Azerbaijan is increasingly positioning itself as a strategic hub of connectivity across Eurasia, where energy, transport, and digital infrastructure are becoming tightly interlinked. Speaking at the 13th World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku, Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov highlighted the country’s evolving role not only in ensuring energy security but also in advancing green transition, sustainable urban development, and regional integration.

The global system is currently undergoing a profound restructuring. The war in Ukraine and the Middle East, disruptions in supply chains, Europe’s energy crisis, and intensifying competition among global powers have forced countries to seek alternative trade routes, diversify energy supplies, and form new regional partnerships.

It is no coincidence that Shahbazov emphasised the growing importance of energy lines, transport corridors, fibre-optic networks, and electricity interconnectors, describing them as the new "arteries" of the global system. In the modern world, geopolitical influence is no longer defined solely by military power or natural resources. Increasingly, it depends on a country’s ability to provide stable connectivity, facilitate economic integration, and ensure secure flows of energy, goods, and information.

At the heart of this strategy is the recognition that, in today’s geopolitical and geoeconomic environment, connectivity........

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