All sections

Rubrics

Editorial desks and subject areas

All NewsEvery published article, newest firstEconomyBusiness and investmentPoliticsPower and governanceEnergyResources and climateSecuritySecurity and conflictsChina FactorChina in the regionTurkish FactorTurkey's role in the regionOpinionPositions and commentary

Countries

Country hubs across the Eurasian space

KazakhstanCentral AsiaUzbekistanCentral AsiaKyrgyzstanCentral AsiaTajikistanCentral AsiaTurkmenistanCentral AsiaMongoliaInner AsiaAfghanistanInner AsiaPakistanSouth AsiaTurkeyRegional powerChinaNeighboring powerRussiaNeighboring powerCaucasusGeorgia · Armenia · Azerbaijan

Formats

Ways to read the archive

Wire BriefsFast updates from the wire deskAnalysisContext and interpretationOpinionCommentary and argument

Info

About, contact, and reader utilities

About Central Asia WireSearch ArchiveContact EditorialRSS Feed
Central Asia Wire
Independent Central Asia Monitor
Breaking
The UK sanctions 4 Georgians for Kremlin disinformation and names Tskhinvali’s leadersKazakhstan’s inflation slows to 9.3% in September as the tenge opens the week at 447.73Turkmenistan reports 6.3% growth for 9 months and a budget collected to 100.1% of planFour German party foundations stop work in Georgia after Tbilisi rejects their grants
Economy

Azerbaijan’s second investment forum closes on 12 documents by APA’s list and 11 by Report.az’s: an Azerbaijani-Omani fund into Azer-Turk Bank, SOCAR into water, no sums printed

The second Azerbaijan International Investment Forum in Baku, held under President Aliyev’s patronage, produced a signing list of 12 documents in APA’s count at 12:47 and 11 in Report.az’s at 14:10, with no sum attached to any of them. The one ownership line is the Azerbaijani-Omani investment fund’s non-controlling stake in Azer-Turk Bank, signed for the Azerbaijani side by Deyanet Sadullayev, acting chief executive of the Azerbaijan Investment Holding; SOCAR’s line is a cooperation agreement with the State Water Resources Agency and Esyasoft.

By CAW Staff25 September 2026
A macro still life of a drop of dark sealing wax cooling on cream paper beside a plain brass seal, one amber highlight on the wax.

APA’s 12, published at 09:32 and updated at 12:47 Baku time, run from the economy ministry’s construction and development agreement with ROX Group and the State Agency for Renewable Energy Sources’ solar and wind agreement with the same group, through Alat Free Economic Zone and Inovest AFEZCO on silicon carbide and silicon oxide, the Agstafa district and iCsquared GmbH on ABAK-WASSERSTEIN plantations, the Business Development Fund with AgroDairy and AGROFERT on poultry in Agdam, with VETAL on veterinary vaccines and with Saneca Pharmaceuticals on a pharmaceutical plant, to AZPROMO and UkraineInvest on investment promotion, the economy ministry and Microsoft Ireland on a memorandum, and SOCAR’s strategic cooperation with the Italian Football Federation. Report.az’s 11 are the same list without the football line. 12 signatures by one count, 11 by the other, and no figure among them.

The Oman line is the forum’s one transfer of ownership: a non-controlling share of Azer-Turk Bank to the joint fund, with no percentage and no price printed, signed for the Azerbaijani side by the holding that manages the state’s corporate stakes. Beside it, the water agreement puts SOCAR next to the State Water Resources Agency and Esyasoft; the officials APA names at the table are deputy economy minister Anar Akhundov, SOCAR’s president Rovshan Najaf and Javanshir Abdulaev, director of the State Agency for Renewable Energy Sources.

12 signatures by one count, 11 by the other, and no figure among them.

The forum’s panel was titled “Shaping the Future of Global Growth, Investment and Connectivity”, and it sat the day after Prime Minister Ali Asadov presented the 2027 budget’s lines and the 2027 to 2030 strategy drafts, with defence at 8.8 billion manat, 3.4 billion for the liberated territories and reserves of $91 billion behind them. By Trend’s report of 22 September, the EBRD’s portfolio in Azerbaijan stood at €879 million.

Across both lists the pattern is the same: sector agencies and district executives signing with foreign companies, one state bank opening a minority door to Gulf money, and the national oil company lending its name to water and to football. The sums, if any were agreed, stayed off the page.

More from