What happened
Türkiye and Azerbaijan have agreed to examine electricity interconnection more closely following their fifth bilateral Energy Forum, held on 10 and 11 September 2026. Azerbaijan’s Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov and Türkiye’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar chaired the meeting.
Bayraktar said three electricity-transmission initiatives are being pursued between the countries. The first concerns a line bringing power to Türkiye via Nakhchivan. The second is a proposed green energy corridor involving Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Bulgaria. The third is a prospective subsea line across the Black Sea, in which Türkiye could participate, reaching Europe through Romania and Hungary.
In their post-forum joint statement, the countries decided to update the forum protocol. The aim is to consider bilateral and regional projects together and establish a more institutional approach to following their progress. Electricity interconnection will also become a specific area of work: one of the working groups at future forums will focus on the subject.
Why it matters
The discussions place cross-border grid infrastructure at the centre of the Türkiye-Azerbaijan energy agenda. If developed, the proposed routes could connect the two countries with Georgia and Bulgaria, while the possible Black Sea route describes a separate path towards European markets via Romania and Hungary.
For businesses and policymakers monitoring regional power trade, the forum outcome is a commitment to further assessment and coordination rather than confirmation that the lines will be built. The decision to create a dedicated working group provides a formal channel for work on interconnection alongside wider bilateral and regional energy projects.
Bayraktar has described the green corridor as part of a long-term, mutually beneficial regional energy collaboration. He also said that linking it with an agreement involving Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan could connect countries across the Turkic world. Those remarks describe a potential expansion of the network, not a completed connection.
What to watch next
Bayraktar said agreements relating to the projects could be signed at COP31, scheduled for November in Antalya. The key near-term signals will be whether project-specific agreements emerge at the summit and how the revised forum protocol frames the electricity-interconnection working group.
Stakeholders should distinguish between the three initiatives as they develop: the Nakhchivan route, the four-country green corridor and the potential Black Sea subsea link have different proposed geographies. The available information does not establish construction timelines or final participation for the projects.
