General: President Ilham Aliyev demonstrated Azerbaijan’s role as a key Eurasian actor in Davos

The talks held by President Ilham Aliyev in Davos further strengthen Azerbaijan’s position as a strategic actor on a Eurasian scale.
This was stated by retired General Yücel Karauz, former military attaché of Türkiye in Azerbaijan, in his comments to The Daily Baku.

According to General Yücel Karauz, the “dual energy identity” shaped by Azerbaijan – namely the production and export of green electricity alongside natural gas – effectively serves as a kind of insurance package for Europe.

“The main value of the Davos meetings lies in the fact that Baku now presents itself not merely as an energy supplier, but as a reliable partner capable of strengthening its position during crises, attracting long-term investment, and building new energy lines.”

Y. Karauz noted that the messages voiced by President Ilham Aliyev in Davos particularly emphasized the increase in gas exports to Europe in recent years and access to new markets. He stressed that Azerbaijan, through the Southern Gas Corridor and TAP, has emerged as a stable and scalable alternative in meeting Europe’s need for supply diversification.

“The start of SOCAR’s gas supplies to Germany and Austria, as well as the achievement of long-term agreements with Germany, elevates this cooperation from a purely commercial contract to the level of a strategic partnership.”

According to the General, projects such as the Black Sea submarine cable and the Black Sea Connectivity initiative, intended to transmit Azerbaijan’s green electricity to Europe, bring Europe’s green goals and energy security together on a single platform. Such initiatives already fall into the category of strategic infrastructure for European institutions and international financial circles and are fully aligned with the European Union’s Global Gateway approach.

Y. Karauz emphasized the particular importance of meetings held in Davos with major financial and infrastructure institutions such as BlackRock and Global Infrastructure Partners. According to him, these meetings demonstrate that Azerbaijan presents its green energy transition not merely as an intention, but as a portfolio of projects backed by real financial resources.

The General stated that this dual energy model deepens the partnership with Europe along two main lines: in the short term, ensuring the reliability of energy supply, expanding the contractual base, and attracting new buyer countries; in the medium and long term, forming mutual strategic interdependence through high-voltage power lines, interconnectors, and green energy corridors.

In Y. Karauz’s view, Davos demonstrated not only Azerbaijan’s role as an energy bridge, but also its status as one of the key connectivity hubs linking Eurasia as a whole. President Ilham Aliyev’s meeting with DP World in Davos shows that Baku sees itself not simply as a country located along corridors, but as a system-building state that manages these corridors and creates attractiveness. Global operators such as DP World play an accelerating role in ports, free economic zones, cargo transit, digital customs, and supply chain security.

He also drew attention to the President’s remarks in his interview with Euronews in Davos regarding the “shift of the global order toward power balances.” These statements indicate that transport corridors are now evaluated not only as an economic issue, but also as a matter of geopolitical resilience. This includes security, resilience to sanctions risks, route diversification, and the protection of critical infrastructure.

General Yücel Karauz added that Azerbaijan’s position in the Middle Corridor is shifting from that of a transit country toward that of a system-building country. The ambition to set standards for alternative routes in Europe–Caucasus–Central Asia trade is also confirmed by the prominence of the Middle Corridor on the Davos agenda. At the same time, intensive contacts with Gulf countries, including actors such as Qatar, demonstrate that Baku is building multipolar cooperation networks in the fields of energy and logistics.

According to Y. Karauz, President Ilham Aliyev’s activity in Davos goes beyond classical diplomatic representation and constitutes a clear example of strategic leadership. In his words, Ilham Aliyev presented Azerbaijan not as a reactive, but as a direction-setting actor. At a time of growing global uncertainty and energy crises, the messages conveyed project the image of a calm, rational leader who correctly reads power balances.

The General emphasized that one of the most striking aspects of the Davos meetings was the President’s articulation of a state vision based not on short-term results, but on a 10 to 20 year perspective. Within this vision, Azerbaijan openly declares its goal of becoming not only a gas supplier, but a hub country for green energy and electricity transmission, and in transport and logistics, transforming from a simple transit country into one of the main pillars of Eurasian trade.

In conclusion, Yücel Karauz stated that President Ilham Aliyev’s Davos performance is a successful synthesis of strong state thinking, strategic patience, and multifaceted diplomacy. Today, under his leadership, Azerbaijan is no longer merely a country that takes regional balances into account, but has become an important actor with growing geopolitical weight, influencing decision-making processes between Europe and Asia. Davos clearly demonstrated that this leadership presents a vision that resonates across Eurasia.