14:28 - 9.10.2018

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October 9, Fineko/abc.az. 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.