Azerbaijan and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland signed a strategic partnership declaration in Dublin. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and British Prime Minister Andy Burnham put their signatures to the document.
Azerbaijan and the United Kingdom signed a strategic partnership declaration during a meeting in Dublin, marking a new, higher stage in relations between the two countries. President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister Andy Burnham signed the document on behalf of their respective governments.
The new declaration builds on earlier agreements: the Declaration on Friendship and Cooperation signed in February 1994 and the Declaration on Friendly Relations and Partnership adopted in July 1998. Under the latest document, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the United Nations Charter, core principles of international law, and respect for territorial integrity and state sovereignty.
The declaration highlighted the significance of the peace summit document adopted in Washington in August 2025 and welcomed progress made toward normalising relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The UK reiterated its support for efforts by the two neighbouring countries to reach a lasting peace through bilateral negotiations.
Defence, economic and education cooperation
The strategic partnership covers three main areas. On defence and security, the two sides pledged to deepen cooperation in military training, capacity building, joint defence industry initiatives, law enforcement and border management.
On the economic front, renewable energy, infrastructure, services and development of the Middle Corridor were named as priorities. Cooperation will also expand in green finance, low-carbon technologies and financial markets, with the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation serving as the main mechanism for this work.
The education and innovation section envisages exchanges in higher education, vocational training, digital skills, scientific research and artificial intelligence. The two sides agreed to hold an annual Strategic Partnership meeting to track progress across all three areas of the declaration.
The document was signed in Dublin in Azerbaijani and English, in two original copies, both texts having equal legal force.
