Azerbaijan, Baku, September 25 / Trend /
A meeting dedicated to the establishment of Britain Azerbaijan Business Council took place in London, at the House of Lords, said the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA).
According to the decision, the newly formed structure will be jointly chaired by the British and the Azerbaijani sides. The first co-chairs of the Council were elected Lord Howell from the British side and chairman of IBA Jahangir Hajiyev from the Azerbaijani side.
The Council aims to strengthen business cooperation between the UK and Azerbaijan, deepen trade and investment ties between the two countries. The Council will work in close partnership with the IBA and the UK-based Middle East Association, which is one of the oldest and most influential business associations in the United Kingdom and brings together 400 companies, representing all spheres of industry, trade and finance.
The basis for the further strengthening of relations between the two countries were recent mutual visits at high level: over the past three months, Duke of York, Lord Mayor of London and the Energy Minister, Lord Hunt, visited Baku and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev visited the UK.
The meeting dedicated to the opening of the Council was attended by members of the House of Lords - Lord Waverley, and former Trade Minister Baroness Symons, Director General of the Middle East Association Michael Thomas, Azerbaijani Ambassador to UK Fakhraddin Gurbanov, senior representatives of the Lord Mayor, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the London Stock Exchange and the London Business School, as well as companies and organizations that have current or potential business interests in Azerbaijan.
Co-chair from the Azerbaijani side Jahangir Hajiyev shared detailed information on the latest political and economic reforms and achievements of the country.
He also stressed the importance of establishing a council aimed at further diversifying the British-Azerbaijani economic and trade relations, and provided full information about Azerbaijan. The meeting also highlighted the geostrategic importance of Azerbaijan for the UK and Europe as a beacon of economic stability in Central Asia and from the standpoint of security and diversifying supply sources and routes of energy resources, its role as a gate to the Caspian region, the stability of Azerbaijan's economy and banking sector under the global financial crisis, and its rapid growth in recent years.
"Creating the Business Council is the next stage of development of economic relations between Azerbaijan and Great Britain," said General Director of the Middle East Association Michael Thomas after the meeting.
He said big British companies have decided to participate in the activities of the Business Council, which enjoys the full support of both governments.
"Full-scale program is planned to inform the British business community about the economic potential of Azerbaijan. The Middle East Association already scheduled visit to Baku on November 22-26 for the commercial presentation of various sectors of the economy," Thomas said.
From the British side, Council has already acquired about 20 companies and organizations representing various sectors of the economy, including Invesco, one of the largest investment funds, DLA Piper, Eversheds, Integro Insurance, London Stock Exchange, Royal Bank of Scotland, London Business School and etc.
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