New Delhi: A year after bilateral ties soured over Baku's alignment with Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, India and Azerbaijan have begun an attempt to reset their relationship, with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar meeting the country's top leadership in Baku on Friday in the first standalone visit by an Indian foreign minister in eight years.
Jaishankar, who arrived in Baku on a one-day visit, called on President Ilham Aliyev and held detailed talks with Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, calling the discussions "very productive" and saying they helped set a path forward for improving relations between the two countries.
"Our talks dwelt on further expanding our bilateral relations. We spoke about economic cooperation, including in trade, investment and energy, which are central to our bilateral ties. Given our complementary economies, we believe that there is very good scope for further enhancement of our bilateral trade and investment," Jaishankar said.
The visit is a follow-up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with President Aliyev on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek last month — a meeting that built the diplomatic goodwill on which Friday's visit was constructed.
It is the first standalone visit by an Indian external affairs minister to Azerbaijan since the late Sushma Swaraj's visit in 2018; Jaishankar had previously visited Baku in 2019 as part of a delegation led by then Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu to attend the Non-Aligned Movement Summit.
Relations had nosedived last year over Azerbaijan's stance on India's Operation Sindoor — the counter-terror operation against terrorists in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir following the Pahalgam attack. Azerbaijan was among three countries — the others being Turkey and China — that openly opposed the operation, and its alignment with Pakistan during the crisis strained a relationship that had otherwise been cordial.
The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) — a 7,200km-long multi-mode transport project for moving freight among India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe — featured prominently in the talks. "We are both invested in the International North-South Transport Corridor. That's very important for us. We agreed today that we will coordinate more closely in that regard," the EAM said.
"We spoke about connectivity because it is so important in a globalised economy," he added.
In his press remarks, Jaishankar said the two sides agreed to deepen cooperation in the oil and energy sector and expand it to other areas. On air connectivity, he noted that there are daily flights but said the two sides have to think about how to grow that further to deepen ties.
Bayramov, who acknowledged that the two countries had "different viewpoints on different issues" earlier, spoke about taking the relationship to a higher level, setting aside past differences. He said he was delighted to welcome Jaishankar to exchange views on the current state and prospects of Azerbaijan-India relations, including political dialogue, trade and investment, energy, tourism and cultural ties.
"We also discussed regional and international developments, and cooperation within multilateral frameworks. Emphasised the importance of continued dialogue and exploring opportunities for cooperation in areas of mutual interest," he wrote on X.
Terrorism was among the issues discussed. "We have a common interest in really promoting peace and progress and prosperity," Jaishankar said, adding that threats like terrorism, conflict and instability are "our common enemies". The Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that terrorism, security issues and common threats were discussed during the visit.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that India and Azerbaijan concurred that both nations must cooperate to enhance peace, prosperity and security for their citizens and address shared challenges collectively.
Jaishankar also thanked Bayramov for evacuating Indian nationals — particularly students — from Iran earlier this year during the conflict. "We have Indian students in Azerbaijan. I want to thank you for the care and consideration with which you look after them," he said.
The EAM suggested resuming and increasing the number of Azerbaijani professionals from various domains to utilise the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme, and invited Bayramov to visit India soon at his convenience.
Stating that India has been monitoring developments in the region carefully, the EAM welcomed the August peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia and expressed hope that it would lead to a durable peace.
"India has a very clear position that disputes should be settled through dialogue and diplomacy," he said, adding that the discussions had covered the Middle East, Europe and Eurasia, and that the two sides assessed the global implications of conflicts, which have created a big problem particularly for Global South economies in food, fuel, fertiliser and finance.
After calling on President Aliyev, Jaishankar said he had conveyed greetings from President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Modi. "Our discussions were focused; they were forward-looking, and we exchanged views on various aspects of our relationship. In fact, the President was kind enough to give a lot of time to really review the entire gamut of our ties, including ongoing cooperation, what we could be doing more, what we could be doing differently," he said.
The depth of the reset is notable given how far ties had fallen. According to reports, the relationship had been held back by geopolitical reasons for a while — mainly Azerbaijan's ties with Pakistan, as evident from its support for Islamabad after Operation Sindoor last year, and India's defence ties with Armenia.
Against that backdrop, Friday's language was strikingly forward-looking: while Bayramov spoke about taking the relationship to a higher level and setting aside past differences, Jaishankar underlined the significance of trade and energy cooperation and welcomed the peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, expressing hope that it would lead to the establishment of a durable peace.
Jaishankar also used the visit to raise the issue of cross-border terrorism and common security challenges, reflecting India's continued concern over terrorism emanating from Pakistan — a theme he has carried to capitals across the world. That both sides could discuss such subjects while resetting ties suggests the conversation was not about papering over differences but about building a framework in which they can be managed.
The Baku visit fits into a broader pattern of Indian diplomacy — patient, interest-driven and willing to rebuild bridges even where differences have been sharp. Azerbaijan's energy resources, its position on the INSTC route, and its role in the wider Eurasian landscape make it a country India cannot ignore, just as India's market, technology and connectivity vision matter to Baku.
Whether Friday's "very productive" talks translate into a durable reset will depend on follow-through on both sides — but for now, Delhi and Baku are talking again, and talking seriously.
(Reporting based on The Indian Express and The Hindu.)