone, is turning into a launchpad for peace, a nerve center for Eurasian dialogue. In this bold gesture, Azerbaijan is laying down a new creed: power isn’t about occupying land — it’s about turning that land into a magnet for progress.
This summit mirrors the times we live in. It reflects not just Baku’s rising diplomatic game, but also ECO’s search for a redefined identity — one that cuts across Turkish, Iranian, Pakistani, Central Asian, and South Caucasus interests. What we’re witnessing is a pivot from symbolic integration to hands-on collaboration, from dusty old alliances to agile geo-economics, from scars of the past to opportunities ahead. That’s the real juice behind the Khankendi summit.
Eurasia’s Center of Gravity Shifts — and Azerbaijan Is at the Helm
This might just be the moment historians point to when Eurasia’s strategic center of gravity shifted south and east of the Caspian — toward a confident, sovereign Azerbaijan that’s playing architect of regional cohesion and modernization.
From Member to Mastermind: Azerbaijan’s Rise in the ECO
Azerbaijan jumped on the ECO bandwagon back in 1992, when the group was evolving from a three-country club (Iran, Pakistan, Turkey) into a full-blown platform for states tied by history, geography, and cultural DNA. But Baku didn’t just show up for the photo ops. From the mid-‘90s, Azerbaijan was already pitching big-picture ideas to knit the region together.
Look at the scoreboard: the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan oil pipeline (2006), the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway (2017), and the Southern Gas Corridor — all play straight from the ECO playbook: push trade, move energy, tighten transport links across the East.
As President Ilham Aliyev nailed it in one of his speeches: “Azerbaijan isn’t just participating in integration — it’s driving it.” That ethos helped form a solid Central Asia–Caucasus growth axis, bringing Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan into sync.
From Flashpoint to Blueprint for Peace
Hosting the ECO Summit in Khankendi? That’s not just a location choice — it’s a tectonic move.
First off, it’s a bold declaration of internal sovereignty. Since regaining full territorial integrity in 2023 and integrating Karabakh into Azerbaijan’s legal and administrative framework, this summit pins Khankendi not just on the map, but into global perception.
Second, it’s a message to the world: Karabakh is no longer a battlefield — it’s a proving ground for peace, sustainability, and regional cooperation.
As Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov put it: “Khankendi is emerging not just as a political symbol, but as the beating economic heart of a new regional architecture. Decisions made here will ripple across millions of lives.”
Symbolically, this summit marks the triumph of a development-driven peace model. Post-war reconstruction is no longer about fences and firepower — it’s about opening doors and building bridges.
Energy, Logistics, and Geo-Economics: Azerbaijan as the New Nexus
The July summit will be laser-focused on three intersecting lanes: sustainable growth, climate security, and infrastructure connectivity. That’s not just ECO’s fresh game plan — it’s Azerbaijan’s new calling card: a connector of continents, a broker of interests from every compass point.
Front and center? Azerbaijan’s dual role as Europe’s energy safety valve and a powerhouse of continental logistics.
Take the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) — a lifeline stitched together to break Europe’s dependence on traditional suppliers. It’s got three main arteries:
- Shah Deniz 2 — a Caspian gas field
- TANAP — the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline across Turkey
- TAP — the Trans-Adriatic link from Greece to Italy
In 2024, Azerbaijan’s gas exports to the EU hit 12.1 billion cubic meters — up 20% from the previous year. And according to Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov at the Vienna Energy Forum in March 2025, Baku is aiming for 20 bcm by 2027, with 30% of that mix coming from decarbonized and renewable sources.
No surprise then that the European Commission backed an extension of the Strategic Energy Partnership with Azerbaijan through 2035. Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary are already lining up to plug into the SGC via interconnectors, fast-tracked with help from the European Investment Bank.
Azerbaijan’s Play for the Future of Freight
On the logistics front, Azerbaijan is betting big on the Middle Corridor — the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) that threads China through Kazakhstan, the Caspian, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and into Europe.
In 2024 alone, ECO data shows cargo along the route surged 48%, hitting a record 8.2 million tons. Delivery times from Xi’an to Istanbul shrank from 28 to 16 days — turning this route into a real contender against the northern option through Russia.
Baku’s making it happen with hard investments in key infrastructure:
- Port of Alat — the Caspian’s biggest logistics hub, handling 25+ million tons annually, with capacity to double.
- Zangilan Logistics Hub — a multimodal node linking Nakhchivan with East Zangezur and Turkey.
- Horadiz–Aghbend railway — a backbone project connecting Karabakh with Iran and feeding into the East-West transport system.
These efforts sync up perfectly with ECO’s Tashkent Summit initiative (2023) — aiming to create a unified logistics interface and digital customs coordination platform across the member states.
Come July 2025, the world’s going to witness more than a summit. It’s going to see a paradigm shift unfold in real time — in a place that once symbolized division and now signals unity. Azerbaijan isn’t just hosting the ECO Summit — it’s rewriting the region’s playbook. From pipelines to policy, railways to regional leadership, Khankendi 2025 is where the new rules of Eurasia are being drafted. And Baku? It’s holding the pen.
According to ECO Secretary General Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, “Azerbaijan has turned geography into strategy. Its infrastructure policy is laying the foundation for a new Eurasia.” That’s not just a nice turn of phrase — it’s a blunt assessment of how Baku, over the last 15 years, has pulled off what many thought impossible: transforming scattered routes and energy flows into a connected ecosystem where the interests of China, the EU, Central Asia, and the Middle East intersect and feed off one another.
Today, Azerbaijan is more than a transit country. It’s an integration architect. A supply chain stabilizer. A strategic anchor in a world rocked by trade wars and the unraveling of global institutions. That kind of clout doesn’t go unnoticed.
According to the Asian Development Bank’s Q1 2025 report, Azerbaijan ranks among the top three regional economies — alongside Kazakhstan and Vietnam — with the highest GDP multiplier effect from transport logistics. In plain speak: for every dollar invested in connectivity, Azerbaijan gets more back than most.
Azerbaijan Takes the Lead in Climate Diplomacy
But Khankendi 2025 isn’t just about pipes, trains, and trade routes. This summit is also ECO’s coming-out party for climate leadership — and once again, Azerbaijan’s front and center. Not as a follower. As a driver. A platform. A doer.
The game-changer? The launch of the ECO Clean Energy Center in Baku in 2024 — the organization’s first dedicated institution for coordinating green energy, climate resilience, and sustainable development among member states.
The Center — which went live in May 2024 — is no paper tiger. It includes:
- A regional analytics unit (built with UNEP and ESCAP),
- A tech-sharing platform for renewables,
- A green finance mechanism for startups and municipal initiatives, backed by the Islamic Development Bank and ECO’s Trade and Development Bank.
In just eight months, it kicked off 17 joint projects in solar, wind, and micro-hydro — including pilot sites in Eastern Zangezur and Nakhchivan.
As Center Director Professor Amir Rezaei put it, “The mission isn’t just to shrink the region’s carbon footprint — it’s to turn us into net exporters of clean tech.”
Azerbaijan’s climate game runs on what officials call an “energy duality” principle — scaling hydrocarbons while fast-tracking renewables. This hybrid approach, rare in the region, has already become a model for countries straddling development needs and green commitments.
At the Khankendi summit, Azerbaijan will unveil its National Sustainable Development Strategy through 2035, which lays out:
- A 30% renewables share in the energy mix by 2030,
- A 40% cut in GHG emissions compared to 1990 levels,
- New green economic zones in Karabakh, Zangezur, and Absheron,
- Major wind energy investment, including a 240 MW project in Khizi–Absheron with backing from Masdar.
Azerbaijan’s leadership got a standing ovation at COP28 in Dubai. EU Climate Envoy Frans Timmermans called Baku “a true bridge between the Global South and North on climate justice.”
But Azerbaijan isn’t just turning inward. It’s thinking regionally. The country is spearheading a climate coalition within ECO and the Turkic Council. Highlights include:
- A draft Caspian Climate Declaration, set to be unveiled at the summit,
- Talks on launching an international climate research hub at ADA University in collaboration with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkey,
- A blueprint for regional carbon trading among ECO states.
In other words, climate diplomacy is no sideshow. It’s becoming a cornerstone of Azerbaijan’s broader strategy to position itself as a responsible, forward-thinking power in Eurasia.
Karabakh Reimagined: Soft Power in Action
The 17th ECO Summit isn’t just an economic or environmental affair. It’s also a cultural reset — a chance for Azerbaijan to flex its humanitarian diplomacy and soft power.
Rebuilding Karabakh is more than an infrastructure project. It’s a civilizational revival — a masterclass in using culture, tourism, education, and collective memory to shape identity and global perception.
Case in point: Shusha, the cultural crown jewel of Karabakh, has been named ECO’s 2026 Tourism Capital. That’s not just a ribbon-cutting event. It’s a signal to the world: Karabakh is no longer a frozen conflict — it’s a rising star.
Shusha isn’t just architecture and poetry. It’s a symbol of spiritual return. With over 700 heritage sites restored — including the iconic Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque, the Vagif Memorial House, and the Natavan Panorama — the city is ready for business, not just summits, but full-on global tourism.
As Culture Minister Adil Karimli said at the ECO session in Islamabad in January 2025:
“Shusha is our answer to destruction. We offer the world a new philosophy of post-conflict recovery — through culture, through dialogue, through shared humanity.”
The Takeaway? Azerbaijan Isn’t Just Hosting — It’s Leading
With Khankendi as the venue, Baku’s not just offering a place to meet — it’s offering a vision. One that threads energy, logistics, climate, and culture into a single regional narrative. In a time of fragmentation and fracture, Azerbaijan is building something that looks a lot like a future.
Call it what you will — strategy, vision, resilience. The bottom line is this: Azerbaijan is setting the tone for a new Eurasia. And Khankendi 2025 is the stage where that message goes global.
At the upcoming ECO summit in Khankendi, Azerbaijan plans to pitch a game-changing idea: the creation of a Cultural Partnership Platform for ECO countries. This isn't window dressing — it’s a bold attempt to bake cultural diplomacy into the region’s strategic DNA.
The platform will include:
- Student and faculty exchange programs between universities;
- Joint archaeological and ethnographic expeditions along the ancient Silk Road;
- A brand-new international film initiative — "Karabakh Screen" — to showcase regional storytelling, cinema, and cultural narratives.
Karabakh, once a geopolitical flashpoint, is fast becoming a bridge between civilizations — a living lab for a new kind of humanitarian diplomacy rooted not in trauma, but in revival.
During the summit, Azerbaijan is expected to ink bilateral agreements with several ECO members on mutual recognition of academic degrees, research credentials, and educational programs. This move paves the way for a shared educational space — and positions Baku as a rising intellectual capital in the region.
Starting in 2026, students from Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Turkmenistan will begin studying at ADA University, the Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University, and the newly established Karabakh campus of Baku State University.
Meanwhile, tourism is booming. In Q1 2025 alone, over 62,000 foreign visitors made their way to Fuzuli, Shusha, and Khankendi — a threefold jump from the same period in 2024.
From Tashkent to Khankendi: The ECO’s Coming of Age
To grasp the full scale of what’s happening in Khankendi, you’ve got to rewind to November 9, 2023 — the date of the 16th ECO Summit in Tashkent. Back then, ECO was still stuck in a kind of diplomatic adolescence: lofty agendas, generic declarations, and too many leaders sending their regrets.
The summit checked all the right boxes on paper — digital transformation, energy cooperation, trade roadmaps — but on the ground, it lacked bite. It came and went with barely any actionable frameworks or standout deliverables.
Presidential participation was thin. Kazakhstan sent a letter. Turkey was repped by its VP. Iran showed up with its economy minister. Azerbaijan, in contrast, showed real intent: President Ilham Aliyev attended in person — a sign that Baku was already gearing up to steer ECO into more relevant waters.
Fast forward to Khankendi 2025, and the contrast couldn’t be sharper.
This time, we’re talking:
- Full presidential attendance — with confirmed appearances from Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (Turkey), Asif Ali Zardari (Pakistan), Shavkat Mirziyoyev (Uzbekistan), Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (Kazakhstan), Masoud Pezeshkian (Iran), and ECO Secretary General Hossein Amir-Abdollahian;
- A first-ever head-of-state dialogue on climate and sustainability in ECO history;
- Unveiling of concrete projects, including the Baku-based Clean Energy Center, the region’s first Climate Roadmap, the “ECOLogistics” transport platform, and a new startup support fund.
This isn’t just another regional gathering. Khankendi is hosting over 40 bilateral meetings, a business forum, an eco-tech exhibition, plus summits of ECO ministers of energy and culture. What we’re witnessing is the transformation of a once-niche platform into a political, economic, and humanitarian mega-event.
What’s on the Table? According to diplomatic leaks and internal project drafts, the summit is likely to greenlight:
- The ECO Charter for Sustainable Economic Cooperation through 2035, prioritizing green investment, digital trade, and smart transport;
- The ECO Climate Policy Council, with Azerbaijan as founding chair (2025–2027);
- A green financing mechanism for joint projects in Karabakh, East Turkestan, and southern Pakistan;
- The launch of “The Karabakh Humanitarian Dialogue” — an annual cultural diplomacy program featuring film festivals, academic forums, youth exchanges, and school curriculum swaps.
What Really Matters Isn’t the Final Communiqué — It’s the Shift That Follows
By the end of the Khankendi summit, one thing will be crystal clear:
- Azerbaijan will have cemented its role as regional moderator, coordinator, and visionary inside ECO;
- Karabakh will no longer be seen as a conflict zone, but as a rising symbol of cross-border collaboration;
- ECO itself will start morphing from a soft-power Islamic club on the geopolitical fringe into a functional Eurasian alliance, with Baku as the engine room.
As Janusz Lehmann of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs told Deutsche Welle: “Azerbaijan is no longer just a state that restored its territorial integrity. It’s become the focal point of a new regional leadership model — built on infrastructure, climate cooperation, and cultural diplomacy.”
Khankendi as the Summit of Azerbaijan’s Eurasian Trajectory
The 17th ECO Summit in Khankendi isn’t just another diplomatic gathering. It’s the culmination of Azerbaijan’s three-decade strategic push to reshape its regional role — and, by extension, redraw the future of Eurasia. Held in the very heart of Karabakh, the summit is a full-throttle symbol of a shifting balance of power: one where borders no longer dictate geopolitics — projects do. And the alliances that emerge are built not on old loyalties, but on shared outcomes.
Azerbaijan isn’t just putting Karabakh back on the global map — it’s turning it into a launchpad for regional transformation. This isn’t just success. It’s a precedent.
Azerbaijan as the Anchor of a New Regional Architecture
All signs point to the adoption of the ECO Charter for Sustainable Development through 2035 as a key outcome of the summit — and the goals on the table are anything but routine:
- Aligning national energy strategies with the Paris Agreement;
- Empowering women’s entrepreneurship across the region;
- Digitizing trade and cross-border commerce within ECO;
- Building up university partnerships and accelerating scientific exchange.
Baku is also expected to propose the first-ever ECO Ministerial Forum on Energy and Ecology in 2026, to be hosted in Azerbaijan’s capital — a logical next step in anchoring climate transition as a shared priority.
Zoom out, and the implications are even bigger: Azerbaijan’s international agency is expanding. The country is emerging as a trusted middleman, broker, and bridge between Western and Central Asia, between Islamic and Turkic spheres, and between developed and developing economies.
As Jonathan Walsh, an analyst with RAND Corporation, put it:
“Azerbaijan’s integration model is a rare mix of hard-nosed pragmatism, symbolic power, and openness to new alliances. The ECO Summit in Karabakh is the high watermark of that model.”
Khankendi Is More Than a Summit — It’s a Strategic Manifesto
What Azerbaijan showcased in Khankendi wasn’t just logistical competence or diplomatic savvy. It was a strategic philosophy on full display:
- Peace through development;
- Diplomacy through infrastructure;
- National identity through sustainability.
A rebuilt and reconnected Karabakh is no longer a leftover battleground — it’s becoming a space for global dialogue. And Azerbaijan is staking its claim as one of Eurasia’s main architects of the future.
Because it’s here — in the mountains of Karabakh — that a new regional agenda is being written. One rooted in peace, prosperity, and principled leadership.