AmCham Azerbaijan Executive Director attended annual ACE 2022 U.S. Conference in Washington D.C.

On May 4-10, 2022 Executive Director of American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan (AmCham Azerbaijan) Ms. Gulnara Aslanbayli together with the executive delegation of AmChams in Europe (ACE)  from more than 30 countries attended annual ACE 2022 U.S. Conference in Washington D.C. The purpose of the visit was exchanging of views and best practices with all other Chambers, building stronger cooperation ties with US Businesses and state officials, as well as strengthening of bilateral economic and trade relations with the United States. Within the framework of the visit, discussions of policies with leading representatives of the U.S. administration, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Department of State, and Congress were conducted.Whitin the program, meetings with experts of the US Chamber, high ranking US Government officials such as Ms. Sahar Hafeez, Director of International Economics at White House National Security Council, Mr. Wendy Ruth Sherman, Deputy Secretary at U.S. Department of State, Senator Thom Tillis, U.S. Senator for North Carolina, Ms. Suzanne Clark, U.S. Chamber President and CEO, Ms. Marisa Lago, Under Secretary at U.S. Department of Commerce and others were held. The meetings with experts on politics and business were primarily focused on discussion of the Transatlantic economy and trade, current political developments, and the Russian-Ukrainian war. Furthermore, the ACE executive delegation also held discussions on energy, finance, digital policies, as well as organization of joint activities and possible cooperation in these areas. An agreement was reached between the parties on exchange of experience and extensive cooperation.

AmCham Members' Meeting with Representatives of the State Employment Agency

On May 12, 2022, a meeting was held between the American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan (AmCham Azerbaijan) and the State Employment Agency under the the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population of the Azerbaijan Republic. The meeting was organized in the framework of AmCham Human Resources and Labor Committee and was dedicated to the Presentation of HR digitalization projects lead by the Agency.The meeting was attended by more than 180 representatives of high-ranking government officials, member companies and representatives of diplomatic corps.The honorable speaker of the meeting was Mr. Mustafa Abbasbeyli, Chairman of the Board of the State Employment Agency.Opening the event, Mr. Ilgar Mehti, First-Vice president of AmCham Azerbaijan, introduced the guest speaker and gave a brief foreword to the agenda. He emphasized sustained activity of AmCham Azerbaijan on continuing supporting and promoting the interests of foreign and local businesses in Azerbaijan, as well as significance of the established fruitful dialogue and successful cooperation with government institutions in this direction.Afterwards, Mr. Mustafa Abbasbeyli welcomed and expressed his gratitude to all AmCham members and guests. Mr. Abbasbeyli gave general information on the digitalization projects lead by the State Employment Agency and shared the future plans.Mr. Vusal Mesiyev, Adviser to the Chairman of the Board of the State Employment Agency, comprehensively explained the usage of the system, as well as all benefits of “Labor Relations and Employment subsystems” developed by the Agency with video demonstrations.The new “Labor Relations and Employment subsystems” is a single platform for labor relations for all employers and employees, a new serious mechanism to support labor market participants. With the help of this subsystem, the transition to digital personnel records, and the digitization of other paper transactions carried out in the process of labor relations. The subsystem includes risk-based inspection, electronic audit, etc. modules. Click here to get acquainted with “Labor Relations and Employment subsystems”. The meeting was followed by an interactive Q&A session, where participants were actively involved in an open dialogue, sharing their concerns and exchanging best practices and addressing their questions to Mr. Mustafa Abbasbeyli and Mr. Vusal Mesiyev.At the end, Mr. Parviz Tahirov, Deputy Chairperson of AmCham HR Committee, thanked the guest speakers and all the participants for their involvement in the event.Highlights from the meeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc8ChharT1s

AmCham Human Resources and Labor Committee’s April Session

On April 21, 2022, AmCham Human Resources and Labor Committee organized its April session.The guest speaker of the meeting was Ms. Elnara Mammadova, Vice president people and culture, BP Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Russia.Ms. Ellada Alishova, Chairperson of HR Committee welcomed the participants with an opening speech, gave brief foreword of the session and introduced the guest speaker.In the first part of the meeting, Ms. Elnara Mammadova delivered a comprehensive presentation on the “Role of benefits in employee retention”. The second part of the meeting was followed by an interactive Q&A session, where participants were engaged in an open dialogue and exchanged views and best practices. In the end of the meeting, Ms. Ellada Alishova expressed her gratitude to the guest speakers and participants of the session for their active involvement. 

AmCham Legal & Compliance and Digital Technology & Innovations Committees’ April Meeting

On April 14, 2022, AmCham Legal & Compliance and Digital Technology & Innovations Committees held a joint meeting dedicated to the Artificial Intelligence and its use in the Legal Industry.The guest speakers of the meeting were Ms. Sona Taghiyeva, Partner in Dentons and Mr. Sergei Bolshakov, Government Affairs Director in Eurasian Economic Union, Central Asia, and Caucasus Countries.Opening the meeting,  Executive Director of AmCham Azerbaijan Ms. Gulnara Aslanbayli welcomed the participants and highlighted the relevance and importance of the topic. Afterwards, Chairperson of Legal and Compliance Committee Mr. Kamil Valiyev ,  introduced the guest speakers and announced the agenda of the meeting. Chairperson of DT&I Committee Mr. Gachay Mirzayev shared a comprehensive presentation on Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals & use cases in Legal Industry.In the second part of the meeting, Mr. Sergei Bolshakov briefly spoke about several areas where Artificial Intelligence, IT and Legal come across.Afterwards Ms. Sona Taghiyeva delivered a presentation on Challenges and opportunities of Artificial Intelligence.At the end of the meeting, participants were actively involved in an open dialogue, sharing their concerns and exchanging best practices, as well as participating in a Q&A session, where all questions were addressed by Mr. Gachay Mirzayev, Ms. Sona Taghiyeva and Mr. Sergei Bolshakov. 

AmCham Members’ March Luncheon

On March 29, 2022, the American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan (AmCham Azerbaijan) organized its monthly members’ Luncheon. The Honorable Guest Speaker of this month was Mr. Rahman Hajiyev, Chairman of the Board of Karabakh Revival Foundation.Opening the event, Executive Director of AmCham Azerbaijan, Ms. Gulnara Aslanbayli welcomed the participants of the Luncheon. During her speech, she called AmCham members to offer internship program to the War-wounded and Families of Martyrs of the 44-day Patriotic War, who completed 6 months training program as well as “Career Guidance and Introduction to Business World” workshop within the “Professional Development and Career Planning” project jointly launched by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan (AmCham Azerbaijan), Junior Achievement Azerbaijan (JA Azerbaijan) and “Azercell Telecom” LLC. Afterwards, Ms. Aslanbayli passed the floor to member presentations by JOCAP, Denetik Uluslararası Belgelendirme ve Gözetim Hizmetleri Limited, European Azerbaijan School, who gave the information on portfolio and activity direction of their companies. Then, newly appointed President of AmCham Azerbaijan Ms. Nargiz Nasrullayeva-Muduroglu introduced the honorable guest speaker Mr. Rahman Hajiyev to the audience. During her speech, Ms. Nasrullayeva-Muduroglu highlighted the activities of the Karabakh Revival Foundation and expressed Chamber’s intention to participate as a donor in the project on restoration of ecological balance in Karabakh - "From Victory to Revival" jointly implemented by the Foundation and the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources.Mr. Rahman Hajiyev welcomed and expressed his gratitude to all AmCham members and guests. Mr. Hajiyev delivered a comprehensive presentation on establishment of the Karabakh Revival Fund, its main goals and objectives, mission, values and current activities, as well as work done to restore and reconstruct Karabakh. He also noted that the restoration of historical monuments in the liberated territories and ecological balance in Karabakh is one of the priorities for the Foundation.Furthermore, the participants were introduced to “Karabakh.Center”  Internet resource and “Karabakhmemorial.com”  projects dedicated to the memory of minors killed as a result of military crimes committed by the armed forces against the civilian population during the 44-day Patriotic war. The author of the project idea is First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ms. Mehriban Aliyeva.At the end of the luncheon, Ms. Aslanbayli thanked Mr. Rahman Hajiyev and all the participants for their involvement in the event. The event featured a photo exhibition and video "Urbicide in Karabakh" reflecting the destroyed buildings and historical monuments based on the materials of the Karabakh Center project.AmCham Azerbaijan Members’ Luncheons are organized monthly by the Chamber and feature participation of high ranked government officials, member companies and representatives of diplomatic corps.

Opportunity to offer internships to the War-wounded and Families of Martyrs of the 44-day Patriotic War

To the attention of AmCham members!AmCham Azerbaijan would like to give the opportunity to AmCham member companies to offer the internship program to the War-wounded and Families of Martyrs of the 44-day Patriotic War, who completed 6 months training program as well as “Career guidance and introduction to business world” workshop within the "Professional Development and Career Planning" project jointly launched by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan (AmCham Azerbaijan), Junior Achievement Azerbaijan (JA Azerbaijan) and “Azercell Telecom” LLC.You can get acquainted with the CV-s of the project participants from the following link. Those who are interested in providing internship programs to the young project participants please contact chamber@amchamaz.org.We are calling each member company to support professional development and employment of our young project participants together! "Professional Development and Career Planning" project has been jointly launched by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan (AmCham Azerbaijan), Junior Achievement Azerbaijan (JA Azerbaijan) and “Azercell Telecom” LLC.The purpose of the project is development of personal skills of war-wounded, children of veterans and martyrs of the 44-day Patriotic War, their introduction to the business world, as well as guidance in selection of appropriate career path by identifying their main interests.On the first stage of the project, participants were involved in English and Computer courses conducted by the Celt Colleges training center and JA Azerbaijan professionals via the ZOOM platform. To support the online organization of the trainings, all project participants were provided with computers by AmCham members. As a digital partner of the social initiative Azercell provided participants wit high-speed mobile internet services throughout the project. Within the second stage of the project, a workshop on "Career guidance and introduction to business world" was organized. The workshop covered informative presentations and interactive assignments delivered by JA Azerbaijan, as well as mentoring session with AmCham member companies’ experienced professionals and senior executives from across different industries.In total, 25 young people over the age of 16 from Baku, Sumgayit cities and Goranboy region participated in the project and 17 of them are looking for the job and internship opportunities.

AmCham Annual General Meeting 2022 was held

As the election season finally approached, on March 2, 2022, Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2022 featuring Elections to the Board of Directors and the President of AmCham took place. AGM was opened by a welcome speech of AmCham Executive Director Ms. Gulnara Aslanbayli, who announced the AGM valid by the Article 7.1 of the Charter and wished all the candidates best of luck. Mr. Jeyhun Mammadov was elected as the Chairman of the Annual General Meeting. Mr. Mammadov introduced the 12 candidates running for 10 vacant positions on the Board who thereafter laid out their platforms and delivered 3 minutes speeches each. Afterwards, Mr. Ilkin Hajiyev from Sustainera Research and Consulting services, and Mr. Khayal Mammadov from Seabak LLC were elected as the tailors of the General Meeting. During the Ballot counting procedures, Former President of AmCham Azerbaijan Mr. Nuran Kerimov delivered his farewell speech to AmCham members. Mr. Kerimov briefly touched upon the accomplishments and activities during his 4-years journey as AmCham president and thanked AmCham community for their commitment and contribution to the success of the Chamber. Former President also wished best of luck and many more accomplishments to the new Board of Directors in continuing implementation of Chamber’s mission and strategic objectives.  Mr. Kerimov passed the floor to the U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mr. Lee Litzenberger who thanked the outgoing American Chamber of Commerce board for their work in helping build business ties between the United States and Azerbaijan and welcomed new members in advance.  The Ambassador highlighted important collaboration with AmCham on a number of issues, including women’s economic empowerment, the importance of a clear and transparent business environment, IPR protection, and addressing climate change.Through the anonymous voting process, in which authorized representatives of AmCham Regular Members with a good business reputation and in a good standing in the community took part, election of the following Board members for the next two years term (2022-2024) were announced by the Chairman of AGM:Ms. Nargiz Nasrullayeva-Muduroglu, Landmark Business CenterMr. Shahin Mammadov, PASHA Holding LLCMr. Zaur Allahverdizade, BAKER HUGHESMr. Dayanat Sadullayev, PMD Group LLCMs. Rena Mamedova, AZERBAIJAN COCA-COLA BOTTLERS LTD.Mr. Teymur Mahmudov, SOCARMs. Elnara Mammadova, BPMr. Kanan Tabasaransky, Smart Solutions GroupMr. Ilgar Mehti, EKVITA LLCMr. Bakhtiyar Akhundov, MOL Azerbaijan LTDIn addition, out of those elected 10 Board Members, Ms. Nargiz Nasrullayeva-Muduroglu was elected as the first woman AmCham Azerbaijan President. The AGM was closed by the speech of newly elected AmCham President Ms. Nasrullayeva-Muduroglu who thanked AmCham members for their trust and expressed her commitment to Chamber’s goal to continuing supporting and promoting the interests of foreign and local businesses and foster the economy of Azerbaijan as a whole. 

AmCham Azerbaijan is concerned about hostilities taking place in Ukraine

AmCham Azerbaijan is concerned about hostilities taking place in Ukraine. We believe all conflicts must be settled by peaceful diplomatic means in full compliance with the norms and principles of international law, including the sovereignty of states, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders.  AmCham Azerbaijan supports all ongoing efforts to avoid further escalation, protect civilians and safeguard security and prosperity across the region. 

“Meet Your Candidate” Cocktail Reception 2022

On February 23, 2022, as a good annual tradition, AmCham “Meet Your Candidate” Cocktail Reception took place.It is the very time of the business year when AmCham community comes together to meet our candidates running for the vacant seats at AmCham Board of Directors. This year, 10 Board positions are vacant. Members of the Board are dedicated professionals volunteering their time and energy to effectively represent the voice of business community. The term of Board is for two years (2022-2024). In addition, out of those elected 10 Board Members, the President who is the Chairman of the Board of Directors will be elected.The candidates running for the elections to AmCham Board of Directors (still, we are open for more nominations) delivered their platform speeches:Bakhtiyar Akhundov - Deputy Managing director, MOL Azerbaijan LTDZaur Allahverdizade - Head of Baker Hughes Services in Azerbaijan and GeorgiaTeymur N. Mahmudov - Deputy General Director Of “Azneft” PU, Socar Board Director, Socar-Petrofac JVShahin Mammadov - Deputy CEO, PASHA HoldingRana Mammadova - General Manager, Coca-Cola Bottlers Azerbaijan LLCElnara Mammadova - Vice President People And Culture, Azerbaijan, Georgia And Turkey Region And Russia, Bp Azerbaijan Ilgar Mehti - Founder and Director, EKVITA LLCNargiz Nasrullayeva-Muduroglu - Director of Business Operations, Landmark Business CentreDayanat Sadullayev - Chief Executive Officer, PMD Group LLCIgor Yakovenko - General Director AZEL SystemsThe elections themselves will take place at the Annual General Meeting to be held on Wednesday, March 2,2022.

Joint meeting of AmCham FMCG Committee and State Service for Antimonopoly and Consumer Market Control was held

On February 16, 2022 AmCham FMCG Committee and Representatives of the State Service for Antimonopoly and Consumer Market Control under the Ministry of Economy held a joint meeting on the regulation of competition, protection of consumer rights and consumer market control.Giving information about the activities of the agency, the representatives of the State Service noted that ongoing institutional reforms are being carried out to control antitrust, restrict competition and prevent anti-competitive behavior, as well as use new tools to promote competition to further improve the business environment.It was highlighted that in order to increase the role of business entities in the protection of consumer rights and, as a result, to achieve consumer satisfaction, regular meetings are held with entrepreneurs operating in various sectors. In addition, the participants were informed about the essence of cooperation between the State Service and the Mediation Council.The meeting also provided information on the strategic direction of the improvement projects related to consumer rights and consumer market control and the role of quality infrastructure in these areas.In the end, the representatives of the State Service answered the questions of the members of the AmCham FMCG Committee.