The Ankara-Baku-Islamabad trilateral, the SCO pivot in the new multipolar Eurasia

The Turkey-Azerbaijan-Pakistan trilateral is becoming an increasingly visible strategic landmark in the geopolitical architecture of Eurasia, and in the context of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), this rapprochement is beginning to assume a pivotal role between the spaces of Anatolia, the Caucasus and South Asia. The recent meeting, on November 8, between Presidents Ilham Aliyev, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is a confirmation of a consolidated direction: the three states are not just "standing next to each other", but are building a common framework for political, economic and military action, capable of influencing regional balances and creating new connectivity corridors. Azerbaijan wants to become a regional leader in a region (the former Soviet space in Asia) subject to continuous strategic reconfigurations, while Turkey and Pakistan reconfirm that their relationship is not circumstantial, but part of a common identity based on historical memory, strategic convergence and complementary security interests.

From the SCO perspective, the evolution of this trilateral is all the more relevant as all three states have different but convergent positions in relation to the organization: Pakistan is a full member, Turkey is a dialogue partner and Azerbaijan is an observer state. This complementarity offers flexible coordination mechanisms that can transform the trilateral format into a bridge between Central Asia, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent.

As the SCO seeks to expand transport infrastructure, increase economic interdependencies and stabilise vulnerable peripheral spaces, the Turkey-Azerbaijan-Pakistan trilateral could become the core of a new connectivity axis: the trans-Caspian corridor, the South Caucasus energy routes and Pakistan's access to warm seas complement Turkey's role as a gateway to Europe and the Mediterranean. Thus, what until recently seemed like just diplomatic solidarity becomes the potential of an integrated operational platform, where logistics, investment and defence industry projects can be developed in a coordinated manner.

In the security domain, both joint military exercises and defence industry collaborations indicate the transition from declarations to real capabilities. Turkey is already a proven supplier of military technology to Pakistan and Azerbaijan, and Baku's front-line experience has reconfigured modern doctrine on the use of drones, satellite coordination and the integration of intelligent systems on the battlefield. In this dynamic, the trilateral becomes a channel for the circulation of strategic know-how, an instrument of military standardization and a message to global actors that the space between the Caspian Sea and the Indian Ocean is beginning to articulate its own independent security guarantees.

The political and economic terrain is also in full expansion. The increase in trade and joint energy projects contribute to the consolidation of a regional identity that defines the trilateral as a platform for asserting strategic autonomy and for creating a pole of regional stability within a changing Eurasia.