RESTART
INITIATIVE
Building Connections for Development in
Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus
Papers and Reports
1
Economic Connectivity | Armenia-Azerbaijan Dialogue Series (ECAADS) Final Report
Hertie School Executive Education & Restart Initiative
July, 2026
ECAADS brings together technical experts from Armenia and Azerbaijan in small, bilateral formats under the theme of economic connectivity. This final report consolidates the findings of eleven dialogues held between June 2022 and November 2025 in Berlin, Tbilisi, Potsdam and Borjomi.
The report groups outcomes into six thematic clusters: transport and trade infrastructure; energy, climate and green transition; water cooperation and environmental governance; tourism, culture and peacebuilding; export-oriented markets and joint economic development; and gender, inclusion and social peacebuilding. For each, it sets out project proposals for donors and policymakers across immediate, medium-term and long-term horizons.
You can read the full report here:
The Three Pillars of the ECAADS Dialogue Series
ECAADS' theory of change rests on three pillars
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Normalisation of professional interaction. Regular exchange on technical questions builds working habits of cooperation among a generation of specialists who have had little exposure to bilateral formats. Dialogues are held under the Chatham House Rule, with balanced representation from both countries and participants who hold no official government positions at the time of participation.
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Pre-negotiation infrastructure. Feasibility studies, pilot concepts and institutional models are developed in advance of political breakthroughs, or alongside them, so that cooperation can move quickly when a window of opportunity opens rather than starting from nothing. A bilateral Steering Committee advises on political feasibility and helps circulate dialogue outcomes within national networks.
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Peace dividend articulation. Abstract notions of reconciliation and soft regionalism are translated into tangible economic opportunities, so that both societies can see what stability delivers in practice.
2
The Bonn Contact Group on Climate Peace and Security ahead of COP29
The Bonn Contact Group on Climate Peace and Security ahead of COP29 brought together professionals, academics and civil society activists from across Europe and beyond who support the process of bringing to the COP29 process the agenda of peace. The Group was led by LINKS Europe and co-organized by Restart Initiative and Candid Foundation, supported by the European Union.
The Group focused on three key areas: the nexus between climate change and land contamination and degradation resulting from the remnants of armed conflict; the nexus between climate change and food insecurity, and between climate change and water scarcity, particularly that caused or accentuated by conflict. The following landmark reports focus on these topics. Read and download below.
3
Economic Connectivity | Armenia-Azerbaijan Dialogue Series (ECAADS) White Paper (mid-term report, first five dialogues)
Jeanene Mitchell, PhD, Frank Garrison, Bernhard Knoll-Tudor
September, 2023
ECAADS is the only post-2020 initiative that brings together technical experts from both Azerbaijan and Armenia in small bilateral formats under the broad umbrella theme of economic connectivity.
Conducted in Berlin and Tbilisi over 12 months as a joint project between Restart Initiative and the Hertie School, five dialogues gathered inputs from 3-4 experts from both countries on each occasion. They focused on the key themes of regional transport cooperation, energy (hydrocarbon and renewables), water management, cooperation in markets and skills building and on future economic connectivity scenarios.
This white paper is a mid-term report which includes the findings of the first five dialogues and recommendations which have been proposed for future projects and bilateral collaboration.
You can read the full white paper here:
The Three Objectives of the ECAADS Dialogue Series
As set out in the 2023 white paper.
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To foster dialogue between Armenian and Azerbaijani experts, establishing a track record for interaction between technical experts, academics, policy professionals, and private sector representatives, thus creating corridors of conversation to further associated common objectives and a baseline for cooperation in other areas.
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To explore possibilities for regional cooperation in various economic sectors with a focus on economic development after a peace agreement, with attention to mainstreaming and the inclusion of women in these processes, thus kick-starting self-sustaining cooperation that may create a more favourable environment for normalisation on the ground;
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Based on the outcomes of the 12 dialogues and consolidated recommendations pre-endorsed by participants, to develop proposals for projects for EU institutions (DGs NEAR & INTPA, ECHO) and other international organisations (UNDP, IFIs) and development assistance providers to fund economic development projects that promote connectivity and economic prosperity that cements peace and regional stability.
4
The global COVID-19 pandemic heralded an unprecedented scale of digital technology use. As the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 forced people to turn to e-learning, remote work, online shopping, and other e-services, the digital world became an even more inexorable part of daily life – albeit for those with digital literacy skills and access to technology.
Public-Private Partnership Consortium: Digital Skills Building 4 Karabakh
Khalisa Shahverdiyeva and Jeanene Mitchell, PhD
April 23, 2022
By improving its digital connectivity, Azerbaijan has the potential to improve sustainable economic growth, access to online services, and e-governance (World Bank, 2021). In light of objectives for the resettlement and redevelopment of Karabakh, it is essential to address the existing digital obstacles of online service provision and employment skills of returning IDPs, public administrations and businesses in the region. Doing so also has the potential to increase economic engagement and reduce precarity among vulnerable populations, particularly among those disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Azerbaijan – which in addition to IDPs include women, daily wage earners, youth, children, people with disabilities, and senior citizens.