The third London conference of the Caspian Policy Center on the Trans-Caspian connection was held in London, the Azerbaijani Embassy in the UK said.
The event, titled "Harnessing The Momentum, Building on The Synergy", discussed the growing regional ties between Central Asia, the South Caucasus and Türkiye, as well as the economic, trade and strategic opportunities emerging against the backdrop of the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor.
The UK Trade Envoy for Azerbaijan and Central Asia, Lord John Alderdice, a member of the House of Lords, spoke about the UK's growing focus on cooperation with the region and the importance of approaching this region from a unified perspective. John Alderdays stressed that British companies are participating in important infrastructure projects in Azerbaijan. The UK's export credit agency UKEF (UK Export Finance) carrying out the first financing operation in the aviation sector with the Azerbaijani Silk Way company. British companies are also working on the development of clean energy corridors in Azerbaijan.
Touching upon the field of education, Lord Alderdice noted the successful cooperation of British universities in Azerbaijan and the region on dual degree programs and specialist training.
In his speech, the Azerbaijani Ambassador to the UK, Elin Suleymanov, said that the opportunities for regional connectivity and the steps taken in this direction have formed a more mature view of the future development directions of the region. The diplomat noted that the recent crises and wars in the region and the world have once again revealed the role of the Middle Corridor, and especially Azerbaijan, in regional connectivity.
"The fact that Azerbaijan's airspace became a major alternative for civilian aircraft due to the closure of airspace by some states in the recent conflict between Israel and Iran is one of the most obvious examples of this. In 2001, NATO also chose Azerbaijan as the main transit country during the crisis related to the supply network for coalition forces in Afghanistan. All this once again shows that it is impossible to imagine regional integration without Azerbaijan. The fact that Great Britain appointed Lord Alderdice as the trade envoy for Azerbaijan and Central Asia is also a manifestation of this view," the ambassador said.
He hailed the growing role of the United Kingdom in the region, especially its support for projects implemented in the fields of green transition, energy and finance, and thanked the United Kingdom for its participation at the highest level in COP29 and support for the process.
Speaking at the event, Afgan Nifti, Director of the Caspian Policy Center, noted that trade, transit, energy and human connections are developing rapidly in the Trans-Caspian region. He said that the increased visits to the region by the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, China and India in recent months are an indicator of this interest. Nifti emphasized that Trans-Caspian cargo transportation increased by 62 percent last year and noted that intra-regional cooperation is also gradually strengthening. Afgan Nifti also noted that 25 percent of the Trans-Caspian digital cable project has already been completed and that this project will strengthen the independent digital connectivity capabilities of Central Asia.
