On the morning of October 16, in Baku, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang met with Azerbaijan’s Minister of Energy, Parviz Shahbazov, as part of the delegation accompanying Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan to the 7th CICA Summit and bilateral activities in Azerbaijan. 

The Azerbaijani delegation included Deputy Minister Orkhan Zeynalov and officials from the Ministry of Energy. Viet Nam was represented by leaders of the Department of Foreign Market Development and Multilateral Trade and the Vietnamese Trade Counsellor to the Russian Federation, who is also accredited to Azerbaijan.

At the meeting, the two sides reviewed progress in implementing agreements reached at the third session of the Viet Nam - Azerbaijan Intergovernmental Committee on Economic, Trade, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, as well as the Memorandum of Understanding on energy cooperation signed by Viet Nam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Energy in May 2025. They also discussed measures to promote bilateral cooperation in the coming period.

Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang affirmed that Viet Nam attaches great importance to its traditional friendship with Azerbaijan. In particular, General Secretary To Lam’s state visit to Azerbaijan in May 2025 and the establishment of a Strategic Partnership between the two countries provided important momentum for making bilateral cooperation more substantive and effective.

On economic and trade cooperation, the Deputy Minister noted that bilateral trade remained modest and had yet to reach its full potential. She proposed that both sides strengthen market information exchanges, connect businesses, step up trade promotion, and facilitate market access for each other’s goods. She also called for studies into improving transportation and logistics connectivity and diversifying the structure of bilateral imports and exports.

In the energy sector, Phan Thi Thang emphasized that oil and gas cooperation was one of the key pillars of relations between Viet Nam and Azerbaijan, built on a foundation established over several decades. Considerable potential remained for expanding cooperation, particularly as the need to ensure energy security and diversify supply sources continued to grow.

She called on Azerbaijan to continue supporting businesses from both countries in implementing signed agreements and to explore ways to promote crude oil supplies. She also proposed that Azerbaijan share information on potential oil and gas exploration, production, and service projects so that Petrovietnam could assess investment and cooperation opportunities.

In addition, the Deputy Minister proposed expanding cooperation in liquefied natural gas (LNG) and encouraging businesses from both countries to exchange information and explore suitable commercial opportunities. She also called for stronger cooperation in human resource development, expert exchanges, and consideration of scholarship opportunities for Vietnamese students and officials in the energy and oil and gas sectors.

For his part, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov expressed agreement with Viet Nam’s proposed cooperation priorities and underscored his country’s desire to deepen the Strategic Partnership, particularly in economic, trade, investment, and energy cooperation. He proposed convening the second meeting of the Viet Nam - Azerbaijan Business Council soon and advancing negotiations toward an agreement on the promotion and protection of investment to facilitate business cooperation between the two countries.

In the energy sector, Shahbazov affirmed Azerbaijan’s readiness to strengthen cooperation with Viet Nam, particularly by exploring long-term crude oil supply arrangements, developing the oil and gas and petrochemical industries, and expanding oil and gas exploration and production activities in both countries. He also highlighted potential cooperation in LNG and proposed extending collaboration to aviation, direct flight connections, human resource development, and cybersecurity.

Both sides agreed to continue facilitating Vietnamese businesses’ investment projects in Azerbaijan, particularly in renewable energy, electric taxi services, real estate, and other potential sectors. They also agreed to consider holding a midterm session of the Viet Nam - Azerbaijan Intergovernmental Committee to review the implementation of existing agreements and advance priority areas of cooperation in the coming period.

The two sides also discussed continued coordination in implementing signed agreements, strengthening the role of the Intergovernmental Committee, and enhancing links between agencies and businesses to develop Viet Nam - Azerbaijan trade and energy cooperation in a practical and effective manner.

On October 14 and 15, Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang accompanied Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan to the 7th CICA Summit and high-level diplomatic activities in Azerbaijan. These included courtesy calls on Azerbaijan’s President and First Vice President, a meeting with the President of Uzbekistan, a meeting with the Secretary-General of CICA, and a visit to Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University.

The activities during the visit helped consolidate the traditional friendship between Viet Nam and Azerbaijan, strengthen political trust, and create fresh momentum for economic, trade, investment, and energy cooperation between the two countries and with other partners in the region.