In 2025, Turkish company Botas and Russia's Gazprom plan to officially launch the "Istanbul Gas Index," a gas trading platform developed as part of the joint Russian-Turkish gas hub initiative, according to Turkey’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar. He noted that a memorandum of understanding has been shared with all interested parties.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed Gazprom to participate in the platform’s operations. The exchange will be based at the Istanbul Financial Center, where the "Istanbul Gas Index" will establish gas price benchmarks. Turkey has repeatedly expressed ambitions to transform Istanbul’s financial center into a hub for gas pricing.
Russia is prepared to conduct gas sales in line with the Istanbul Gas Index. The concept of creating an international gas hub in Turkey was first proposed in fall 2022 during a meeting between Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The initiative emerged following sabotage on the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which had previously been key routes for Russian gas to Europe.
Currently, Russia’s gas transit to Europe operates solely through Ukraine, but Gazprom’s five-year agreement to transit gas through Ukraine’s system is set to expire on December 31, 2024. Russia sees an opportunity to deliver significant gas volumes through Turkey (via the TurkStream and Blue Stream pipelines). By passing through this trading platform, involving multiple companies, the gas becomes "unbranded" and could be supplied to Europe as "Turkish Blend," as Bayraktar mentioned in September.
Economics
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The new law on "Political Parties," adopted two years ago, came into effect early last year and has been criticized by the Venice Commission, is already making its impact felt. On December 4, the activities of two political parties—the Freedom Party and the Party of Free Democrats—were halted through court orders. The Ministry of Justice cited discrepancies in the documentation of these parties as the reason for its appeal to the court.
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In the first ten months of 2024, Baku's trade turnover registered a 4.4% increase compared to the same period last year, reaching a substantial 28.2 billion manat, according to the Baku City Statistics Department.
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In a significant move to bolster its financial capabilities, Azerbaijan's state-owned energy company SOCAR has signed an agreement with Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo bank. The pact, which underscores growing cooperation between the two entities, marks a step forward in securing financial resources for SOCAR's ambitious projects, including its ventures in green energy.
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In the first 11 months of 2024, Azerbaijan experienced a robust recovery in its tourism sector, with 2.41 million foreign and stateless individuals visiting the country, marking a 27.4% increase compared to the same period last year, according to the State Border Service. This growth reflects Azerbaijan’s increasing appeal as a travel destination, bolstered by diversification in source markets and improved transport infrastructure.
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