Presidents Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan joined remotely from Tashkent on August 23 to inaugurate or break ground on more than a dozen projects spanning banking, energy, real estate, mining, agriculture and education — a rollout timed to coincide with the fourth Uzbekistan-Azerbaijan Inter-Provinces Forum and Aliyev's state visit to Tashkent.
The centerpiece was the launch of Davr Bank, in which Azerbaijan's International Bank (ABB) is acquiring a 51% stake in a deal the lender's chairman, Abbas Ibrahimov, said in May would bring more than $100 million in associated investment. Officials also marked the start of construction on five new SOCAR filling stations, developed jointly with Uzbekneftegaz — the first step in a broader push by Azerbaijan's state oil company into Uzbekistan's retail fuel market.
Speaking at the forum, Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov said SOCAR intends to build out its own network of stations once it establishes a retail presence in the country. He said a second state company, AzerGold, is preparing to launch geological exploration and mineral extraction work with Uzbek partners, with projects to be based directly in Uzbekistan's regions rather than concentrated in the capital.
The day's launches also included a gypsum plant built by Matanat-A, two STEAM schools developed under the Landau brand by Landau Education Group, and three real estate ventures: the Sea Breeze Uzbekistan residential and recreational complex by Agalarov Development, the Baku City residential complex by TuranAZ, and a processing plant for silver-bearing ore tied to the Sur Gold and Silver Project.
Agriculture featured prominently as well. Uzbekistan's investment minister, Laziz Kudratov, said Azerbaijani fruit producer Gold Fresh Fruit is entering the second phase of an orchard project in the Namangan region, expanding to 700 hectares with new cold-storage and logistics infrastructure. He said dairy company Milla has also expressed interest in setting up production in Tashkent, though he gave no details on investment size or timeline.
The cooperation runs both ways: Kudratov said Uzbek specialists are breaking ground on an orchard called "Druzhba" — Russian for "friendship" — in Azerbaijan's Fuzuli district, and floated further agricultural partnerships pairing Uzbekistan's Syrdarya and Kashkadarya regions with Azerbaijan's Fuzuli and Beylagan districts.
Taken together, the projects reflect a rapid broadening of economic ties between the two countries, which just five years ago had almost no joint ventures to speak of — a gap Aliyev has said Uzbekistan's economic reforms under Mirziyoyev helped close.
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