Jaishankar Calls for Boosting India-Azerbaijan Ties

New Delhi, October 23, 2026 India and Azerbaijan are looking to strengthen their bilateral relationship through professional exchanges, diplomatic consultations and regional cooperation. During a joint press interaction with Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister in Baku, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar highlighted the importance of maintaining regular diplomatic engagement and expanding opportunities for professionals from both countries to build stronger connections. Jaishankar urged his Azerbaijani counterpart to resume and increase the participation of Azerbaijani professionals in India’s Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme. Highlighting the programme’s role in connecting professionals across different fields, he stressed the value of continuing such exchanges to support cooperation between the two countries. The minister also referred to recent meetings under existing bilateral mechanisms and expressed hope that other engagements would take place soon. He noted that the Foreign Office Consultations held in April this year had helped establish a more detailed roadmap for developing bilateral relations, underlining the importance of these discussions in advancing cooperation. Jaishankar further highlighted India’s engagement with regional and multilateral organisations, mentioning the recent visit of India’s Minister of State to Baku for the seventh summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA). He also expressed India’s appreciation for Azerbaijan’s chairship of the organisation. His remarks reflected India’s emphasis on sustained diplomatic dialogue, professional exchanges and regional engagement as important channels for strengthening ties with Azerbaijan. Continued interaction through these mechanisms is expected to provide a framework for further cooperation across various areas.