Turan Research Center

Azerbaijan’s accession to the Central Asia Consultative Summit is less an expansion of a diplomatic forum and more the birth of an increasingly interlinked regional space. By bringing together the strategic resources of Central Asia with the transit capabilities of the South Caucasus, this development has the potential to reshape Eurasia’s political economy. Azerbaijan’s admission as a permanent member of the Central Asia Consultative Summit represents a significant geopolitical shift, signaling the emergence of a trans-Caspian political and economic space, connecting Central Asia and the South Caucasus more closely than at any point since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The rise of the "Cauc-Asian" region is thus a chief geopolitical development of the past decades in the heart of the Eurasian continent. The decision to welcome Baku institutionalizes a relationship that had previously evolved through bilateral and sector-specific cooperation, and it positions Azerbaijan as an integral actor in the strategic architecture of Central Asia’s future. For decades after independence, the Central Asian republics and the South Caucasus evolved as separate geopolitical theaters. Despite geographical proximity and shared infrastructure legacies, there was no formal mechanism linking the two regions at the level of heads of state.

Central Asia consolidated internally around its own integration agenda, while the South Caucasus remained fragmented by conflicts, competing transit projects, and divergent geopolitical orientations. Azerbaijan’s entry into the consultative summit effectively dissolves this long-standing separation. It transforms the format from a C5 group into a C6 regional platform that encompasses both sides of the Caspian Sea. This move reflects the changing priorities of Central Asian states. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan have become increasingly committed to diversifying their connectivity and reducing their dependency on Russian transit routes.

Read the full article on Caucasus Watch.

Emil Avdaliani is a Research Fellow at the Turan Research Center.