Nakhchivan has long been a geographical enigma of sorts: an enclave of Azerbaijan inhabited by about 460,000 people, cut off from the rest of Azerbaijan by territory controlled by Armenia and accessible only by land through Iran or Türkiye. Until recently, that geography has made the place a liability rather than an asset for Azerbaijan, which has been treating the area as such. However, a new amendment to the socio-economic development program of Nakhchivan for the years 2023-2027 seems to indicate a change in that mentality. The document is based on the premise that a much-needed piece of infrastructure is going to come online soon - a Zangezur corridor [TRIPP] connecting Nakhchivan with Azerbaijan through the southern Armenian province of Syunik.

The revised plan is light on numericals but heavy on intent, which itself reveals much. These include "targeted logistical support systems" for exporters, undefined tax and freight discounts that will "stimulate the comprehensive usage" of the corridor, and an enhanced entrepreneurial program when the route is open for business. Governments generally don't revise five-year economic plans around infrastructure that exists only in theory. This decree should be understood as the Azerbaijani government gearing up to act quickly once the politics of the corridor – mainly the conflicting views on transit control rights held by Yerevan and Moscow through Syunik are sorted out.

Numbers behind the ambition

Nakhchivan's economy has traditionally operated based on budget transfers rather than exports. In 2023, the overall economic output in the autonomous republic amounted to 1.55bn manats ($910m), where the share of industry amounted to 593.9 mln manats ($349 mln), while the agriculture sector produced 358.4 mln manats ($210 mln). However, there was a dramatic turn of........

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