As the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit is being held in Bishkek on August 31–September 1, transport and connectivity are again in focus. The summit, which marks the SCO’s 25th anniversary, is expected to address a broad range of economic and regional cooperation priorities, including transport and infrastructure. In the modern world, a country’s international standing is determined not only by the size of its territory, population and economy.
It is determined by its geographical location, ability to influence regional processes, and position along transport and communication routes connecting different economic regions, which are also key factors shaping its strategic importance. At a time when global economic activity is increasingly shifting toward Asia, and new transport and energy routes are gaining geopolitical importance alongside their economic value, the role of countries linking major regions is becoming even more significant. Azerbaijan is one of the countries with such a strategic position.
Located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia and with access to the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan has developed modern transport infrastructure that enables it to serve as an important link between Central Asia, the South Caucasus, Türkiye and Europe. The country’s growing position in the international system in recent years has also been accompanied by efforts to make more effective use of these advantages. The main strength of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) lies in its demographic and economic scale.
The organisation includes China and India, two of the world’s largest population and consumer markets. Russia, Pakistan and Iran also have large populations and sizeable domestic markets. This represents not only significant consumer potential, but also a vast labour force, industrial capacity and a broad base for future economic growth.
The nominal GDP of China, at around $19.5 trillion, India at $3.96 trillion, and Russia at $2.56 trillion, clearly demonstrates the economic scale of the SCO space. The rapid development of Central Asian economies such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan further adds to this picture. For Azerbaijan, this space is important in terms of existing trade ties, as well as opportunities to expand transport, logistics, investment, industrial and energy cooperation.
However, Azerbaijan’s main advantage is not its ability to compete with SCO members in terms of economic scale, but rather its capacity to connect this vast economic space with broader Eurasian markets. The same logic applies to transport. The SCO space covers a large part of the major land transport routes running from east to west and from north to south.
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