German-Azerbaijani initiative in Energy and ICT sectors presents new opportunities

On 9 October 2018, Baku hosted the German-Azerbaijani Business Forum on Energy and ICT. The Forum was organised by the German-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce (AHK Azerbaijan) in cooperation with the German Eastern Business Association (Ost-Ausschuss – Osteuropaverein der Deutschen Wirtschaft e.V.) at Fairmont Hotel Baku. The main focus of this year’s Forum was on reforms and perspectives for partnership in the Energy and ICT sectors.

The Forum aimed to present projects, proposals and needs of German and Azerbaijani companies in the Energy and ICT sectors and to identify current opportunities for cooperation in the respective industries. The Forum was inaugurated by Mr Tobias Baumann, Executive Director of the AHK Azerbaijan, who delivered a welcoming speech and introduced a short introduction of the agenda.

At the official opening of the Forum, Mr Natig Abbasov, Deputy Minister of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr Azad Jafarli, Chief of Administration of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Mrs Andrea Sühl, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany delivered their opening remarks.

Deputy Minister of Energy, Mr Natig Abbasov informed the participants about the introduction of new technologies in the energy sector of Azerbaijan. Mentioning the role of digitalisation as one of the main priorities of the energy industry, Mr Abbasov also stated that the cooperation with German companies is expected to further develop in the upcoming years.

Chief of Administration of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations, Mr Azad Jafarli spoke about the recent reforms carried out in the information technology and telecommunication sectors. Underscoring the new measures taken in the implementation of the digital projects, Mr Jafarli mentioned that the work is underway in the sphere of integration and evaluation of electronic services in the country.

The representative of the German Embassy in Baku, Mrs Andrea Sühl emphasised the significance of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s first official visit to Baku in August 2018 in boosting bilateral relations between Germany and Azerbaijan. She pointed out Germany’s support in further diversification of the Azerbaijani economy and intensifying economic cooperation between the two countries.

The opening ceremony was followed by keynote speeches delivered by Mr Michael Hilmer, Vice-President of Uniper SE and Mr Vitaliy Baylarbayov, Deputy Vice-President for Investments and Marketing of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR). Delivering a presentation about Uniper’s activity in Azerbaijan, Mr Hilmer expressed his hope in deepening partnership with Azerbaijan. Mr Baylarbayov highlighted the contribution of German companies in the implementation of the SGC project and underscored the role of Azerbaijan in ensuring energy security of Germany.

In addition to the Impulse dedicated to the discussions on global trends and challenges in oil and gas industry, the programme of the event also entailed parallel panel discussions focusing on innovation in the Energy sector and ICT as a driving force for economic reforms in Azerbaijan.

The business event was attended by about 200 representatives from relevant government institutions, local and German businesses, and was concluded with networking lunch.