The Caspian Policy Center (CPC) brought together government and business leaders from the U.K, U.S. and Caspian corridor countries in London to discuss connectivity, energy, and economy in the Caspian region on June 20th, 2023.
Efgan Nifti, CEO of CPC, opened the event with welcoming remarks. The audience was also addressed by Ambassador David Moran, U.K. Regional Energy Security and Climate Ambassador for Europe and Central Asia at the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO); Joshua Volz, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Europe, Eurasia, Africa, and the Middle East for the U.S. Department of Energy; Jeyhun Bayramov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan and ambassadors of Central Asian countries.
Within the framework of the conference, a round table discussion was held about Areas for Economic Growth, Energy, Investment, and Development in the Caspian Region—explored how vast traditional and renewable energy reserves and developing transport links across the Middle Corridor make the Caspian countries a promising hub for international trade and investment.
The discussion was chaired by Dr. Roger Kangas, CPC Advisory Board Member, and included Mamuka Murjikneli, General Director & CEO of Wondernet Express Investment Group, Dr. Taleh Ziyadov, Director-General of Baku International Sea Port; and Ben Godwin, Head of Analysis at PRISM, a political risk firm based in London.
Mr. Murjikneli shared his thoughts on the Georgian perspective in the realm of regional connectivity.
“We definitely need to be able to handle more cargo and make more investments in our facilities and infrastructure, we are very happy about the Georgian government’s announcement about getting started on a new deep-sea port.”
“We are going to make a significant investment in the port in Georgia which will give us a chance to bring even more cargo,” Mr. Murjikneli added. “We are very happy about our strategic partner Port of Baku, and we communicate daily. We need to work and grow together because the ports and railroads play a very big role in all this cargo coming in our direction.” he stated.
The second roundtable discussion —Opportunities and Challenges of Energy and Energy Security in the Caspian Region —was chaired by Efgan Nifti and featured Dr. Eric Rudenshiold, Senior Development Advisor for USAID; Vitaliy Baylarbayov, Deputy VP of SOCAR; Halil Emecen, Partner at Centricus; and Dr. Michael Denison, Senior International Adviser for BP.
The discussion explored the ways countries of the Caspian countries partner with Europe and the U.K. when it comes to energy, and the importance of energy diversification.
About Caspian Policy Center
The Caspian Policy Center (CPC) is an independent, nonprofit research think tank based in Washington D.C. Economic, political, energy, and security issues of the Caspian region constitute the central research focus of the Center. CPC aims at becoming a primary research and debate platform in the Caspian region with relevant publications, events, projects, and media productions to nurture a comprehensive understanding of the intertwined affairs of the Caspian region.
With an inclusive, scholarly, and innovative approach, the Caspian Policy Center presents a platform where diverse voices from academia, business, and policy world from both the region and the nation’s capital interact to produce distinct ideas and insights to the outstanding issues of the Caspian region.
