Azerbaijan digital ministry discusses data centres with Brookfield and GIP

Azerbaijan's Ministry of Digital Development and Transport discussed investment in digital infrastructure and data centres with the chief executives of Brookfield Asset Management and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) on 26 September, two ministry releases said.

The ministry also signed framework memorandums with Microsoft and a Franklin Templeton company on 25 and 26 September. None of the four releases gives an amount, a site or a timetable.

Minister Rashad Nabiyev met Connor Teskey, Brookfield's chief executive, as part of the 2nd Azerbaijan International Investment Forum, the ministry said. The talks covered transport and logistics, port infrastructure, digital infrastructure and data centres, and the two sides exchanged views on "identifying potential joint investment projects and developing a portfolio of investment projects", the release adds.

Mr Nabiyev also met Adebayo Ogunlesi, GIP's founding partner, chairman and chief executive, at the forum. That release lists potential participation in regional projects, including the development of the Middle Corridor, and investment opportunities in logistics, digital infrastructure and data centres.

The Microsoft memorandum was signed on 25 September by Deputy Minister Samaddin Asadov, AZCON Holding chief executive Shahin Babayev and Gabriela Popescu, regional general manager at Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited. It "provides for the exploration of potential cooperation opportunities between the parties", and the terms of specific projects are to be agreed at the next stage, the ministry said.

The second memorandum, signed on 26 September by the ministry, AZCON Holding and Templeton Asset Management Ltd., a member of the Franklin Templeton group, sets out a framework for establishing and managing an investment platform within the AZCON Holding portfolio, the ministry said. The release says the cooperation is intended to improve the management and efficiency of state-owned enterprises and to attract strategic investment. It does not name the companies that would sit on the platform.

None of the four documents describes a binding commitment. The Brookfield and GIP releases record discussions, and both memorandums are described as general frameworks for future cooperation. No data centre location, capacity, investment figure or partner company is named in any of them, and the releases do not say when the talks will continue or what the next step would be.