Why couldn't Azerbaijan not be in Sharm el-Sheikh

Peace is the greatest asset a country can have. Peace, stability, a friendly environment and guarantees that all this will be preserved and multiplied. Guarantees are created by the States themselves through the strengthening of international positions, economies, armed forces and diplomatic logistics. Azerbaijan has ensured the strength of these four pillars. And this, to a certain extent, provides an answer to the question of why Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was invited to the World Gas Summit in Egypt.

It would be more correct to put the question this way: why couldn't Azerbaijan not be invited to this summit, the most important for the world today.

Although Azerbaijan has nothing to do with the issue of Gaza and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, our country's name was repeatedly mentioned both at the summit and on the sidelines. The fact is that Azerbaijan is currently the only country in the world with its own experience of successfully resolving a long-standing conflict. At the last stage, the US President joined the settlement process, which accelerated the process and made it irreversible. But Azerbaijan walked the road to August 8 on its own, and from this point of view, its experience is invaluable. So far, no conflict has been resolved without the intervention of numerous intermediaries, without endless meetings and discussions of international stakeholders. No international organization has held meetings to restore the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and the powers have not gathered for summits to bring peace to the South Caucasus. Azerbaijan did it on its own. But we are very grateful to Donald Trump for helping to finally put an end to the negotiations, which could again drag on for many years. 

The involvement of the United States has given a number of guarantees to the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia. First, it is a guarantee that Yerevan will not risk backing down and stalling for time. After the Washington agreements, he will have to deal with such an interested party as Washington. And Trump will not allow the destruction of what was built on August 8 and what he has already recorded as his asset. 

Secondly, the presence of the United States in the case has saved the peace process from the annoying interference of other players who are interested not so much in peace as in solving their own problems. After the summit in Washington, all Yerevan's advisers stepped aside, which gave Nikol Pashinyan the opportunity to do the right thing.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the US President in Egypt has repeatedly addressed President Ilham Aliyev. Even during Trump's official handshakes with the summit participants, it was noticeable that the Azerbaijani leader had a special place. Not only in the general photo of the participants or in the hall, but in the regional policy and plans of the world's leading power.

A WORD TO THE EXPERT

Deputy of the Milli Majlis, political scientist Rasim Musabekov:

"Please note that everyone is currently focused on Gaza, while the unresolved situation in Gaza has halted a broader and more important process - Israeli-Arab reconciliation. Azerbaijan is important in this broader context. Firstly, because, as a Muslim country, it has excellent relations with Israel, despite all the current bitterness of the war and Israel's confrontation with the Arab world and, in a broader context, with Muslims around the world. Azerbaijan has maintained its relations with Israel, supports them and very often acts as a mediator, for example, between Turkiye and Israel, Syria and Israel. Their negotiations took place in Baku, and I think this will continue. And in this sense, Azerbaijan is very important. In addition, along with maintaining diplomatic relations with Israel, Azerbaijan has a representative office in Ramallah, in Palestine.

I think it is also very important that there are great prerequisites for the gas fields on the Gaza shelf to be as rich as those on the Israeli shelf. In the future, the development of these resources will be able to help Gaza somehow revive and not live constantly on cash and humanitarian aid. SOCAR is one of those companies that can receive support from both Arab countries and Israel for the development of these fields.

All these factors, I think, were the reason for Donald Trump to insist on Azerbaijan's presence at this summit. Moreover, in my opinion, the experience that Azerbaijan has demonstrated by resolving the very long and seemingly deadlocked Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict is also important. Having settled the conflict, Azerbaijan agreed to sign a peace treaty, and this was consolidated in Washington with the participation of the US President. The matter is moving towards the final Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization. This successful example also played a role in the fact that Azerbaijan was wanted in Sharm el-Sheikh."

Azerbaijan should have been in Sharm el-Sheikh also because the country has recently become a player in the Middle East. Moreover, an independent player.

Azerbaijan's advantageous geographical location, its resources and stability have long been appreciated by the West and the East. Now the Middle East is also looking at the country. More precisely, Azerbaijan and the Middle East are eyeing each other.

The relations between Baku and Islamabad can serve as an example of successful relations between Azerbaijan and the Greater Middle East. Major projects are being implemented with the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Thus, Baku has chosen the right partners for cooperation in the field of renewable energy development. Masdar (UAE) and ACWA Power (Saudi Arabia) have extensive experience in this field, work in many countries, and have dozens of successful projects in their portfolios. Middle Eastern companies are building solar, wind, and hybrid power plants in Azerbaijan, and the Saudis are preparing to join the seawater desalination project.

And now serious processes are developing in the direction of Syria. Azerbaijani-Syrian relations are part of Azerbaijan's Middle East policy. "We only want peace for this country, for these people who have suffered for so many years, we want them to live in peace and develop their country," President Ilham Aliyev said about Syria in an interview with Al-Arabiya.

Azerbaijani gas supplies to Syria began in August 2025. This is a historic event, because for the first time Azerbaijani gas went to the Middle East. Azerbaijan has not only diversified its export routes, but also opened its way to this region. The parties are discussing the possibilities of expanding energy cooperation. In particular, the Syrian side is finding out what role Azerbaijan could play in restoring the country's oil and gas infrastructure destroyed by wars. According to media sources, the Syrian government is interested in the SOCAR State Oil Company helping to develop oil and gas fields in the northeast of this country. She is interested in Azerbaijan's experience in this area and in its good relations with neighboring Israel.

Turkiye acted as a transit country for Azerbaijani gas. In general, the strengthening of Turkish influence in Syria has opened up a space for Azerbaijan's entry into the region, and today it is expanding the boundaries of its economic and political interests. Skeptics and detractors try to associate Azerbaijan's interest and attention to Syria solely with Baku's desire to be in touch with Turkiye. But Baku has repeatedly proved that in addition to fraternal interests within the framework of Azerbaijani-Turkish cooperation, it also has its own interests and approaches. And sometimes the steps he takes show that the factor of Azerbaijan in the region is capable of operating outside the same track with Ankara. Azerbaijan is an independent player. And his interests in Syria and the Middle East as a whole are linked to his interests, Azerbaijan's interests.

In the light of the ongoing processes in the Middle East, Azerbaijan can also play an important role as a diplomatic hub. Our country has historically been a bridge between civilizations and has accumulated extensive experience in interacting in difficult conditions and establishing contacts. In recent years, Baku has repeatedly become a mediator between the conflicting parties. It should be recalled that at various times Baku acted as a mediator in resolving differences between Israel and Turkiye, Turkiye and Russia, Israel and Syria. NATO and Russia have repeatedly held meetings at the Azerbaijani site. So Baku has a lot of experience in terms of peacemaking steps. And he's ready to share it.

Azerbaijan, having risen several lines in the global "table of ranks" after the Second Karabakh War, is no longer just an observer. He is a participant.