BLACK SEA BUSINESS DAY IN BAKU

The Messenger, Georgia
June 8 2006

The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) will host Black Sea
Business Day, on 12 June 2006, in Baku.

The main goal of the conference, bank officials say, is to facilitate
contacts between economic decision-makers in BSTDB countries, as well
as to promote regional cooperation and investments in the Black Sea
region in general and in Azerbaijan in particular.

The Black Sea Business Day, which is an annual event, will address
the role of the financial sector in economic development, investment
opportunities in agribusiness and food processing, and infrastructure
development on a regional scale.

The Business Day is organized under the auspices of the Azeri
government and will be inaugurated by the President of Azerbaijan,
Ilham Aliyev.

High-ranking officials of BSTDB member-states, international
institutions, investors and businessmen are expected to be among the
participants, including Azerbaijani Minister of Economic Development,
Heydar Babayev; President of BSTDB, Hayrettin Kaplan; Minister of
Finance Samir Sharifov; Country Director for the Caucasus, Moldova
and Belarus of EBRD, Michael Davey; and Senior Regional Director of
German KfW Group, Oskar von Maltzan.

The Georgian delegation at the conference includes the President
of the National Bank of Georgia, Roman Gotsiridze, as well as the
Deputy Minister of Finance, Lasha Gotsiridze. The Executive Director
of Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Georgia, George Kakabadze,
will deliver a speech at the event.

Last year’s BSTDB Black Sea Business Day was held in Yerevan,
Armenia and the participants then discussed the role of international
institutions, the investment potential of the Caucasus, assistance
to SME sector development, and financial sector development.

BSTDB is an international financial institution established by
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova,
Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. With an authorized capital of
approximately USD 1.3 billion, the bank supports economic development
and regional cooperation in the region by providing trade and project
financing, guarantees, and equity for development projects supporting
both public and private enterprises in its member countries.

The Messenger’s Christina Tashkevich will travel to Baku to cover the
event and her stories about the conference will be available in next
week’s Messenger issues.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress