Azerbaijan Railways Launches Transit Shipments from Zira Port, Plans Expansion

On January 30, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed a decree approving the State Program for the Improvement of Transport Infrastructure in Baku and Surrounding Areas for 2025-2030, aiming to modernize the capital’s urban mobility and reduce congestion, the presidential press service said on Tuesday.

Goldman Sachs has revised its oil price forecasts, raising its projections for Brent and Azeri Light crude by $2 per barrel for both 2025 and 2026, setting the estimate at $78 per barrel. The adjustment reflects expectations of tighter supply conditions driven by geopolitical risks, including U.S. sanctions affecting Russian oil production and potential future restrictions on Iranian crude exports.

Azerbaijan’s state-owned electricity producer, Azerenergy, is advancing the construction of six hydroelectric power plants (HPPs) in the Kalbajar and Lachin districts as part of the country’s efforts to expand its renewable energy capacity. The plants, with a combined capacity of 37.5 megawatts (MW), are expected to be commissioned in the first half of 2025, according to the company.

In Almaty, where glass-and-steel towers of a growing tech-driven economy rise against the snow-capped peaks of the Zailiysky Alatau, Digital Almaty 2025 has set the stage for discussions that extend far beyond Kazakhstan’s borders. The forum, now a cornerstone of Central Asia’s digital transformation agenda, has attracted a constellation of policymakers, tech entrepreneurs, and industry leaders seeking to shape the next wave of artificial intelligence (AI) integration into industrial economies.