Hikmat Hajiyev: Caspian Sea is not a divider but a unifier

The Caspian Sea should be viewed as a bridge between peoples and states, not as a barrier that divides the region, Hikmat Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration, said during a panel discussion titled "The Middle Corridor: A New Geopolitical and Economic Lifeline?" at GLOBSEC 2025.

Report quotes Hajiyev as saying the Middle Corridor is of great significance for Azerbaijan as a country located on the historical Silk Road.

"We have historically made a significant contribution to the dialogue of civilizations. Geographically, we are situated at the intersection of East and West and North and South. However, when Azerbaijan regained its independence, we realized that these two components were not enough. We needed to transform our geography and historical experience into new opportunities. Furthermore, as Azerbaijan is a landlocked country, we tried to compensate by developing overland routes. This marked the start of Azerbaijan's journey in the Middle Corridor project, which connects the East and the West," he said.

Hajiyev stressed that Azerbaijan launched this process based on several key parameters. “For us, it’s not just a route for delivering goods from point A to point B. We started with energy corridors — the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline, the Baku–Supsa pipeline — which connected the Caspian to the Black and Mediterranean Seas. The second component involves highway and land routes. We have constructed roads and highways, but that's not enough; we must also connect with neighboring countries. The third component pertains to the sea route. Thus, we established a connection across the Caspian Sea with our partners in Central Asia, declaring that the Caspian Sea is not a divider but a unifier. As a result, we have created a route that brings together four seas — the Caspian, Black, Mediterranean, and Adriatic," Hikmat Hajiyev said.