ADA University, BP company, the British Embassy in Baku, as well as the Azerbaijani Embassy in Britain supported the organization of the Forum, which brought together about 70 diplomats, politicians, parliamentarians, academics, scientists, students, business representatives and other political and public figures from Britain and Azerbaijan.
Modern.az reports that at the opening session of the event, Elin Suleymanov, Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Britain, Bob Blackman, Member of the House of Commons of the British Parliament, Chairman of the Group on Azerbaijan in the British Parliament, Lord Wajid Khan, Member of the House of Lords of the British Parliament, former minister in the current Labor government, and Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli, Vice President for External Relations and Communications in the Caspian region of BP company, delivered speeches. Also, British Ambassador to Baku Norman Duncan made a video address to the event participants.
During his speech, Elin Suleymanov, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Britain, stated that Azerbaijan-Britain relations are relations that have stood the test of time, and the decision to elevate relations to the level of strategic partnership is a logical continuation of the existing reliable partnership.
Ambassador Suleymanov said that the fact that the first European official to visit Azerbaijan after the historic Washington summit held on August 8, 2025, was the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Britain, is a clear indicator of Britain's support for the normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and thanked the British side for correctly evaluating the realities in the region.
In his video message to the event participants, British Ambassador to Azerbaijan Norman Duncan emphasized the importance of holding the Forum at a very important time – a time when the strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Britain is rapidly developing and allowing for deeper cooperation between the two countries in various fields. The British Ambassador noted that the regional peace and stability created by the normalization process between Armenia and Azerbaijan create a fertile ground for all this.
Bob Blackman, Member of the House of Commons of the British Parliament, Chairman of the Group on Azerbaijan in the British Parliament, emphasized Azerbaijan's important significance for Britain in areas such as trade, energy, security, connectivity, etc., and spoke about his continuous activity as the chairman of the Group on Azerbaijan in promoting Azerbaijan's geopolitical importance in the British Parliament. Recalling his visits to Azerbaijan, Bob Blackman said that during his visit to our country in 2023, he had the opportunity to get closely acquainted with the process of demining the liberated territories. In this regard, he called on Britain to continue supporting mine action in Azerbaijan.
Lord Wajid Khan, Member of the House of Lords of the British Parliament from the ruling Labor Party, and also a member of the Group on Azerbaijan in the parliament, said that the most important point he observed regarding Azerbaijan is that Azerbaijan fulfills all its commitments. Lord Khan said that at a time when the world is talking about green transition, Azerbaijan is taking concrete steps in this regard, implementing projects, and successfully organizing the COP29 event. He recalled the visits of Lord Coaker, Minister of State for Defense of Britain, and Lord Anas Sarwar, Minister of State for Trade of Britain, to Azerbaijan in recent months, and said that there is great potential for cooperation between the two countries.
Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli, Vice President for External Relations and Communications in the Caspian region of BP company, spoke about the projects implemented in the field of traditional energy, as well as alternative energy, between the two countries, and emphasized that Azerbaijan-Britain relations have successfully evolved against the backdrop of changing realities for more than three decades.
The speakers thanked Fariz Ismayilzade, Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Chairman of the Azerbaijan-Britain inter-parliamentary working group in the National Assembly, for his contributions to the organization of the event.
After the opening session, the event continued in the format of panel discussions. The first panel, dedicated to bilateral relations in the context of regional security, was moderated by Farid Shafiyev, Chairman of the Board of the Center for Analysis of International Relations and Multiculturalism. In the panel, Nigel Adams, former member of the British Parliament, Executive Director of Better Earth Limited, David Moran, Senior Advisor at the Caspian Policy Center, former British Ambassador, Alderman Emma Edhem, member of The City of London Corporation, Parvina Huseynova, Director of Realstrategic Consulting, and Orkhan Amashov, Deputy Editor of AnewZ channel, discussed how relevant geopolitical realities, critical mineral needs, cooperation in the C6 format connecting Central Asia and Azerbaijan, the Middle Corridor, and the defense and security environment shape Azerbaijan-Britain relations.
The second panel of the Forum, held with the participation of specialists from XLinks, Green Energy Corridor Company (GECO), and Green Corridor Alliance, was dedicated to the evolution of energy cooperation between Azerbaijan and Britain – discussion of regional interconnector initiatives.
In the closing part of the event, Gunel Salimova, Advisor to the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Britain, and Nargiz Ismayilova, Head of Partnerships at the Institute of Development and Diplomacy of ADA University, spoke, noting that the Forum provided a favorable platform to review various aspects of relations between the two countries. It was noted that the existence of mutual opportunities and interest for further strengthening bilateral relations is the unanimous position of the Forum participants.
At the end of the event, a commemorative photo was taken.
