Photo: CPC

BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 12. The latest geopolitical developments have reinforced the Caspian region's centrality to global affairs, said Efgan Nifti, President of the Caspian Policy Center (CPC).

Addressing the opening of the CPC 10th anniversary Trans-Caspian Forum in Washington, DC, Nifti pointed out that the Caspian region has moved firmly to the center of global affairs.

Turning to recent developments, Nifti highlighted the initialing of the text of the peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Washington, accelerating development of the Middle Corridor, the enduring ramifications of Russia's war in Ukraine, growing competition over critical minerals, and most recently, renewed tensions involving Iran.

“All of these developments have reinforced the Caspian region's centrality to global affairs and the urgency of the conversations we are here to have today,” he noted.

Nifti also highlighted the region's growing capacity for collaboration, both among its own states and with external partners such as the United States. He noted that Azerbaijan's integration into Central Asia's Consultative Meetings, which created the C6 format, "reflects a growing recognition that energy flows, economic corridors, and security dynamics increasingly bind Central Asia and the South Caucasus into a single strategic space."

Nifti closed his remarks by observing that, after a year of extraordinary progress in the region, "the task now is delivery, translating agreements into implementation and ambition into results."