Dec. 18
Ilham Aliyev talks to Euronews about importance of ICT for Azerbaijan
Euronews has released a report on the Bakutel-2017 exhibition in Baku.
The channel also spoke to Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, about the importance of the exhibition.
"ICT development is one of the top priorities for our country," Ilham Aliyev said. "We are planning to continue the policy of diversification of our economy and, in this respect, development of ICT is very important."
The report notes that Virtual and Augmented Reality were the stars of this year’s edition of Bakutel, Azerbaijan’s International Telecommunication and Information Technologies Exhibition.
"One of the trends this year was the combination of the two technologies for applications in fields ranging from art to medicine. One stand featured connected surgical glasses help surgeons better visualize the features of a patient’s face during an operation," reads the article.
“The general concept of this project is to combine the virtual anatomy of each patient with the real anatomy of the patient who will be operated. During surgery, if you are wearing these glasses, you can see the internal anatomy of the patient – it’s like looking through the skin of the face, you can see the facial skeleton, the muscles, the nerves, the vessels and so on," Ismayil Ferzeliyev, doctor, Azerbaijan Medical University told Euronews.
Virtual Reality is still a key element in the gaming world, but the field of application of this technology is growing fast, according to the article.
“This platform that you see is not only for gaming. A lot of countries use it in medicine. Our company has started to develop some platforms especially for medicine, for training – for example fire training, said Aygun Hasanova, spokeswoman, Phobia VR.
The article notes that Bakutel is a unique platform for professionals in the ICT field to meet. This edition brought together more than 190 companies from 20 countries.
“‘Wand’ is an electronic device that sends every scratch you made on the paper via bluetooth to your smartphone’s application. After you have written on the paper the ink evaporates after 30 minutes but during this time your data has been safely saved on our servers in our software application," Wand’ project manager Elchin Aghazade told Euronews.
According to a 2016 World Bank study, ICT has strong growth potential in Azerbaijan, which is faced with the challenge of diversifying its economy away from energy resources to create new sources of growth, the article reads.
President Aliyev: Azerbaijan, Iran achieved good results in joint projects
President Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who arrived in Baku.
Azerbaijani president expressed satisfaction with the level of cooperation between the two countries and noted that good results were achieved in implementation of joint projects. Recalling his brief talk with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Istanbul, President Ilham Aliyev said they exchanged views on the successful development of Azerbaijan-Iran bilateral relations.
Ilham Aliyev noted that the Iranian foreign minister’s visit to Azerbaijan for the second time in a month indicates to high level of relations, adding that the visit creates good opportunity for discussing the agenda of the two countries’ bilateral relations.
Touching upon the trilateral meeting of the Azerbaijani, Turkish and Iranian foreign ministers, President Ilham Aliyev stressed the importance of holding these meetings on a regular basis, and assessed the meeting of the ministers of the neighbor states as a good initiative.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif conveyed greetings of President Hassan Rouhani to the Azerbaijani president.
The Iranian foreign minister stressed the importance of his visit to Azerbaijan for the second time this month and meeting Azerbaijani president in terms of development of the two countries’ relations. He said the Iranian side is very pleased with the fact that Azerbaijan-Iran relations have been at a very high level during Hassan Rouhani's presidency.
Touching upon the trilateral meeting of the Azerbaijani, Turkish and Iranian foreign ministers in Baku, Mohammad Javad Zarif stressed the importance of holding the meetings in this format and expressed confidence that they would continue in the future.
During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on the prospects of bilateral relations in the banking, energy, transportation, trade and investment spheres.
The Azerbaijani president expressed gratitude for the greetings of Hassan Rouhani and asked to convey his greetings to the Iranian president.
Minister: Azerbaijan among advanced states in work with youth
Azerbaijan is one of the most famous and advanced states in the work with youth, said Azerbaijani Minister of Youth and Sports Azad Rahimov.
He made the remarks at a ceremony of presenting certificates of the Paris-Sorbonne University to participants of seminars titled “Innovative management methods in the organization of work with youth”.
The minister noted the importance of seminars with participation of the Paris-Sorbonne University both for young participants and for every person involved in the work with youth.
He added that such projects with the direct participation of various foreign universities are very important for the future of Azerbaijan.
“Azerbaijan puts forward interesting projects and initiatives in Europe and around the world, and I can confidently say that today our country is one of the leading countries in the work with youth,” noted the minister.
The seminar titled “Innovative management methods in the organization of work with youth” was held from September 11 to September 14 in Baku. The seminar was organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan jointly with the Paris-Sorbonne University. The participants of the seminar were awarded certificates, which were presented by Minister of Youth and Sport of Azerbaijan Azad Rahimov and French Ambassador to Azerbaijan Aurelia Bouchez.
EU says work underway to prepare comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan
There is dynamic and efficient cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU, Kestutis Jankauskas, head of the EU delegation to Azerbaijan, said in Baku at an event dedicated to the International Migrants Day.
He noted that the recent Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels is an example of this cooperation.
The ambassador said that the work is underway to prepare a comprehensive agreement between Azerbaijan and the EU.
He added that the EU is implementing joint programs with the Azerbaijan State Migration Service and other state structures.
Tourist flow between Azerbaijan and the EU is of paramount importance for the further expansion of relations, he noted.
Therefore, the EU would like that more people travel from EU member countries to Azerbaijan and in the opposite direction, Jankauskas added.
President Aliyev: Azerbaijan - financially capable, reliable partner
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) of the World Bank Group Keiko Honda.
Honda extended greetings of President of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim to President Aliyev. She hailed the World Bank's successful cooperation with Azerbaijan, saying the organization closely follows the economic reforms carried out in the country and highly appreciates the work done there.
Honda congratulated President Aliyev on what the country has done to cope with the economic difficulties and to achieve stability and development in the country. She emphasized the importance of Azerbaijan's achievements in economic development and in diversification of economy.
President Aliyev thanked Honda for the warm words, and praised the World Bank's continued support for economic reforms carried out in Azerbaijan. The president noted the importance of the funds allocated to Azerbaijan by the organization.
The president hailed the fact that this year marks the 25th anniversary of Azerbaijan's bilateral cooperation with the World Bank Group, underlining the significance of Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency's support for a number of vital investment projects implemented by foreign investors in Azerbaijan over the past years, including the globally important gas pipeline project Southern Gas Corridor.
President Aliyev noted that the Southern Gas Corridor project is of crucial importance not only to Azerbaijan but also to a region covering a vast geography, including Europe.
Describing Azerbaijan as a financially capable reliable partner and as a country which has always fulfilled its commitments, the president noted that the work on the TANAP project is being successfully implemented on schedule, and will be completed on time.
President Aliyev said that this year the Azerbaijani economy entered a period of stabilization. "If we do not take into account the oil factor in our economy, we can see that non-oil sector grew by 2.5 percent, while non-oil industry increased by more than 3 percent, and the agrarian sector by more than 4 percent. Despite the fact that the drop in the oil prices negatively affected the gross domestic product (GDP), the non-oil sector accounted for 70 percent of the GDP."
The president noted that the launch of the Southern Gas Corridor in the years to come, extension of the term of the Contract of the Century, additional investments and successful implementation of global transport projects give grounds to look optimistic about the prospects of the Azerbaijani economy.
They exchanged views on prospects for Azerbaijan-MIGA bilateral cooperation.
President Aliyev thanked for the greetings of Jim Yong Kim and asked the executive vice president to extend his greetings to the president of the World Bank.
Dec. 20
BA executive to head Azerbaijan Credit Bureau's Supervisory Board
Azerbaijan Credit Bureau LLC is being created in Baku, the Azerbaijan Banks Association said in a message.
According to the message, members of an initiative group on creation of a private credit bureau made a decision to establish the bureau during a meeting in Baku.
Chairman of the Board of the International Bank of Azerbaijan Khalid Ahadov was elected Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Azerbaijan Credit Bureau.
The founders of the Azerbaijan Credit Bureau LLC are the International Bank of Azerbaijan, Bank Respublika, Xalq Bank, Kapital Bank, PASHA Bank, Rabitabank, Unibank and Ziraat Bank Azerbaijan.
The charter of the Azerbaijan Credit Bureau was approved at the meeting. The private credit bureau will contain more information than the Centralized Credit Registry and cover a bigger number of borrowers. The bureau will receive information not only from banks, but also from insurance and leasing companies, mobile communication operators, etc.
C-Check performed on Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in Azerbaijan for the first time in the CIS
Azerbaijani "Silk Way Technics" company, for the first time among the CIS countries performed base maintenance in the C-Check volume on a modern Boeing 787-8 "Dreamliner".
As part of the C-Check base maintenance, a total of 1,679 hours were spent on scheduled and 174 hours - unscheduled work.
This maintenance is one of the most thorough and complex types of validation of efficiency of all systems, equipment and structure of the aircraft. It is performed at strictly defined intervals, measured by the number of flight hours, the number of landings, or the aircraft's operating time. This form of maintenance is much more labor-intensive and strictly periodic.
It should be noted that earlier "Silk Way Technics" performed a similar base maintenance on Boeing 747-8 aircraft.
Today, on the base of "Silk Way Technics", line and base maintenance is performed on such aircrafts and their components as Boeing 747-400, 747-8, 757-200, 767-300, 787-8, Airbus A319/320/321 and А340-500/600, Embraer 170/190 and Gulfstream G200, G280, G450, G550, G650, ATR42, operated by the airlines of Azerbaijan and other countries.
Being one of the leading technical service centers in the region and in the CIS countries, “Silk Way Technics” is the approved maintenance organization and the holder of the certificates of the aviation authorities of Azerbaijan (SCAA), Europe (EASA), USA (FAA), Bermuda (BCAA), Qatar (QCAA) and Kuwait (DGCA). It will continue to increase its technical capabilities for servicing all types of aircrafts.
Nobel Oil Services hosts AmCham HR Committee meeting
Nobel Oil Services hosted a meeting of AmCham HR Committee and introduced the major implementations in its employee compensation & benefit program to member-companies.
Leyla Novruzova, BP Human Resources Vice President and Chairperson of HR Committee opened this year’s last session by welcoming guests. Ilgar Veliyev, EY Azerbaijan Country Managing Partner and AmCham Board Member, thanked the members of the Committee for constant involvement, which ensures its dynamic activity.
Ellada Alishova, Group HR Manager of Nobel Oil, provided information about the history and development of the company, its significant milestones, successfully accomplished and current projects presenting an overview of the company’s subsidiaries and affiliates.
During the meeting HR Coordinator of Nobel Oil, Jafar Yusifov, shared in detail the company’s practice in implementation of grading and job evaluation system which is aligned with the business needs and designed to ensure a path for professional development. The grading system supports efficient talent and reward program and is linked to performance management process (PMP). Realization of PMP is operated through SAP ERP system, covering not only parent company, but also its subsidiaries, creating a unified way for overall coordination. Implementation of the grading system resulted in more functional organizational structure and a fair pay system, meeting the demands of business operation.
Nobel Oil Services also shared the outcomes it achieved and provided some advice based on a real practice to the companies, which plan to undertake realization of a similar project within their entities.
Nobel Oil Services expressed its gratitude to other speakers who covered topics of mutual interest.
SOCAR, BP, Total, Wood, McDermott, AA Services, Deloitte & Touche, EY, KPMG, PwC, ADA University and other companies were among the participants.
Ilham Aliyev: Azerbaijan very attractive for foreign companies
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Senior Vice President of IBM Global Markets Erich Clementi.
Clementi hailed good cooperation between the IBM Global Markets and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR).
Vice President Clementi noted that prospects for cooperation with Azerbaijan were discussed during his visit, expressing IBM's keenness to establish long-term relationship with the country.
The president underlined ample opportunities for ensuring IBM's activities in Azerbaijan. President Aliyev emphasized that the ICT sector is among the key priorities in Azerbaijan, saying great strides have been made in this area.
The president pointed to the Bakutel-2017 exhibition, which was recently held in Azerbaijan, describing the exhibition as an important event in terms of strengthening cooperation.
President Aliyev hailed Azerbaijan's great economic potential and prospects, saying the country is very attractive for foreign companies.
The president expressed his hope that Azerbaijan and IBM will continue to successfully cooperate in the years ahead.
Mastercard appoints new manager on Azerbaijan and Turkey
Yigit Caglayan has been appointed Mastercard international payment system’s new general manager on Azerbaijan and Turkey, the Turkish media reported.
Reportedly, Caglayan has been working in Mastercard company since 2011. Earlier, he supervised the development of products for European developing markets.
Caglayan will be responsible for the digitalization and development of non-cash settlements in Turkey and Azerbaijan. Earlier, Yasemin Bedir served as Mastercard’s general manager on Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Ilham Aliyev receives Malcolm Hoenlein
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Malcolm Hoenlein.
Malcolm Hoenlein recalled his previous meetings with President Ilham Aliyev. He said that he is deeply impressed with the great changes and developments he witnesses during his visits to Baku.
Malcolm Hoenlein said he is happy to participate in “2017 - Islamic Solidarity year: Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue” international conference in Baku.
Highlighting the importance of the international conference, President Ilham Aliyev stressed the significance of the fact that Malcolm Hoenlein attends the event and expressed confidence that the conference will contribute to the strengthening of ties between religions and peoples.
They hailed conditions created in Azerbaijan for peaceful co-existence of representatives of all nations and religions, including the Jewish community, and described multicultural environment existing in the country as exemplary.
They noted that Baku has already become an important venue for international events, and hailed high level Azerbaijani-US relations in various fields.
Trilateral meeting of Azerbaijani, Iranian, Turkish FMs kicks off
A trilateral meeting of Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey, Elmar Mammadyarov, Mohammad Javad Zarif and Mevlut Cavusoglu has today kicked off in Baku.
Prior to the trilateral meeting, the ministers held one-on-one meetings.
Baku Statement has been signed at the trilateral meeting.
This is the fifth trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers and the fourth meeting was held in Kars in 2014.
Dec. 21
Ilham Aliyev: Azerbaijan an irreplaceable country in interreligious dialogue
Azerbaijan is turning into an irreplaceable country in the interreligious, intercultural dialogue, said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.
President Aliyev made the remarks at an international conference titled “2017 – Year of Islamic Solidarity: Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue” at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku.
The head of state stressed that the Azerbaijani people are very committed to their national and spiritual roots.
"These national values form the foundation of the independent Azerbaijani state. Our national values are an integral part of universal values," President Aliyev said.
“We want the interfaith dialogue to strengthen both in the Muslim world, in Europe and generally in the world. Unfortunately, recently we see an absolutely different picture – intolerance, Islamophobia, xenophobia and anti-Semitism are growing. This is a great threat to mankind and a great scourge. The opinions and stance of religious and public figures, politicians, the general public about this issue are, of course, also important for the world community,” said the president.
“The world has repeatedly been urged from Baku, from highly respected rostrums that interfaith relations are important for every country. Many countries around the world are multinational and multi-confessional. This issue is of particular importance for civilian peace, for civilian solidarity, for every country. We, for our part, solve all issues within the country at the highest level. Meanwhile, I am sure that Azerbaijan’s experience is studied in the region and in the world,” added Ilham Aliyev.
He reminded that Azerbaijan announced the previous year as the Year of Multiculturalism.
“Multiculturalism is our state policy, and at the same time, it is our lifestyle. Representatives of all religions and nationalities living in Azerbaijan can confirm this. Multiculturalism has no alternative. The alternative is very dangerous tendencies, such as Islamophobia, xenophobia and anti-Semitism that shake the world,” said President Aliyev.
“The world sees in Azerbaijan’s example that multiculturalism lives. However, very pessimistic thoughts about multiculturalism are voiced sometimes at a very high level. Nevertheless, we all should try to maintain and strengthen these great values. Multiculturalism should become a common phenomenon for every country,” added the head of state.
“As I noted, Azerbaijan has special relations with the Islamic countries within the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and Azerbaijan also plays an active role in this organization and has great support. At the same time, we have close relations with European countries. Azerbaijan has signed a strategic partnership document with nine EU member states. That is a one third of the members of the European Union,” continued the president.
“We also have very close relations with the European Union. A very serious work is being conducted on a number of issues, and at the beginning of this year, work started on a future agreement between the European Union and Azerbaijan. This once again reflects our country’s position on the issues of international agenda, as well as our policy,” he noted.
“I should also note that, of course, the state policy in this direction is being carried out and is going to be carried out. However, our policy in this direction is based on public opinion, because the Azerbaijani society, the people of Azerbaijan live with these feelings and with these thoughts. Our successful development shows that if interfaith, international relations are at the needed level, there will be both development and stability, and all the Azerbaijani citizens are optimistic about the future,” added President Aliyev.
Azerbaijani president receives ISESCO director general
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri.
Altwaijri thanked President Aliyev for support to excellent organization of the "2017- Year of Islamic Solidarity: Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue" international conference. Altwaijri noted the importance of the conference and the fact that representatives of different religions attended the event. The ISESCO director general hailed President Aliyev's impressive speech at the conference.
President Aliyev thanked Altwaijri for the warm words and emphasized the significance of the ISESCO director general's participation and speech at the conference. The president praised Altwaijri's fair stance on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that he voiced in his speech at the conference as well as other events.
The ISESCO director general noted that ongoing comprehensive, sustainable development processes in Azerbaijan and outstanding achievements made by the country under the leadership of President Aliyev spark great interest in the Islamic world and beyond.
They underlined the successful cooperation between Azerbaijan and ISESCO, expressing their confidence that bilateral relations will continue strengthening.
Azerbaijan to hold innovative contest annually
An innovative contest will be held in Azerbaijan annually.
A corresponding memorandum on this was signed by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies, the Ministry of Economy, the National Academy of Sciences and the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations.
The document was signed in Baku during an event of the Ministry of Economy and the UN representative office in Azerbaijan.
Dec. 22
President Aliyev receives Georgian finance minister
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Minister of Finance of Georgia Mamuka Bakhtadze.
President Aliyev congratulated Mamuka Bakhtadze on his new appointment and wished him success in his activities.
Mamuka Bakhtadze thanked President Ilham Aliyev for the congratulations. He underlined his involvement in the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project earlier when he worked as Director General of the Georgian Railways Joint Stock Company.
They hailed successful development of Azerbaijan-Georgia bilateral relations in a variety of areas, pointing out to the contribution made by cooperation between the two countries’ financial institutions.
They pointed to the global projects jointly implemented by Azerbaijan and Georgia, noting the importance of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project in terms of regional and international economic cooperation.
They also exchanged views on prospects for bilateral cooperation.
Azerbaijan’s non-oil sector successfully developed in 2017: economy minister
Azerbaijan’s non-oil sector was successfully developing in 2017, Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev said at an event dedicated to development of entrepreneurship and promotion of the 'Made in Azerbaijan' brand.
The minister noted that this year important steps were taken to develop the economy and very good results were achieved.
“Over the 11 months of 2017, Azerbaijan’s non-oil economy grew 2.1 percent, non-oil industry grew 3.5 percent, and agriculture grew 4.2 percent,” the minister said.
Mustafayev added that various infrastructure projects were implemented and state support mechanisms were successfully used this year.
The minister also touched upon the moratorium on business inspections, noting that only 143 inspections were carried out in 25 months, whereas over 121,000 inspections were carried out in the previous 25 months.