Baku and Tashkent are intensifying dialogue in the field of security—across multiple dimensions. This month, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Emergency Situations, Colonel General Kamaleddin Heydarov, met with Uzbekistan’s Minister of Emergency Situations, Major General Botir Kudratkhodjaev, on the sidelines of the 26th International Conference of Heads of Fire and Rescue Services of CTIF member states. The ministers agreed to deepen cooperation and signed a joint action plan for 2026–2027.
Earlier, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Defense, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov, received a high-level Uzbek delegation led by Viktor Makhmudov, Secretary of the Security Council under the President of Uzbekistan, and Minister of Defense, Lieutenant General Shukhrat Khalmukhamedov. Following the talks, the parties signed a plan for bilateral military cooperation between the defense ministries for 2026. In parallel, Azerbaijan’s Secretary of the Security Council, Ramil Usubov, met with Viktor Makhmudov. The participants underscored the importance of further strengthening and expanding ties in the military and military-technical spheres, including mutual exchanges of experience—steps expected to open new opportunities for maintaining stability and security not only in the South Caucasus but also across Central Asia.
Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan is developing dynamically—evident from high-level diplomatic engagement to joint projects in a wide range of areas. Yet cooperation in security, and particularly in the military and military-technical domains, merits special attention.
It has been said before, but bears repeating: a “security vacuum” has emerged in Central Asia. In the early post-Soviet years, countries east of the Caspian relied on cooperation with Russia to address security challenges. The war in Ukraine forced a reassessment. First, Russia’s resources are concentrated on the Ukrainian front. Second, regional capitals have recalibrated their risk assessments. At the same time, the West has been slow to provide Central Asian states with substantial security assistance. Uzbekistan’s own experience offers sobering lessons: while it has not faced external aggression, it has endured terrorist attacks and an Islamist uprising in Andijan. At the time, Russia’s behavior was, at best, ambiguous—Moscow reportedly possessed information about preparations for the uprising but did not promptly share it with Uzbek partners. The calculation was clear: a forceful response by Uzbek authorities would have drawn criticism from Western liberal circles, which later labeled many terrorists as “political prisoners”—a scenario all too familiar to Azerbaijani audiences.
Meanwhile, security risks have not disappeared, and these are not issues that can be deferred.
Azerbaijan may not rival the world’s leading power centers in security, but it brings a decisive asset: governance and management technologies in the military and security spheres. Azerbaijan built its armed forces virtually from scratch, and they have proven themselves in real combat by liberating Karabakh from occupation. After the turmoil of the 1990s, the country also established highly professional security services. Its domestic defense industry is developing as well—while defense enterprises existed in Soviet times, genuine growth began after independence.
Finally, Azerbaijan is successfully diversifying military-technical cooperation, procuring arms from Türkiye and Israel and reaching agreements with partners such as Slovakia. The armed forces are transitioning to Turkish—i.e., NATO—standards. For understandable reasons, this experience is in demand in Uzbekistan, which is also working to modernize its security institutions with its own resources. The details remain behind closed doors, but joint exercises, military delegations, seminars, and command courses provide ample evidence of deepening engagement. Tolerating a security vacuum is too dangerous; east of the Caspian, this is well understood. And today, Azerbaijan is effectively filling that vacuum.
Nurani
