diff --git a/ols/app/models/config.py b/ols/app/models/config.py
index 70894b2f7..0c1b166d3 100644
--- a/ols/app/models/config.py
+++ b/ols/app/models/config.py
@@ -365,6 +365,7 @@ def __init__(
             constants.PROVIDER_RHOAI_VLLM,
             constants.PROVIDER_RHELAI_VLLM,
             constants.PROVIDER_OPENAI,
+            constants.PROVIDER_AZURE_OPENAI,
         ):
             self.certificates_store = os.path.join(
                 certificate_directory, constants.CERTIFICATE_STORAGE_FILENAME
diff --git a/ols/src/llms/providers/azure_openai.py b/ols/src/llms/providers/azure_openai.py
index ab4ec7866..cff639dee 100644
--- a/ols/src/llms/providers/azure_openai.py
+++ b/ols/src/llms/providers/azure_openai.py
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ def default_params(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
         deployment_name = self.provider_config.deployment_name
         azure_config = self.provider_config.azure_config
 
-        # provider-specific configuration has precendence over regular configuration
+        # provider-specific configuration has precedence over regular configuration
         if azure_config is not None:
             self.url = str(azure_config.url)
             deployment_name = azure_config.deployment_name
@@ -73,8 +73,8 @@ def default_params(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
             "cache": None,
             "max_tokens": 512,
             "verbose": False,
-            "http_client": self._construct_httpx_client(False, False),
-            "http_async_client": self._construct_httpx_client(False, True),
+            "http_client": self._construct_httpx_client(True, False),
+            "http_async_client": self._construct_httpx_client(True, True),
         }
 
         # gpt-5 and o-series models don't support certain parameters
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ def default_params(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
             # client_id and client_secret)
             access_token = self.resolve_access_token(azure_config)
             default_parameters["azure_ad_token"] = access_token
+        logger.info("Created Azure default parameters %s", default_parameters)
         return default_parameters
 
     def load(self) -> BaseChatModel:
diff --git a/ols/src/llms/providers/provider.py b/ols/src/llms/providers/provider.py
index 56ace8acd..11250c49d 100644
--- a/ols/src/llms/providers/provider.py
+++ b/ols/src/llms/providers/provider.py
@@ -370,6 +370,7 @@ def _construct_httpx_client(  # noqa: C901
             }
 
         sec_profile = self.provider_config.tls_security_profile
+        logger.info("Security profile %s", sec_profile)
 
         # if security profile is not set, use httpx client as is
         if sec_profile is None or sec_profile.profile_type is None:
@@ -385,6 +386,9 @@ def _construct_httpx_client(  # noqa: C901
                     cafile=self.provider_config.certificates_store
                 )
                 verify = custom_context
+            logger.info(
+                "No security profiles. creating httpx.Client with verify %s", verify
+            )
             if use_async:
                 return httpx.AsyncClient(verify=verify, proxies=proxy, mounts=mounts)
             return httpx.Client(verify=verify, proxies=proxy, mounts=mounts)
@@ -411,6 +415,9 @@ def _construct_httpx_client(  # noqa: C901
 
         if use_custom_certificate_store:
             context.load_verify_locations(self.provider_config.certificates_store)
+        logger.info(
+            "With security profile, creating httpx.Client with verify %s", context
+        )
         if use_async:
             return httpx.AsyncClient(verify=context, proxies=proxy)
         return httpx.Client(verify=context, proxies=proxy)
diff --git a/tests/unit/llms/providers/test_azure_openai.py b/tests/unit/llms/providers/test_azure_openai.py
index 53bfe4d97..39be22336 100644
--- a/tests/unit/llms/providers/test_azure_openai.py
+++ b/tests/unit/llms/providers/test_azure_openai.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 """Unit tests for Azure OpenAI provider."""
 
+import os
 import time
 from unittest.mock import patch
 
@@ -9,6 +10,7 @@
 from langchain_openai import AzureChatOpenAI
 from pydantic import AnyHttpUrl
 
+from ols import constants
 from ols.app.models.config import AzureOpenAIConfig, ProviderConfig
 from ols.src.llms.providers.azure_openai import (
     TOKEN_EXPIRATION_LEEWAY,
@@ -16,6 +18,20 @@
     TokenCache,
 )
 
+cert_in_certificates_store_path = "tests/unit/extra_certs/sample_cert_1.crt"
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def fake_certifi_store(tmpdir):
+    """Create a fake certifi store."""
+    cert_store_path = os.path.join(
+        constants.DEFAULT_CERTIFICATE_DIRECTORY, constants.CERTIFICATE_STORAGE_FILENAME
+    )
+    with open(cert_store_path, "wb") as cert_store:
+        with open(cert_in_certificates_store_path, "rb") as cert_file:
+            cert_store.write(cert_file.read())
+    return cert_store_path
+
 
 @pytest.fixture
 def provider_config():
@@ -189,7 +205,7 @@ def provider_config_access_token_related_parameters():
     )
 
 
-def test_basic_interface(provider_config):
+def test_basic_interface(provider_config, fake_certifi_store):
     """Test basic interface."""
     azure_openai = AzureOpenAI(
         model="uber-model", params={}, provider_config=provider_config
@@ -236,7 +252,9 @@ def test_credentials_in_directory_handling(provider_config_credentials_directory
     assert azure_openai.default_params["api_key"] == "secret_key"
 
 
-def test_loading_provider_specific_parameters(provider_config_with_specific_parameters):
+def test_loading_provider_specific_parameters(
+    provider_config_with_specific_parameters, fake_certifi_store
+):
     """Test if provider-specific parameters are loaded too."""
     azure_openai = AzureOpenAI(
         model="uber-model",
@@ -268,7 +286,7 @@ def test_loading_provider_specific_parameters(provider_config_with_specific_para
     assert azure_openai.credentials == "secret_key_2"
 
 
-def test_params_handling(provider_config):
+def test_params_handling(provider_config, fake_certifi_store):
     """Test that not allowed parameters are removed before model init."""
     # first three parameters should be removed before model init
     # rest need to stay