Military parade: the symbol, message and lessons of our glorious victory calendar

On 8 November, the central square of Baku, Azadliq, hosted the third Military Parade since our Victory, marking the fifth anniversary of this historic triumph.

The first Victory Parade, held on 10 December 2020, celebrated Azerbaijan’s triumph in the war. The second, on 8 November 2023 in the city of Khankendi, symbolized the eradication of separatism and the full restoration of our sovereignty.

Held in the “2025: Year of Constitution and Sovereignty,” the Military Parade marking the fifth anniversary of the Victory showcased the geopolitical peace that Azerbaijan has brought to the region after three decades, demonstrating its peace through strength diplomacy.

The parade stood out for its many innovations, each of which will be studied and written about for years to come. Yet its most significant outcome was that the entire world witnessed the rise of a new regional power configuration — the strategic triangle of Baku, Ankara, and Islamabad.

Military parades celebrating a nation’s victory are a rare privilege in world history, an honor not afforded to every country. With deep historical, national, and symbolic significance, these parades uniquely connect a nation’s past with its present, serving as occasions to commemorate major historical achievements, national ascendance, and military triumphs.

In the 21st century, wars present unprecedented challenges, making the victories achieved here a distinct matter of national honor — a unique example so far in the world, found only in Azerbaijan. No other country in this century has yet marked such a monumental historical event. The fifth-anniversary Military Parade added a new chapter to the annals of Victory, showcasing the political will of our Glorious Supreme Commander, the courage and skill of our victorious army, the sacrifices of our martyrs, and the steadfast determination of our people in their fight against chauvinist separatism and occupation. For the first time in history, the parade presented a decisive rising power in the shaping of a new world order: the strategic triangle of Azerbaijan, Türkiye, and Pakistan, capturing global attention.

The Military Parade, attended by Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, also featured an unprecedented level of international representation: delegates from 75 countries were present in the stands, including ambassadors and military attachés.

In just five years since our Victory, the rapidly shifting contours of a new world order have emerged, and the parade served as a public declaration of this new military-political configuration, capturing global media attention.

The historical significance of the parade lies in the implementation of Azerbaijan’s President’s initiatives for multilateral, cooperative efforts aimed at securing both regional and national security, set against the backdrop of a collapsing global order. This reality once again confirmed a hallmark of visionary leadership: the ability to turn periods of crisis into opportunities. The parade demonstrated how the head of state has elevated Azerbaijan’s status, and that of the region, within the global geopolitical architecture, reinforcing its position in what is often referred to as the “Heartland” of history.

Let us examine some key aspects and takeaways of the new regional power revealed by the Victory Parade.

Strategic triangles are, first and foremost, configurations aimed at fostering cooperation in defense and security.

Next come areas such as economic, trade, and cultural cooperation. In these strategic triangles, the apex and anchor countries maintain relationships that can be multi-centered and symmetrical — or, in some cases, centralized and asymmetrical. It requires little geopolitical expertise to recognize that the Baku-Ankara-Islamabad triangle is both symmetrical and multi-centered. Its potential is reflected in global multi-factor indices that measure the national power of countries.

Strategically, in terms of national military power, such triangles are assessed using the Global Firepower (GFP) index. When projected onto the military plane, the balanced configuration of the Azerbaijan-Türkiye-Pakistan triangle becomes clearly visible.

Türkiye, having rapidly achieved enviable technological sovereignty in the defense industry, is both a NATO member and a key regional strategic actor. Pakistan, meanwhile, stands as the only strategic nuclear state in the Islamic world.

Azerbaijan possesses the strongest military in the South Caucasus. At the same time, it is the only party to emerge victorious from the triangular geopolitical conflict and, as Zbigniew Brzezinski noted, serves as a strategically significant anchor and pivot point due to its energy and regional logistics resources.

For the first time, the parade showcased a range of modern weapon systems newly added to the national army’s arsenal, assertively demonstrating Azerbaijan’s claim to military-technological sovereignty.

Alongside Azerbaijan’s Victorious Army, troops from brotherly Türkiye and Pakistan marched in the parade for the first time. Against the backdrop of six Turkish F‑16 fighters sweeping the Victory skies, military observers were drawn to several notable displays: the Chinese-made HQ‑9 long‑range surface‑to‑air missile system — presented in the South Caucasus for the first time — drone aviation, and a fifth‑generation (Ice Breaker) air‑to‑surface missile.

Military analysts note that adding this missile to the Azerbaijani Armed Forces’ arsenal sends a strategic signal to potential adversaries in the Caspian Sea and signals a new level of technological sovereignty for Baku.

The military strength of the new regional geopolitical triangle can be summarized as follows:

•    Total population: 354 million
•    Military budget: 60 billion USD
•    Military personnel: 3,029,300

Türkiye, as a NATO member with a strong domestic defense industry and a well-funded army, ranks among the world’s top ten military powers. Pakistan, as a strategic nuclear state, is counted among the 15 strongest militaries globally, with substantial personnel and equipment.

Thus, Azerbaijan is ranked as the sole victor and the strongest military power in the South Caucasus region.

Geostrategic triangles: forces shaping world order

At every new stage in history, the formation of a new world order inevitably gives rise to new “geostrategic triangles.” These triangles typically represent a configurational model of interdependent relationships among three key actors in global politics, with the states serving as the triangle’s apexes or as anchor and pivot points. Such configurations signify the emergence of an alliance, triad, or “triumvirate” among three nations that can alter the balance of power.

In geopolitical studies, “strategic triangles” act as decisive actors in shaping the world order at every new historical stage. The concept was notably developed by Zbigniew Brzezinski, who, in his book The Grand Chessboard, included Azerbaijan and introduced the ideas of “balance of power” and “geopolitical pivot points.” Henry Kissinger, a key figure in U.S. trilateral diplomacy, also emphasized that in the 21st century, new world order configurations are increasingly based on strategic triangles, with regional triangles playing a decisive role in political, diplomatic, and military power balances.

In recent years, the configurations of strategic triangles guiding the global balance of power have undergone profound changes. Bipolarity no longer exists, and the main geopolitical trends now focus on the South Caucasus, the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Pacific region. The Ukraine-Russia conflict and wars in the Middle East have reshaped these triangles, forcing countries that were previously considered powerful to maneuver within new triangular alignments.

Against the backdrop of the collapse of the existing world order and the emergence of a new one, the strategic triangles established by rising regional powers like Azerbaijan are rooted in a legacy of historical friendship and brotherhood, as well as shared military and political interests. This foundation allows these triangles to effectively balance any attempts by external geopolitical actors to interfere, while supporting the pursuit of a regional peace agenda.

A defining feature of the “regional strategic triangle” format is that even when geostrategic interests do not fully align, the participating countries structure their political behavior around cooperation and mutual trust.

Special-designation parade. Historical outcomes

The Azerbaijan-Türkiye-Pakistan “Rising Strategic Power Triangle” represents a strategic partnership built on overlapping interests in military and political cooperation, economic and energy corridors, and the defense industry. Within this triangle, Pakistan serves as a defense exporter, Türkiye as a strategic regional actor, and Azerbaijan plays the role of a geopolitical power shaping the new world order through its military and energy resources.

The unshakable foundation of trust and cooperation among the three countries is built on the ironclad reliability, deep friendship, and brotherhood tested during the occupation thirty years ago. These relationships have the potential to play a decisive role in regional and global developments in the coming decades, maintain balance on the world stage, and contribute to international security.

The rising and expanding geopolitical power of the Baku-Ankara-Islamabad strategic triangle, along with the mutual interactions and growing collaborative potential among the three nations, positions it to assume a new role on the global stage, influencing both regional and global security dynamics.

The Military Parade held on the fifth anniversary of the Victory carried a special-purpose character. It broadcast to the world Azerbaijan’s advancements in military-technological sovereignty, its message of moving from war to a broader peace victory, and its emergence as a reference point of new military, political, and economic power.

During the parade, the newly presented geostrategic triangle demonstrated its potential to shift the regional balance of power in its favor and effectively counter any attempts to interfere with the peace agenda. The shared military, political, economic, and ideological assets of the three countries stand among the key factors enabling this rising power.

The most fundamental pillar of this partnership is the legacy of brotherhood and friendship, tested and proven over thirty years of history. As Henry Kissinger noted, the triangle’s capacity to maintain regional leadership allows it to counter claims of dominance in the area.

Over the past five years, every year — and even every month — of Victory history has seen continued successes across political, economic, diplomatic, and informational fronts. The architect and living symbol of these victories is the Victorious Commander-in-Chief, President Ilham Aliyev. He was the decisive factor in the Patriotic War, the only victorious commander in the 21st century to lead military operations on a global scale, and the author of this new chapter in the history of Victory.

As President Ilham Aliyev stated:

“We are making history, creating new history! We are writing a new glorious chapter for our people and our country. This is the history of Victory!”