External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Uzbek counterpart, Bakhtiyor Saidov, discussed key issues on the bilateral agenda during a meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, and emphasised the need for the timely implementation of agreements reached at the highest level. Jaishankar was in Azerbaijan on October 23, 2026, for a day-long visit to review bilateral ties. During the visit, he met Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and held talks with Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov on trade, investment, energy, tourism and connectivity.
Describing his discussions as “very productive”, Jaishankar said they had helped chart a way forward for bilateral ties. The two sides explored ways to expand economic cooperation, particularly in trade, investment and energy, and agreed to strengthen coordination on connectivity. Both countries are stakeholders in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a multimodal freight network spanning approximately 7,200 km that connects India with Iran, the Caspian region, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.
Jaishankar stressed the importance of closer coordination on the project, particularly in an increasingly interconnected global economy. The discussions also covered air connectivity, tourism and people-to-people exchanges. Jaishankar thanked Azerbaijan for its assistance in evacuating Indian nationals, particularly students, from Iran during the regional conflict earlier this year.
