Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan Latest News

A year after ties between India and Azerbaijan soured over Baku’s alignment with Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) met with Azerbaijan’s top leadership in an attempt to reset bilateral relations.

About Azerbaijan

• Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is located at the junction of Eastern Europe and Western Asia along the southern flanks of the Caucasus Mountains.
• It is bounded in the east by the Caspian Sea, the world’s largest inland body of water.
• Bordering Countries:  It is bordered by Russia in the north, Georgia in the northwest, Armenia in the west, and Iran in the south.
• The country is highly mountainous, making human settlement very limited to along rivers and coastlines. 
• Highest Point: Mount Bazardüzü is the highest peak in the Greater Caucasus Range and the highest mountain in Azerbaijan. 
• History:
  • At various times Arabs, Persians, Turks, and Mongols dominated the land. 
  • Russia took over Azerbaijan in the early 1800s.  In 1918 Azerbaijan declared independence. 
  • In 1920, however, the new Soviet Union sent troops to take control of Azerbaijan. 
  • At first the Soviets combined Azerbaijan with Georgia and Armenia. 
  • In 1936 Azerbaijan became a separate Soviet republic. 
  • With the breakup of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan gained independence again in 1991. 
• Government Type: Presidential Republic 
• Capital: The capital city, Baku, is famous for its modern architecture and historical sites, including the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Old City. 
  • For its location at 28 m below sea level, Baku is the largest city in the world located below sea level and also the lowest-lying national capital in the world.  
• Climate: Its climate is highly varied and contains examples of nine out of the world’s eleven climate zones. Most of Azerbaijan is dry, with hot summers and mild winters.  
• Major Rivers: Alazani, Aras, and Kura Rivers. 
• Economy: 
  • Azerbaijan’s economy is driven by its natural resources and the service sector. 
  • Its major resources are petroleum (oil) and natural gas.  
  • Other resources consist of gold, silver, iron, titanium, copper, manganese, cobalt, molybdenum, and chromium.
  • The service sector, including information and communication services and tourism, employs almost half of the population.  
• Currency: Azerbaijani manats (AZN) 
• People:
  • Most of the country’s people are Azerbaijani, though there are a few Russians, Armenians, and other minority groups. 
  • Most people speak Azerbaijani, a Turkic language. 
  • More than 90 percent of the people are Muslims. 
• Border Issues: Its relations with neighboring Armenia are tense, especially due to conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh during and following the collapse of the Soviet Union, of which they were both part. 

News: IE

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