BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 26. The World Economic Forum (WEF) will begin cooperation with the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Agency (AZPROMO) within the framework of the Star FDI initiative, WEF Head of Digital Trade and Artificial Intelligence Khalid Alaamer told Trend on Saturday on the sidelines of the second Azerbaijan International Investment Forum in Baku.
Speaking about the WEF's new Star FDI initiative (Sustainable, Trusted, Agile and Responsible FDI), Alaamer noted that it aims to study best practices in implementing foreign direct investment (FDI) projects that go beyond simple capital investment.
According to him, the initiative also focuses on examining conditions needed to create jobs, improve local workforce skills, build partnerships with local communities and contribute to economic development.
"We have only recently launched this initiative, and in the near future we will also work with Azerbaijan and AZPROMO," he said.
Alaamer noted that WEF's cooperation with Azerbaijan is carried out, in particular, through AZPROMO, while interaction with ASCO has also recently begun.
"We worked with them on one of our first country projects on promoting investment in the digital economy. This was in 2024, and Azerbaijan became one of the first countries to voluntarily join this project," he said.
Alaamer said the project examined existing challenges and opportunities, while also creating a stakeholder community in the digital economy to identify policy and regulatory priorities that the government can use to attract investment in the sector.
Asked about the steps needed for Azerbaijan to align digital trade and artificial intelligence mechanisms with international standards and develop cross-border digital trade, Alaamer said the country was already moving in the right direction.
"I think the country is already moving in the right direction. The launch of this project itself is already a major step," he said.
According to him, the first step is understanding market needs.
"First is listening to the market, and Azerbaijan did this quite well within the 2024 digital economy investment project. The country demonstrated strong leadership by voluntarily joining this project and listening to foreign and domestic investors to understand what policies and opportunities they need in the digital economy," Alaamer said.
He also stressed the importance of demonstrating progress and momentum.
"Investors want to see not only ambitions, but also real achievements on the way to implementing them. Growth in key indicators and Azerbaijan's positions in various rankings over the past few years is a positive signal. Finally, it is necessary to think regionally. Azerbaijan demonstrates significant leadership in the South Caucasus and can become a hub for digital investment and the intelligent economy in the region," he said.
