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AHK Azerbaijan hosted a conference on "Reconstruction of water and wastewater infrastructure in the Karabakh region"
The conference on „Reconstruction of water and wastewater infrastructure in the Karabakh region“ organised by the German-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce (AHK Azerbaijan) took place on February 21, 2024 at the Four Seasons Hotel Baku. This business event brought together more than 100 high-ranking business representatives from Azerbaijan and Germany. The event was organised as a part of a 3-day study trip of German companies to Azerbaijan within the framework of the Environmental Protection Export Initiative, which is funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety, and Consumer Protection (BMUV).
The conference aimed to establish a productive business platform facilitating the exchange of the best practices between German and Azerbaijani stakeholders. By bringing together business representatives and high-ranking officials from economic and political institutions in both countries, the goal was to develop efficient solutions for water supply and wastewater treatment in western Azerbaijan. Key topics included addressing environmental issues of transboundary rivers such as the Kura, Araz, and Okchuchay, improving water quality, and exploring water treatment for both drinking and agricultural purposes. Moreover, the event offered direct public-private dialogue opportunities through panel discussions, expert presentations and B2B meetings.
Executive Board Member of AHK Azerbaijan, Tobias Baumann opened the event by expressing his gratitude to all the participating companies and shortly introduced the event's agenda. Following this, Akbar Asgarov, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and Chingiz Abdullayev, State Agency for Water Resources, welcomed the event participants and presented the existing challenges and potential solutions in Azerbaijan's water sector. The focal point here revolved around President Ilham Aliyev's proclamation of the "Year of Solidarity for the Green World" in 2024.
In his speech, Heiko Schwarz, Permanent Representative of the German Embassy in Baku, emphasised the critical need for international collaboration in addressing water governance and highlighted the global necessity to address climate change, mentioning the forthcoming COP29 conference in Baku.
During her presentation, Tanja Meurer, Chambers for GreenTech, DIHK Service GmbH, provided an overview of the Environmental Protection Export Initiative and AHK Projects.
After the official commencement, representatives from the German delegation, including Lutz-Jesco GmbH (Maxim Potapov), Megger Germany GmbH (Anatolii Glijin), Herrenknecht AG (Alexey Bokhan), Siemens AG (Ruslan Mironov), Bioworks Verfahrenstechnik GmbH (Yusif Mammadli) und DuPont Water Solutions (Jochen Peschel & Evgeny Dolgov), introduced their companies and showcased their market solutions to the audience.
The conference continued with panel discussions on the current status of infrastructure and water projects in the Karabakh region. Bashir Hajiyev, Deputy Special Representative of the President, Zamin Badirkhanov, Ministry of Economy, Fuad Abishev, State Agency for Water Resources and Mehman Rzayev, Economic Zones Development Agency actively contributed to the panel discussion, providing valuable insights and perspectives. They highlighted the need for sustainable standards and discussed intentions to further develop "smart villages" in the region. Another critical aspect was raising awareness about the sustainable handling of water resources, particularly within educational settings. Additionally, interest was expressed in enhancing academic collaboration between Germany and Azerbaijan.
The event concluded with B2B meetings, facilitating discussions and exchanges between companies from Germany and Azerbaijan to explore potential collaboration opportunities.
