The upcoming visit of the President of Uzbekistan to Azerbaijan in the year of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations is not just a tribute to the cooperation groundwork that has been created.

The two countries are seeking to secure their status as not just good neighbors, but allies with coinciding interests.

The first heads of the two states, Islam Karimov and Heydar Aliyev met in 1996. The agreement on friendship and cooperation signed then laid the diplomatic foundations, but it was more about consolidating goodwill against the backdrop of general post-Soviet uncertainty.

The next stage with Ilham Aliyev was marked by the emergence of security and regional challenges. Mirziyoyev's visit to Baku for the Turkic Council summit in 2019 was especially important. The meeting was not only within the framework of a multilateral platform: specific areas of cooperation were discussed behind the scenes. Since then, the bilateral agenda has acquired economic, humanitarian, and military-technical content.

Ilham Aliyev's visit to Tashkent in the summer of 2022 was of fundamental importance. Then a fundamental document was signed - the Declaration on Deepening Strategic Partnership, covering about 40 areas of cooperation. No less symbolic was the opening of the Heydar Aliyev Street and Memorial Square in the capital of Uzbekistan.

The next step was the creation of the Supreme Bilateral Council, the first meeting of which took place in August 2024 in Tashkent. At the same time, during Aliyev's visit to Uzbekistan, the Treaty on Alliance Ties was signed, legally and politically fixing a new vector of bilateral relations.

The Uzbek-Azerbaijani Investment Fund is operating, through which projects worth more than $360 million have already been financed. Among them are the construction of residential complexes in Tashkent, tourist facilities, logistics hubs and production facilities in Kashkadarya.

A separate story is the assembly of Chevrolet models in Hajigabul. Almost 9,000 cars have already rolled off the assembly line. There is a plan to build a second plant. This is not only export, but also production localization designed for regional demand.

Particular attention is paid to the development of transport corridors. Tashkent is increasingly integrating its routes into the Trans-Caspian route, using the infrastructure of Baku. In 2022 alone, the volume of Uzbek cargo transportation through Azerbaijan doubled.

There is already talk about the creation of joint logistics companies, warehouse hubs, and the connection of railway routes. All of this fits into a broader context — Uzbekistan’s search for access to the sea and diversification of export routes amid global logistical instability.

In the summer of 2024, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan signed a MoM in Astana to create a green energy corridor. The project involves exporting green electricity to Europe and creating a joint venture to manage the flow. This is only a prospect for now, but the symbolism is significant — we are talking about an attempt by Central Asian countries not just to supply raw materials, but to form their own energy strategies.

In addition, cooperation in the energy sector is also developing in the hydrocarbon sector: SOCAR and Uzbekneftegaz are participating in each other’s projects. For Tashkent, this is another step toward diversifying partners and technologies in production.

In 2023, a school built by Uzbekistan was inaugurated in the city of Fizuli in Karabakh.

Cultural parallels - from the Khamsa of Navoi and Nizami to the Bukhara caravanserais in Baku and places memorable for Azerbaijani history in Samarkand - are regularly heard to demonstrate rapprochement. This also includes negotiations on the introduction of mutual trips using ID cards and the exchange of cultural programs.

Historical memory here works not as a recollection, but as a resource: the Great Silk Road, common Islamic traditions, similar gastronomic and everyday life.

The upcoming visit of Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Baku will be accompanied by the signing of new agreements. Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan continue to strengthen good-neighborly relations and strive to become true allies.