IRGC-linked media escalate rhetoric against Azerbaijan

When UN-Habitat convenes the 13th World Urban Forum in Baku next month, the gathering will carry more weight than its formal mandate suggests. The biennial forum, which does not produce binding decisions, has evolved into a marketplace of ideas, capital and political signalling—one where host countries seek to translate global urban discourse into tangible investment pipelines.

Azerbaijan is preparing a far-reaching recalibration of its customs framework, a move that signals a broader shift toward administrative control and revenue enforcement even as it raises sensitive questions about diplomatic norms and business mobility.

Azerbaijan’s Cabinet of Ministers has amended the rules governing the exchange of financial information on non-residents, aiming to strengthen tax transparency, improve reporting accuracy and align with international standards.

The Azerbaijani government has removed two aviation service providers from the list of natural monopoly entities in a move aimed at opening the sector to competition and bringing it closer to international standards.