SHUSHA, AZERBAIJAN šC Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has suggested that the country can work with Japan in the defense industry, among other sectors.

¡°I think that we can cooperate in quite a broad range of issues ¡ª energy, technology and potentially ... the defense industry,¡± he said at a news conference during a forum meeting in the Azerbaijan city of Shusha on Monday.

The two countries, which are developing their defense industries, ¡°can exchange experience and maybe create some joint manufacturing,¡± Aliyev added.

The number of joint projects between Azerbaijan and Japan has declined compared with five to six years ago, according to Aliyev.

Citing the construction of large-scale power plants by Japanese companies in Azerbaijan in the past, Aliyev expressed hope that Japanese investment in his country will increase again.

¡°I think the potential is there, and we need just to have more meetings between government officials, business circles, and companies to identify the additional advantages of cooperation,¡± he said.

Regarding Japan¡¯s energy security, Aliyev said that crude oil from Azerbaijan ¡°has more importance than before¡± amid the instability in the Middle East situation.

In May, Japan imported Azerbaijani crude oil as an alternative to Middle East oil following Iran¡¯s effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Since 2023, Azerbaijan has held the Shusha Global Media Forum every year both for domestic and foreign journalists, with Aliyev¡¯s news conference serving as a regular event.

Shusha is a strategic city in Nagorno-Karabakh, a former disputed region that Azerbaijan recaptured from Armenia in the 2020 military conflict.