Baku: There is a complementary potential between Trkiye and Azerbaijan for exchange of experience in migration policy.
According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, pronounced and systematic structural differences exist between the academic approaches to studying migration in Trkiye and Azerbaijan. In Trkiye, migration studies focus on issues of forced migration, asylum provision, integration processes, social adaptation, and security concerns, shaped by a multi-level and multidimensional migration regime. The influx of Syrian refugees in 2011 significantly influenced the normative and state policy-oriented character of migration research in the country.
In contrast, Azerbaijan's migration studies are largely centered on labor migration, human capital circulation, return migration, and diaspora policies. The limited experience with mass irregular migration leads to a state-centered approach, viewing migration primarily as a technical sphere of state policy. Consequently, in Trkiye, migration is often perceived as a management and crisis response issue, whereas Azerbaijan views it as a tool for socio-economic development and demographic management.
Migration mobility between Azerbaijan and Trkiye over the past 10-15 years is characterized by quantitatively limited, yet stable and selective flows. This mobility takes place through educational migration, employment in service and trade sectors, energy and infrastructure projects, and family reunification mechanisms. This has resulted in a 'special migration corridor' between the two countries, marked by cultural adaptability, low irregular migration, and predominance of temporary mobility over permanent resettlement.
Trkiye's migration policy offers valuable lessons for Azerbaijan in migration management, institutionalization, data management, and international cooperation. Conversely, Azerbaijan's approach to planned migration within state policy, diaspora integration, and alignment with national security priorities holds interest for Trkiye. This asymmetrical but complementary potential facilitates mutual learning and exchange of experience in migration policy.
Institutional cooperation between Baku and Ankara in migration is primarily security-oriented, with limited development of joint strategic documents or comprehensive integration policies. Azerbaijan holds potential as a transit and connecting state in the Turkic world, necessitating strengthened multilateral cooperation mechanisms to institutionalize this potential.
The Organization of Turkic States provides a platform for regional migration governance, with opportunities to develop frameworks for labor mobility, recognition of qualifications, and combatting irregular migration. Trkiye's new legislative initiatives regarding foreign citizens of Turkic origin reflect a selective migration policy based on ethnocultural closeness, enhancing regional mobility strategy and integrating Turkic compatriots within its labor market policy.