Azerbaijan Financial News

China, which aims to become a major space power by 2030, has opened up a key lunar mission to international cooperation as mission deadlines loom for setting up a permanent habitat on the south pole of the moon. China welcomes countries and international organisations on its uncrewed Chang'e-8 mission and to jointly carry out «mission-level» projects, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said at the 74th International Astronautical Congress in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Monday. Mission-level projects mean China and its international partners could launch and operate their spacecraft, conduct spacecraft-to-spacecraft «interactions», and jointly explore the surface of the moon, according to details announced on CNSA's website. International partners are also welcome to «piggyback» on the Chang'e-8 mission and independently deploy their own modules once the Chinese spacecraft lands, CNSA said. Interested parties must submit a letter of intent to CNSA by Dec. 31.

Armenia's government says an ethnic Armenian exodus has nearly emptied Nagorno-Karabakh of residents since Azerbaijan attacked and ordered the breakaway region’s militants to disarm

Nagorno-Karabakh dwindled to a trickle Saturday as Armenia said nearly the entire population of the breakaway territory had already fled after Azerbaijan seized back control. An AFP journalist at the Kornidzor crossing into Armenia saw only several ambulances arrive as border guards said they were waiting for a final few buses. In the nearest town of Goris, hundreds of exhausted refugees waited amongst their baggage in the central square for the government to offer accommodation. Azerbaijan's lightning military takeover of the ethnic Armenian enclave last week sparked a sudden exodus that has rewritten the centuries-old ethnic makeup of the disputed region. Armenia said Saturday 100,417 people from an estimated population of 120,000 had fled since the breakaway region saw its decades-long fight against Azerbaijani rule end in sudden defeat. Artak Beglaryan, a former separatist official, said that according to unofficial information «the last groups» of Nagorno-Karabakh residents were on their way to Armenia Saturday. «At most a few hundred persons remain, most of whom are officials, emergency services employees, volunteers, some persons with special needs,» he wrote on social media.

By Andrew Osborn

Armenian officials say more than 70% of Nagorno-Karabakh's original population have fled the region for Armenia

After a short, sharp military campaign, Azerbaijan has claimed victory over separatists in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The territory, which was recognised as part of Azerbaijan but was controlled by Armenian separatists for decades, has been at the centre of a major geopolitical conflict for decades. Due to Azerbaijan's close ties with Pakistan, India has been strategically backing Aremnia via sales of military equipment.

economic cooperation – in 2023 with Russia for the first time getting into the three top trade partners of India due to contribution of International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC), CEO of RZD Logistics (top Russian logistics company that operates INSTC) Dmitry Murev told ET. The export from Russia to India in the 2022-2023 financial year increased by 4.7 times and activation of INSTC is one of the most important factors that contributed to this, according to Murev. “Our company managed to build strong partnership with the leading participants of transport and logistics industry of India, Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, which, in particular, allowed to cut the net cost of the end-to-end transportation service along the Eastern route of INSTC by 50% since August of 2022,” Murev informed. All three branches of INSTC – Western, Trans-Caspian and Eastern – are working. Each of these routes has its own infrastructure characteristics and perspectives, uniting certain groups of member countries of INSTC, with India and Russia being actively involved in the work of the corridor on all three routes, RZD CEO pointed out. The Western route of INSTC connects Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran by rail and auto transport for connecting to India and Persian Gulf countries.

(Reuters) — Moscow and Washington have accused each other of destabilising the South Caucuses region, as thousands of ethnic Armenians fled their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh over ethnic cleansing fears.

Thousands of Armenians streamed out of Nagorno-Karabakh after the Azerbaijani military reclaimed full control of the breakaway region while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Azerbaijan Monday in a show of support to its ally.

STEPANAKERT, Azerbaijan (Reuters) -Ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh began a mass exodus by car on Sunday toward Armenia after Azerbaijan defeated the breakaway region's fighters in a conflict dating from the Soviet era.

blockade of the road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. Thousands of Nagorno-Karabakh residents flocked to a camp operated by Russian peacekeepers to avoid the fighting, while many others gathered at the airport of the regional capital, Stepanakert, hoping to flee the region.

the future of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the ethnic Armenians who live there will start on Thursday. The ceasefire agreement was mediated by Russian peacekeeping forces. On Wednesday, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh authorities said a ceasefire was reached with Russian mediation that included the military demands, but said “reintegration" of the region was still to be discussed.

Nagorno-Karabakh early Wednesday, a day after Azerbaijani forces used heavy artillery fire on Armenian positions in the separatist region that local officials said killed or wounded scores of people. Azerbaijan has called the artillery fire an «anti-terrorist operation» and said it will continue until the separatist government of Nagorno-Karabakh dismantles itself and «illegal Armenian military formations» surrender. It said it is only targeting military sites, but significant damage was visible on the streets of the regional capital, Stepanakert, with shop windows blown out and vehicles punctured apparently by shrapnel. The blasts reverberated around Stepanakert every few minutes on Wednesday morning, with some explosions in the distance and others closer to the city. The artillery fire raised concerns that a full-scale war in the region could resume between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which for more than three decades have been locked in a struggle over the mountainous territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

Reuters. 7. The most sensitive issue is the status of the 120,000 ethnic Armenians in Karabakh, whose rights and security Armenia says must be guaranteed.

BIR REBAA, Algeria—Once-obscure corners of the energy world, from offshore Congo to Azerbaijan, are booming as Europe finds new sources of natural gas to replace the Russian supplies that once powered the continent. The shift is redrawing the world’s energy map at a rapid clip. In Bir Rebaa, deep in the Sahara, the Italian energy company Eni and Algeria’s state-owned energy company are drilling dozens of wells, producing gas from previously untapped fields in a matter of months.

China often uses official media as a tool of soft power. Although there is no local office of any Chinese state-owned media agency in the South Caucasus, CGTN, a channel of the China Media Group, has been presenting news and innovations related to China in Azerbaijani, Georgian and Armenian through social networks such as Facebook and Twitter since 2022. The main interest and attention of CGTN’s social media pages come from Azerbaijani and Armenian audiences.

Lawmakers in a breakaway Armenian-populated region of Azerbaijan have elected a new separatist president in a move that was strongly condemned by the Azerbaijani authorities

R Praggnanandhaa, has returned to the country after a remarkable journey at the FIDE World Cup 2023 in Azerbaijan. His extraordinary performance has not only earned him accolades but also a warm hero's welcome upon his homecoming. As Praggnanandhaa embarked on his journey back to India, he received a heartfelt note from the cabin crew and captain of his Indigo flight from Doha to Chennai. The airline shared a touching photograph capturing this heartwarming moment, featuring Praggnanandhaa and his mother, Nagalakshmi, alongside a flight attendant. The note, signed by the captain and crew members of Indigo flight 6E: 1322, read, «Dear Praggnanandhaa, it is truly an honour and our pleasure to fly you on board with us today. You are our Pride of the Nation. You have made our country so proud. We wish and pray that you achieve many more like this. You are truly an inspiration for all of us. Keep your game up and keep inspiring.»

Narendra Modi on Thursday after meeting18-year-old chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa and congratulating him on his brilliant performance at the International Chess Federation (FIDE). On social media platform X, Modi said that Praggnanandhaa personify passion and perseverance. The prime minister said, “Had very special visitors at 7, LKM today.

R Praggnanandhaa has made a name for himself. From the country's Prime Minister to renowned businessmen, the FIDE World Cup 2023 silver medallist has been receiving praise from well-known personalities for his exceptional run at the tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan. On Monday, billionaire business tycoon Anand Mahindra took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to announce that he will be giving an XUV4OO EV to the chess prodigy's parents Rameshbabu and Nagalakshmi.