The 2nd South Caucasus Dialogue Forum was successfully held in the Georgian Capital, Tbilisi, on Tuesday, 28 October 2025, with the participation of over seventy experts, activists, diplomats and journalists from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia and from a dozen European countries and organisations.
The forum is an initiative of LINKS Europe, working with partners across the South Caucasus.
The 1st South Caucasus Regional Dialogue Forum was held successfully in Kachreti, Georgia, on 31 August 2023. It brought together experts and professionals from the three South Caucasus countries, as well as diplomats and officials from the international community. Participants in the 1st forum were also joined by thirty young activists from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia who had just finished a ten-day South Caucasus Youth Peace Summer School.
This year's forum was special because of the participation of around forty Armenian and Azerbaijanis members of the Thematic Groups for a new Armenian-Azerbaijani Dialogue. The 2nd South Caucasus Dialogue Forum provided for a very thorough and interesting discussion of current developments in the region. In the Forum the Armenian and Azerbaijani members were also joined by Georgian participants, as well as representatives of the EUSR Office, EUMA and Ambassadors and diplomats from around ten European countries.
Also actively participating were the members of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Expert Strategic Platform.
Participants were welcomed by the Director of LINKS Europe, Dr Dennis Sammut, and LINKS Europe Special Advisor, Maximiliaan van Lange. The opening session was chaired by Mr Teimuraz Janjalia, Ambassador, Former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.
The speaker were HE Kirsti Narinen, Ambassador of Finland (Finland currently has the Chairmanship of the OSCE), and HE Anne Toft Sørensen, Ambassador of Denmark (Denmark currently has the Chairmanship of the Council of the European Union).
There were then four panel discussions:
Panel 1 – The South Caucasus: a changing region
Chair: Murad Muradov (Topbachov Centre, Baku)
Benyamin Poghosyan (APRI Armenia, Yerevan)
Anar Veliyev (ADA University, Baku)
David Bujiashvili (ALTA University, Tbilisi)
Panel 2 – Connectivity – building future prosperity together
Chair: Narek Minasyan (Armenian TV, Yerevan);
Johnny Melikyan (Orbelli Centre, Yerevan)
Fidan Namazova (ADA University, Baku)
Vano Abramashvili (Head of the Peace Program, Caucasian House)
Panel 3 – Media and social media in a changing Caucasus
Chair: Leonid Nersisyan (APRI Armenia, Yerevan)
Sargis Harutyunyan (Yerevan Press Club)
Mehman Aliyev (Azerbaijan expert and journalist)
Rusudan Tskhomelidze (Adviser at Media Ombudsman and the
Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics, Tbilisi)
Panel 4 – Women, Youth and Marginalised Groups in the new South
Caucasus
Chair: Nigar Gurbanli (ADA University, Baku)
Lala Jumayeva (ADA University, Baku)
Armine Margaryan (Women and Global Security, Yerevan)
Tinatin Bregvadze (Expert on education and youth engagement,
Tbilisi)
In a short cocluding session chaired by Teimuraz Janjalia, Stepan Grigoryan (President ACGRC, Yerevan) and Leman Nasirli, an Azerbaijani participant of the 2023 Summer Schollreflected on the days' proceedings.
During the Forum it was announced that the 3rd Forum will be held in Yerevan in 2026, whilst the 4th Forum will be held in Baku is 2027, accompanying the process and meetings of the European Political Community which are also expected to be held in the two countries in 2026/7. It was also announced that the members of the Strategic Expert Platform, working under the auspices of LINKS Europe (Dr Dennis Sammut, Chair, Dr Anar Veliyev, Mr Ramazan Samadov and Mr Mehman Aliyev (members Azerbaijan); Mr Stepan Grigoryan, Mr Benyamin Poghosyan and Mr Johnny Melikyan (members Armenia) shall form the Political Preparatory Committee for the two events.
source: commonspace.eu
photo: The meeting of the 2nd South Caucasus Dialogue Forum in Tbilisi on 28 October 2025 (picture by commonspace.eu)
