OMM Redaksiyası
As previously reported, President Ilham Aliyev met on Sept. 25 with the heads of three leading global investment firms: “Neuberger Berman,” “Brookfield Asset Management” and “Global Infrastructure Partners.”
"Operative Information Center-OMM" reports that these companies manage assets worth hundreds of billions and even trillions of dollars in global financial markets, investing in strategic sectors such as energy, transport, digital infrastructure, real estate and private equity.
On Sept. 25, Ilham Aliyev first received George Walker, chairman and chief executive officer of “Neuberger Berman,” followed by Connor Teskey, chief executive officer of “Brookfield Asset Management,” and Adebayo Ogunlesi, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of “Global Infrastructure Partners.”
“Neuberger Berman” – a company managing $613 billion in assets
One of the people received by President Ilham Aliyev was George Walker, chairman and chief executive officer of leading US investment firm “Neuberger Berman.”
Founded in New York in 1939, “Neuberger Berman” is now one of the world’s largest independent investment management firms. The total value of assets under its management has reached $613 billion. Its private markets platform manages more than $170 billion in investment commitments and its portfolio includes more than 10,400 companies worldwide.
The company operates in private equity, private debt, equities, fixed income and other investment instruments.
“Neuberger Berman” is not a new partner for Azerbaijan. Cooperation between the company and the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan has continued since 2016. The meeting between President Ilham Aliyev and George Walker also addressed the results of this cooperation, new investment projects and opportunities to expand the long-term partnership.
“Brookfield Asset Management” – a giant with more than $1 trillion in assets
The second meeting was held with Connor Teskey, chief executive officer of “Brookfield Asset Management.”
The history of “Brookfield” dates back to a utilities company established in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1899. Today, “Brookfield Asset Management” is considered one of the world’s largest alternative investment and real asset management firms.
The value of assets under the company’s management exceeds $1 trillion. “Brookfield” operates in more than 50 countries and has made more than 2,000 global investments to date.
Its main areas of activity include infrastructure, renewable and conventional energy, real estate, private equity and credit markets.
The scale of “Brookfield’s” infrastructure operations is also reflected in the figures. Its platform includes more than 308,000 telecommunications sites, 77,000 kilometers of fiber-optic networks, 150 data centers, 36,300 kilometers of railway infrastructure and 3,200 kilometers of toll roads. Its utility infrastructure businesses serve more than 10 million consumers worldwide.
The meeting between President Ilham Aliyev and Connor Teskey highlighted the importance of a memorandum of understanding on long-term strategic cooperation signed between the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan and “Brookfield Asset Management.”
The sides also discussed potential investment projects in energy transition, renewable energy, energy storage systems and digital infrastructure.
GIP – a major infrastructure investor, from airports to data centers
The third person received by the President was Adebayo Ogunlesi, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of “Global Infrastructure Partners.”
Established in the United States in 2006, GIP specializes in global infrastructure investments. The value of assets under its management is approximately $170 billion.
GIP’s investment portfolio primarily covers major infrastructure assets, including transport, energy, airports, railways, ports and data centers.
Its investments include London’s Gatwick Airport, Edinburgh and Sydney airports, Italy’s “Italo” high-speed rail operator, the UK’s “Peel Ports” port operator, Australia’s Port of Melbourne and data center operator “CyrusOne.”
Since 2024, GIP has been part of the structure of “BlackRock,” one of the world’s largest asset management companies. “BlackRock” acquired GIP for approximately $3 billion in cash and about 12 million “BlackRock” shares, with the transaction completed in October 2024.
“BlackRock’s” own assets under management were reported at $15.3 trillion as of June 30, 2026.
What projects do Azerbaijan, GIP and “BlackRock” have?
Azerbaijan’s cooperation with GIP and “BlackRock” has gone beyond the level of negotiations.
A memorandum of understanding on long-term cooperation was signed in Davos between the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan, “BlackRock” and GIP. Under the agreement, the parties are considering the possibility of investing up to $1.5 billion over three to four years in infrastructure funds managed by GIP and in joint investment projects.
They also agreed to explore investment opportunities related to the establishment of data centers in Azerbaijan, the development of digital infrastructure capable of supporting artificial intelligence and cloud technologies, and airport infrastructure.
SOFAZ is already participating in international projects jointly with GIP. The fund has invested 34.5 million euros in Italy’s “Italo” high-speed rail operator and, together with GIP, 50 million pounds in London’s Gatwick Airport.
Thus, the three companies received by President Ilham Aliyev on Sept. 25 — “Neuberger Berman,” “Brookfield Asset Management” and GIP — are major participants in the global investment market. Their interest in Azerbaijan is focused mainly on energy transition, transport and logistics infrastructure, data centers, artificial intelligence infrastructure and long-term international investment projects.
