February 26, 2026

Digital Consolidation and Expanding Diplomacy: Azerbaijan’s Strategic Recalibration

President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva on February 25 visited the Khojavend and Khojaly districts of the Karabakh region to review reconstruction and development projects. State media reported that the delegation inspected restored settlements, social infrastructure and transport links, and met with returning residents.

A group of Azerbaijani NGOs has sent an appeal to members of the UK Parliament and to the United Kingdom’s ambassador in Baku, Fergus Auld, voicing concern over an initiative to investigate alleged damage to Armenian cultural heritage in Karabakh. The trigger was a planned parliamentary hearing in London convened at the invitation of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute.

Following the signing by Ilham Aliyev of the law ratifying the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime, the government has moved to the implementation phase. Relevant agencies are reviewing amendments to criminal and procedural legislation to align domestic norms with international standards on the exchange of electronic evidence.