Inaugural meeting of the Azerbaijan-Vietnam Joint Business Council, and the Azerbaijan-Vietnam Business Forum was held in Hanoi

On July 16, 2025, held on the eve of the Intergovernmental Commission session, the inaugural meeting of the Azerbaijan-Vietnam Joint Business Council (established based on the Memorandum of Understanding signed during Vietnam Communist Party General Secretary To Lam’s state visit to Baku in May 2025), and the Azerbaijan-Vietnam Business Forum brought together senior government officials, heads of investment and trade agencies, and representatives of leading companies from both countries.

In their opening remarks, Parviz Shahbazov, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Energy and Co-chair of the Commission, and Nguyen Hoang Long, Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, emphasized the growing mutual trust and economic potential between the two countries. Parviz Shahbazov highlighted that bilateral relations, which date back to historic visits by President Ho Chi Minh (1959) and National Leader Heydar Aliyev (1983), have entered a new strategic phase following the May 2025 visit of Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam to Baku, while Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Long noted that Azerbaijan is Vietnam’s first strategic partner in the Caucasus.

Minister Parviz Shahbazov called for intensified cooperation in trade, investment, and innovation, noting that Azerbaijan’s diversified economy, industrial zones, free trade areas, and strategic location provide Vietnamese businesses access not only to the local market but also to the wider Caucasus, Central Asia, and Europe.

During the forum, several cooperation agreements were signed, including:

• Memorandum of Understanding between Azerbaijan Renewable Energy Agency under the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan and ROX Group
• AZPROMO (the Export and Investment Promotion Agency of Azerbaijan) and VINEN (National Association of Entrepreneurship of Vietnam)
• GP Cotton Holdings and Phong Phu Corporation
• Fresh-Meat and Tuong Vu JSC Co.
• ANC Group and 7 Center.

The forum also included B2B sessions, company presentations, and panel discussions on trade, energy, agriculture, and high technologies.