NEW YORK, NY-- Today, the Caspian Policy Center held the 2nd Annual Caspian Business Forum in New York with the support of the embassies of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. The policy, government, and business leaders from the U.S. and six Caspian corridor countries, including ministries of foreign affairs of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan; representatives of companies such as John Deere, SOCAR, OPIC, EBRD; and executives from the Heritage Foundation, America-Georgia Business Council, Agency for Small and Medium Business Development of Azerbaijan came together at the Harvard Club of New York to discuss opportunities and challenges for enhancing mutually beneficial engagement in business, trade, and investment in the Greater Caspian Region. Efgan Nifti, Executive Director of the Caspian Policy Center, kick-started the Forum with the welcome speech and mentioned the importance of a shared platform such as the Caspian Business Forum where business leaders, foreign-policy experts, and government officials from the United States and the regional countries can be in a dialogue to explore new economic directions and identify new opportunities:

“This is our second annual Caspian Business Forum and I am delighted to see the momentum growing,” he stated. “With this event, CPC is proudly presenting a venue that brings together business leaders, foreign-policy experts, and government officials from the United States and the countries of the Caspian region in order to explore new directions and identify new opportunities.”

George P. Kent, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the Department of State who was among the forum’s keynotes spoke about the important role of the forum and its impact on the Caspian Region:

“We are here to listen to our international colleagues to speak. The U.S. government realizes interconnectivity is so important to ensure that the Caspian region is secure, democratic, prosperous, and free from foreign alliance.”

Elmar Mammadyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, talked about the important role Azerbaijan plays in the economic development of the Caspian region:

”We are reliable partners for the United States. My country is a natural bridge between Asia and Europe and is one of the key countries that can provide connectivity in between.“

Katie Kaufman, Managing Director, OPIC; Ambassador (ret.) Terry Miller, Director, Center for International Trade and Economics, The Heritage Foundation; Amir Ramin, Director General for Regional Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan; Dirk Stratmann, Director, CIS, John Deere; Elshad Nassirov, Vice President, SOCAR; Michele Small, Director, Head of North America Office, EBRD; and Orkhan Mammadov, Chairman of the Board, Agency for Small and Medium Business Development of Azerbaijan were among the high-profile panelists who spoke at the Forum about the role of business opportunities in the Caspian. H.E. Elin Suleymanov, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to the United States; H.E. Javlon Vakhabov, Ambassador of Uzbekistan to the United States, and many more high-level diplomatic representatives attended the Forum and shared their perspectives on the importance of the trans-Caspian corridor and its benefits for both the United State and Caspian region. 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.