The relationship between

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

started in 1992 when

joined the newly created

North Atlantic Cooperation Council The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) is a post–Cold War, NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) institution. The EAPC is a multilateral forum created to improve relations between NATO and non-NATO countries in Europe and Centr ...

. Considerable partnership between

and

dates back to 1994, when the latter joined

Partnership for Peace The Partnership for Peace (PfP; ) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) program aimed at creating trust and cooperation between the member states of NATO and other states mostly in Europe, including post-Soviet states; 18 states are ...

program. Azerbaijan established a diplomatic Mission to

in 1997 by the Presidential Decree on 21 November.

Background

regained its independence on October 18, 1991, after the collapse of

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. It was a founding member of the

Collective Security Treaty Organization The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO, ) is an Intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia consisting of six post-Soviet states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. Th ...

, an alternative Russian-led military alliance, in 1994, but withdrew in 1999. President

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005. The son and second child of former Aze ...

has generally supported neutrality since his rise to power in 2003. Azerbaijan made its policy of not being aligned with a geopolitical/military structure official when it became a full member of the

Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 121 countries that Non-belligerent, are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It was founded with the view to advancing interests of developing countries in the context of Cold W ...

in 2011. As with other

post-soviet states The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...

joined the NATO-run

in 1992 and signed the

(PfP) Framework Document to develop security and defense cooperation with

on May 4, 1994. A PfP Presentation Document was approved on April 19, 1996 by the

President of Azerbaijan The president of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the head of state of the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. The Constitution of Azerbaijan, Constitution states that the president is the embodiment of Executive (government), executive power, co ...

and submitted to

Javier Solana Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga CYC (; born 14 July 1942) is a Spanish physicist and PSOE politician. After serving in the Spanish government as Foreign Affairs Minister under Felipe González (1992–1995) and as the Secretary Gener ...

, the

Secretary General of NATO The secretary general of NATO is the chief civil servant of the NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an intergovernmental military alliance with 32 member states. The officeholder is an international diplomat responsible for coordinat ...

on April 23. Azerbaijan's first Individual Partnership Program was confirmed by

North Atlantic Council The North Atlantic Council (NAC) is the principal political decision-making body of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), consisting of permanent representatives of its member countries. It was established by wikisource:North Atlantic ...

on October 14, 1996. In November 1997,

joined the PfP Planning and Review Process to involve

more tightly in defense planning of

operations. Azerbaijan established a diplomatic Mission to

in 1997 by the Presidential Decree on 21 November. A special Commission on Cooperation with NATO was established according to the decree of the President of Azerbaijan on 12 November 1997.

Political Committee discussed

's attendance in the PfP in "19+1" format on 12 May 1998. PfP

SOFA A couch, also known as a sofa, settee, chesterfield, or Davenport (sofa), davenport, is a cushioned piece of furniture that can seat multiple people. It is commonly found in the form of a bench (furniture), bench with Upholstery, upholstered ...

and its Additional Protocol was signed by

on 15 November 1998. In September 1999 EAPC ad hoc working group was formed to explore regional collaboration in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

became an associate member due to the decision of

NATO Parliamentary Assembly The NATO Parliamentary Assembly serves as the consultative interparliamentary organisation for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It consists of delegates from the parliaments of the 32 NATO member countries as well as from associate ...

in November 2002, and joined NATO Operational Capabilities Concept in March 2004. On 28 June 2004, at the Istanbul Summit,

region was discussed and member states decided to create the position of Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia. On September 15, the first Special Representative of NATO's Secretary General for the Caucasus was appointed. Azerbaijan hosted NATO military exercises and high-profile meetings in 2009. During the terms of office of

, collaboration between

and

was extended, as the latter joined the

Individual Partnership Action Plan Individual Partnership Action Plans (IPAP) are plans developed between NATO and different countries which outline the objectives and the communication framework for dialogue and cooperation between both parties. NATO launched the IPAPs initiat ...

in 2004. The president issued a decree to establish a Working Group on National Security Policy of Azerbaijan on September 17, 2004 with the aim of implementing reforms in security sector mentioned in the IPAP document. After Azerbaijan's first IPAP was confirmed by NAC on 27 May 2005,

issued a decree on the execution of IPAP on third of August. There was an agreement between

and

on the second IPAP on March 7, 2008.

has completed

IPAP documents for the first (2005-2007), second (2008-2010), third (2011-2013), and the fourth period (2015-2016). The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia presented a major roadblock to Azerbaijani membership of NATO, with concerns that this would lead to stronger Russian support of Armenia in the dispute. Member countries of

supported Azerbaijan's territorial integrity under the Declarations issued at the meeting of NAC held in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

on 28–29 November 2006, at the

/ EAPC and

ISAF The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386 according to the Bonn Agreement, which outlined t ...

format Summits held in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

on 2–4 April 2008, at the Strasbourg-Kehl Summit of

held on 3–4 April 2009. The

2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh Between 19 and 20 September 2023, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale military offensive against the political status of Nagorno-Karabakh, self-declared breakaway state of Republic of Artsakh, Artsakh, a move seen as a violation of the 2020 Nago ...

led to Azerbaijan regaining control of the territory, resolving the conflict. The

participated in the Meetings of Heads of States and Governments on

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

during the NATO Summit in Chicago in 2012, in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in September 2014, and in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

In July 2016.

Peacekeeping activities involving Azerbaijan

Kosovo

participated in

-led peacekeeping and peace-support operations (KFOR) in

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

in 1999-2008. Azerbaijan sent a unit composed of 34 servicemen (32 soldiers, a warrant officer, an officer) to Kosovo on the 1st of September 1999 and the contingent started to operate within the Turkish-led 4th Mechanized Infantry Company in Dragas. Overall, 362 personnel from

(345 soldiers, 7 warrant officers, 10 officers) served in the mission in

. Azerbaijani military officers completed their mission on

KFOR KFOR may refer to: * KFOR (AM), a radio station (1240 AM) licensed to Lincoln, Nebraska, United States, * KFOR-TV, a television station (channel 4 analog/27 digital) licensed to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, * KFOR-TV (Nebraska), a defun ...

on March 4, 2008 after political situation changed in

Iraq

The military contingent of

composed of 151 personnel (120 soldiers, 16 warrant officers, 15 officers) took part in the peacekeeping mission within the International Coalition Forces of Iraq from 15 August 2003 until 7 December 2008. Azerbaijani group was assigned to provide security of water reservoir and

hydroelectric power station Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also mo ...

situated in Haditha.

pulled out its forces from Iraq on 7 December 2008, due to the withdrawal of Coalition Forces.

Afghanistan

sent a military unit consisted of 22 servicemen to support

operation in

on November 15, 2002.

doubled the number of the unit according to the Decision adopted on October 2, 2008 by Milli Majlis. Since February 2009, Azerbaijani 90 personnel served under the Turkish company led by

. Azerbaijani group was assigned to protect a television tower situated in

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

, provide security of central ammunition depot of

and to fulfill patrol service. Since 2015, 94 servicemen in

supported a new " Resolute Support" non-combat mission of

with the task to maintain the security of

Kabul International Airport Kabul International Airport () is located in the northern part of Kabul, Afghanistan. It is one of the country's main international airports, capable of housing over a hundred military and civilian aircraft. It is currently operated by UAE-base ...

after

operation finished.

increased the number of servicemen attending the " Resolute Support" mission from 94 to 120 by sending the peacekeepers to

on January 9, 2018 based on the amendment to the Resolution "On giving consent to the deployment and participation in the relevant operations in Afghanistan of a platoon of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan as part of the battalion of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Turkey and under the general command of NATO structures" by the Parliament of Azerbaijan dated 29 December 2017.

Bilateral visits

The

Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev (10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was an Azerbaijani politician who was a Soviet party boss in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic from 1969 to 1982, and the third president of Azerbaijan from October 1993 to ...

visited

Headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

to present PfP Presentation Document of

to the

on April 23, 1996.

NATO Secretary General The secretary general of NATO is the chief civil servant of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an intergovernmental military alliance with 32 member states. The officeholder is an international diplomat responsible for coordinating th ...

paid a visit to

on 13 February 1997. On his trip to

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

on 30 September-1 October 1998, Mr. Solana visited to Baku Senior Military School and Peacekeeping Unit of Azerbaijani Armed Forces. Admiral Guido Venturoni, the

Chairman of the NATO Military Committee The Chair of the NATO Military Committee (CMC) is the head of the NATO Military Committee, which advises the North Atlantic Council (NAC) on military policy and strategy. The CMC is the senior military spokesperson of the 32-nation alliance and pr ...

visited

and discussed

military cooperation with authorities on 27–28 April 2000. Secretary General George Robertson visited

on 16–17 January 2001 and held discussions with government officials besides the President of the country. Rafael Estrella, the President of NATO PA paid a visit to

on 17–18 January 2002 according to the invitation of the Chairman of the Milli Majlis. Azerbaijani President and NATO Secretary General

Lord George Robertson visited

in 2003 and took part in the inauguration of the Virtual Silk Highway Project on May 15. During his visit, Azerbaijan officially informed its intention to join the IPAP to the

. During the trip of

Elmar Mammadyarov Elmar Maharram oglu Mammadyarov (, ; born July 2, 1960) is an Azerbaijani diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan between 7 April 2004 and 16 July 2020. Early life Mammadyarov was born in Baku, then part of the Azerbai ...

, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan to

on 6 July 2004, Azerbaijan's participation in IPAP was reviewed. Mr. Mammadyarov visited NATO HQ in

on May 2, 2007, on 17 September and 9 December 2008. He visited NATO HQ and took part in NAC+

meeting on July 15, 2009. The first IPAP document of

was presented to

by the President

during his visit to

on May 19, 2004. In his next visit to

(May 2006), I. Aliyev participated in the spring session of

met with Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer during his trip to NATO Headquarters on November 8, and on April 29 before the meeting of

Anders Fogh Rasmussen Anders Fogh Rasmussen (; born 26 January 1953) is a Danish politician who was the prime minister of Denmark from November 2001 to April 2009 and the Secretary General of NATO, secretary general of NATO from August 2009 to October 2014. He became ...

welcomed I.Aliyev at NATO Headquarters in February 2012, and they discussed the possible future enhancement of cooperation between

and

. As part of his working visit to

in 2014, the President Aliyev met with

and participated in the meeting of

delegation has paid reciprocal visit to

in the framework of its cooperation with

. NATO Secretaries-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (2004–2009),

(2009–2014) visited

and held meetings with the President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of

in November 2004, and In September 2012 respectively. Secretary General's Special Representatives (Robert Simmons (2004–2010), James Appathurai) for the Caucasus and Central Asia paid visits to

in February and November 2005, April and October 2006, March and September 2007, June 2010, July 2011, February and July 2012, May 2013, July 2014, February 2016. José Lello, President of the NATO PA, visited Baku on March 5, 2008. Deputy Secretary General of NATO Claudio Bisogniero visited

on 16 December 2008 and met with high-level officials of

to discuss the issues of common interest. In September 2017,

Petr Pavel Petr Pavel (; born 1 November 1961) is a Czech politician and retired army general, currently serving as the president of the Czech Republic since March 2023. Prior to this, he held the position of Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 2 ...

also visited

. He met with the Chief of Defense of the Azerbaijan Armed Forces and First Deputy Defense Minister, General Najmaddin Sadikov and had a discussion on the benefits of

–

partnership, Azerbaijan's participation in NATO-led operations, in addition to regional and European security. Azerbaijani President

met with

Jens Stoltenberg Jens Stoltenberg (; born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. Since 2025, he has been the Minister of Finance in the Støre Cabinet. He has previously been the prime minister of Norway and secretary general of NATO. ...

during his visit to

on 23 November 2017 and discussed NATO-Azerbaijan cooperation and security issues in South Caucasus. Between 9–11 July 2024, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister

Jeyhun Bayramov Jeyhun Aziz oglu Bayramov (; born 25 June 1973) is an Azerbaijani politician who is the current Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Bayramov previously served as the Minister of Education from 2018 to 2020. Early life and ...

participated in the NATO 2024 Washington summit.

Cooperation in non-military areas

Humanitarian and environmental cooperation

Azerbaijan cooperates with NATO on the issues relating to security, defense, civil emergency planning, science and information, public information. In 2006, Euro-Atlantic Center was officially inaugurated in

carries on using training, assessment, and review tools of the Operational Capabilities Concept (OCC) Evaluation and Feedback (E&F) program in order to complete the Planning and Review Process (PARP) and to achieve a higher level of cooperation with NATO forces. Joint

Education and Training Action Plan was developed and accomplished in 2008-2013 to enhance the implementation of

standards in military education institutions in

NATO/PfP Saloglu Trust Fund project

and

signed the agreement for the PfP Trust Fund Project on 2 April 2003. After a short time,

introduced Saloglu Trust Fund Project to address

unexploded ordnance Unexploded ordnance (UXO, sometimes abbreviated as UO) and unexploded bombs (UXBs) are explosive weapons (bombs, shell (projectile), shells, grenades, land mines, naval mines, cluster munition, and other Ammunition, munitions) that did not e ...

s ( UXOs) problem in

on April 23. The project to clear UXOs from a former military base at Saloglu,

Agstafa Agstafa () is a town, municipality (assigned in 1941) and the capital of the Aghstafa District of Azerbaijan. Agstafa district was established in 1939, abolished in 1959 and merged with Gazakh district, and made into an independent district agai ...

was approved by the member states and as the executive bodies of the project, NAMSA and Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) were appointed. Saloglu Trust Fund was opened in November 2005 with the participation of NATO Secretary General's Special Representative.

Mélange project

Azerbaijan established a mobile

mélange In geology, a mélange is a large-scale breccia, a mappable body of rock characterized by a lack of continuous bedding and the inclusion of fragments of rock of all sizes, contained in a fine-grained deformed matrix. The mélange typically con ...

treatment plant to get fertilizer from highly toxic substance with the support of Science for Peace and Security Program of NATO in July 2006. Neutralizing the

was started from Alat. Approximately 950

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

s of

was converted and stored in Alat until November 2007, and then moved to

Mingachevir Mingachevir ( ) is the fourth largest city in Azerbaijan with a population of about 106,000. It is often called the "city of lights" because of its hydroelectric power station on the Kura (South Caucasus river), Kura River, which divides the city ...

. The remaining 350

s of

was neutralized by May 2008.

Jeyranchol NATO Partnership Trust Fund Project

Another Trust Fund project (Jeyranchol Clearance Project) was implemented to clean an area of 64 km² from

land mine A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, wh ...

s and UXOs in Jeyranchol in 3 stages. At the first stage 19 km² area was cleaned between 2012-2014 with the support of

NATO Support Agency The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) is NATO's lead organisation for multinational Acquisition, Support and Sustainment in all domains. Established in 1958, NSPA links industry capabilities and national requirements to provide the most ...

(former NAMSA).The second stage started in July 2014 was completed in September 2016.

Science for peace and security

completed the following projects under NATO SPS Program: * Emerging Security Challenges: Enhancing energy security in the XXI century; * Seismic Hazard and Risk Assessment for Southern Caucasus–Eastern Turkey energy corridors; * Hands-on Cyber Defense Training Course for System/Network Administrators.

Relationship timeline

Azerbaijan's foreign relations with NATO member states

References

External links

Azerbaijan-NATO partnership 20
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azerbaijan NATO relations Azerbaijan–NATO relations NATO relations Foreign relations of Azerbaijan Politics of Azerbaijan