BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 1. Azerbaijan's role as a link between East and West is helping the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program (CAMCA) expand its network of cooperation and connections, CAMCA Managing Director Tamar Kekenadze told Trend on the sidelines of the CAMCA Regional Forum in Baku today.
She said holding the CAMCA Regional Forum in Azerbaijan allows representatives from different countries and sectors to establish new contacts and work on joint projects.
“We are very pleased to hold the forum in Azerbaijan. This is the second time the forum has been held in Azerbaijan. We were last here in 2018, and since then we have witnessed very important developments in Azerbaijan. Now the forum provides an opportunity for people representing different sectors from more than 20 countries – including government, business, youth, culture and education – to reconnect with their Azerbaijani counterparts, meet new people and work on new projects,” Kekenadze said.
According to her, Azerbaijan is playing an increasingly important role in connecting the South Caucasus with Central Asia and the wider region.
“We see Azerbaijan playing an increasingly leading role in the region and connecting the South Caucasus with Central Asia and the wider region. We are pleased to have the opportunity to be here at such an important time,” she said.
Kekenadze said several memorandums of understanding are expected to be signed on the sidelines of the forum.
“We have already signed an MoU between our education consortium and universities in Uzbekistan. At the same time, we will sign another memorandum at the forum with young entrepreneurs from the Asia-Pacific region,” the CAMCA managing director said.
She emphasized that Azerbaijan is an important platform for expanding CAMCA's ties with different regions.
“By leveraging Azerbaijan's leading role in connecting East and West, we are expanding CAMCA's reach. Azerbaijan's unique role allows us to build ties with Central Asia, the Far East, Arab countries and the Gulf states,” Kekenadze emphasized.
The CAMCA managing director said the forum does not focus on a single sector but brings together representatives from different fields.
“The uniqueness of our forum is that we bring together people representing different sectors, from education to business. We do not focus on just one sector, because people working in all fields should have opportunities to attract investment, gain international recognition and cooperate with their counterparts outside Azerbaijan,” she added.
