Syria’s nascent transitional government has secured a crucial energy agreement with Azerbaijan, a move aimed at alleviating the country’s crippling power shortages and marking a significant step in Damascus’s diplomatic re-engagement with the international community.

The deal was the centrepiece of an official visit to Baku by Ahmad Al-Sharaa, Syria’s Transitional President, for an expanded meeting on Saturday with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev.

Azerbaijan’s state oil company, SOCAR, signed a memorandum of understanding to supply natural gas to Syria, according to the Azerbaijani state news agency AZERTAC. “An agreement was signed with SOCAR regarding the supply of natural gas to Syria, a step towards energy independence and building strategic partnerships,” Syrian Energy Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said in a statement on X. He added the visit sought to “enhance cooperation in the field of natural gas to secure the future of energy in Syria.”

The agreement underscores a growing regional energy nexus, with the gas expected to be supplied via Türkiye. Earlier this month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan quoted Aliyev as saying that Azerbaijan is “ready to provide all kinds of support on natural gas to Syria.”

Both leaders cast the accord as a turning point, blaming the previous Syrian regime for a breakdown in relations. President Aliyev said that “due to the unfriendly policies of the previous Syrian government toward Azerbaijan, bilateral relations had experienced a period of stagnation.” He emphasised that the new administration in Damascus “has opened significant prospects for the advancement of ties.”

Al-Sharaa concurred, noting the ousted regime “had damaged relations with many countries, including Azerbaijan,” and affirmed Syria’s keen interest in broad cooperation.

Talks also extended to post-conflict reconstruction, with Azerbaijan offering its expertise gained from rebuilding its own liberated territories. Discussions covered humanitarian aid, including university scholarships for Syrian students, and assistance with restoring cultural monuments.

The energy deal is vital for a nation whose pre-war output of roughly 375,000 barrels of oil per day has collapsed. Al-Sharaa’s visit to Baku is his latest stop on a diplomatic tour that has included Türkiye, France, and several Gulf states, as he seeks to rebuild Syria’s international standing following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December.