BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 15. Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov is in Baku on a working visit to attend the 7th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), which Azerbaijan will host under its chairmanship on October 15.
The visit continues active dialogue between the two countries, which formalized their alliance on July 31, 2026, by signing a treaty to that effect. The focus is now on translating the agreements reached into practical results, including expanding trade, attracting investment, strengthening banking ties and improving transport connectivity.
In 2025, bilateral trade between Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan totaled $77.17 million, approximately 1.9 times the figure recorded in 2024. The positive trend has continued in 2026. From January through July, Azerbaijan's exports to Kyrgyzstan reached $30.03 million, 28.2% higher than the figure for the whole of 2025. Imports from Kyrgyzstan totaled $4.03 million over the same period.
The Azerbaijan-Kyrgyzstan Development Fund is one of the mechanisms for expanding economic ties. Established in 2022, the fund saw its capital increased to $200 million in July 2026. Its expanded financial capacity is expected to support new joint projects and strengthen industrial cooperation.
Speaking about the fund's activities, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said: "Today, we agreed to double the capital of the Joint Azerbaijan-Kyrgyzstan investment fund to $200 million. I am confident that this is also not the limit, because the presentation we received on the Fund’s activities indicates that it is being filled with concrete substance. A great number of projects are being implemented in Kyrgyzstan, creating joint ventures, new jobs, and strengthening the economic potential of our interaction."
These projects include carpet manufacturing at the Bishkek Free Economic Zone. The facility is designed to produce more than 100,000 square meters of carpets per month. Total investment amounts to approximately $3.2 million, including $1 million provided by the fund. The project is expected to create 36 jobs.
Cooperation also extends to other sectors. In energy, the two sides are considering small hydropower projects on the Tyup and Kulun rivers, with planned capacities of 9 megawatts and 5.4 megawatts, respectively. Other promising areas include healthcare, light industry, sea buckthorn processing and the production of construction materials.
The financial sector could provide another avenue for closer economic integration. Talantbek Omuraliev, CEO of Kyrgyzstan's DosCredobank, told Trend exclusively on the sidelines of B2B meetings held as part of the TÜRKFİN fintech mission in Baku that the bank was interested in cooperation with Azerbaijani financial institutions. "DosCredobank is currently a leader in the fintech sector. We have a mobile app, Simbank, used by approximately 700,000 people, and we have plans for further expansion," he said.
According to Omuraliev, the bank is interested in establishing correspondent banking relationships with Azerbaijani banks and integrating payment solutions. "There is interest, for instance, in establishing correspondent banking relationships with Azerbaijani banks; we would certainly be interested in pursuing this if there is reciprocal interest. We are also interested in integrating payment solutions and are exploring opportunities to do so," he said.
Direct banking links could simplify settlements between companies in the two countries and create additional conditions for trade growth. As bilateral trade expands, accessible and convenient payment mechanisms are becoming an important complement to investment and industrial projects.
Energy also remains a promising area of cooperation. Former Kyrgyz Energy Minister Taalaibek Ibraev previously told Trend on the sidelines of Baku Energy Week that Bishkek was interested in expanding cooperation with Azerbaijan both in petroleum product supplies and in green energy. "We are interested in developing cooperation with Azerbaijan. This concerns not only the power sector but also collaboration in the field of fuel and lubricants. Joint work is already underway, and we would like to increase its efficiency and productivity, as well as scale up the volume of petroleum product supplies. In addition, we are interested in interaction in the field of green energy," he said.
Ibraev noted that it was too early to speak of concrete results, but meetings with representatives of the oil refining and hydropower sectors were planned. In July 2026, the two sides signed a memorandum on petroleum product supplies and a roadmap for energy cooperation for 2026-2028.
Another area is mining cooperation between Azerbaijan's AzerGold and Kyrgyzstan's Kyrgyzaltyn. Such projects could broaden the bilateral agenda, traditionally focused on trade and investment, by adding industrial cooperation and the joint development of production capacity.
Further trade growth will depend not only on production volumes and access to financing but also on the cost of transporting goods. As a landlocked country, Kyrgyzstan relies on dependable transit routes and predictable tariffs to access international markets.
At the eighth Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia, held in Awaza on October 8, Japarov called for practical measures to improve the efficiency of transport corridors. In particular, he highlighted the need to coordinate end-to-end tariffs and transport schedules, reduce delays and introduce digital cargo tracking.
"The effectiveness of economic cooperation depends directly on the region's transport connectivity. Access to external markets is determined by the reliability of routes, transportation costs and the predictability of transit conditions provided by our countries," Japarov said.
He also stressed that every country should be able to participate fully in regional transport projects and benefit economically from them.
For Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan, this agenda is closely linked to the development of the Middle Corridor, which connects China and Central Asia with the Caspian region and the South Caucasus. The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is becoming an important part of the region's transport infrastructure. In the longer term, developing the eastern sections of the route and coordinating transit arrangements with Caspian and South Caucasus routes could expand opportunities for delivering goods to international markets.
However, new infrastructure projects are only part of the equation. Coordinated tariffs, schedules and digital solutions can make transportation more predictable and reduce business costs. For countries seeking to expand bilateral trade, these factors are key to competitiveness.
In Awaza, Japarov also proposed creating a unified electronic trading platform for Central Asia and Azerbaijan. He said such a mechanism could give consumers and businesses broader access to goods produced across the region.
"Our citizens actively use international electronic trading platforms to purchase goods from third countries. In this regard, we propose creating a unified electronic trading platform for Central Asia and Azerbaijan. This would give consumers and businesses broader access to goods produced in the countries of our region," the Kyrgyz president said.
Another proposal from Japarov concerns selecting joint industrial projects and identifying participants, funding sources and implementation timelines. According to him, Kyrgyzstan's trade with Central Asian countries and Azerbaijan nearly doubled over four years, reaching $3.5 billion in 2025.
These initiatives complement the bilateral agenda and demonstrate that stronger economic ties depend not only on individual agreements but also on the conditions in which businesses operate. Simplifying trade procedures, improving logistics transparency and expanding digital tools could make it easier for companies to enter neighboring markets.
CICA is particularly important for Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan in this context. The organization, which brings together 28 Asian countries, provides a multilateral platform that places bilateral allied relations within a broader regional framework. During its 2024-2026 chairmanship, Azerbaijan has focused on connectivity, digitalization and sustainable development - priorities that align directly with Baku's and Bishkek's interests in developing the Middle Corridor, industrial projects and transport routes. Participation in the summit allows the two countries not only to strengthen political dialogue but also to advance practical initiatives within a wider regional framework.
The alliance between Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan gained fresh momentum with the signing of the relevant treaty on July 31, 2026. President Ilham Aliyev stressed at the time that the new status entailed mutual responsibility and support in trade and economic affairs, security and international relations.
"Allied relations entail great responsibility, and we are prepared to shoulder it. We will continue to support each other in all undertakings: on international platforms, in the trade and economic sphere, and in strengthening security," the President of Azerbaijan said.
The increase in the capital of the Azerbaijan-Kyrgyzstan Development Fund provides a financial foundation for new projects, DosCredobank's interest points to opportunities for closer banking integration, and Japarov's proposals on transport tariffs and electronic trade address the conditions that shape day-to-day business activity.
These areas are interconnected. Industrial projects can increase the supply of goods, financial integration can facilitate payments, and coordinated transport arrangements can lower delivery costs. Together, these factors can help sustain more stable growth in bilateral trade.
Japarov's visit to Baku for the CICA summit comes amid intensified bilateral and regional dialogue. The next step for Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan is not simply to expand the list of agreements but to implement them in practice - from launching production facilities and establishing new supply chains to simplifying payments and making transport routes more competitive.