BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 1. Azerbaijan's role
as a link between East and West is helping the Central
Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program (CAMCA)
expand its network of cooperation and connections, CAMCA Managing
Director Tamar Kekenadze told Trend on the sidelines of the CAMCA Regional Forum in
Baku today.


She said holding the CAMCA Regional Forum in Azerbaijan allows
representatives from different countries and sectors to establish
new contacts and work on joint projects.


“We are very pleased to hold the forum in Azerbaijan. This is
the second time the forum has been held in Azerbaijan. We were last
here in 2018, and since then we have witnessed very important
developments in Azerbaijan. Now the forum provides an opportunity
for people representing different sectors from more than 20
countries – including government, business, youth, culture and
education – to reconnect with their Azerbaijani counterparts, meet
new people and work on new projects,” Kekenadze said.


According to her, Azerbaijan is playing an increasingly
important role in connecting the South Caucasus with Central Asia
and the wider region.


“We see Azerbaijan playing an increasingly leading role in the
region and connecting the South Caucasus with Central Asia and the
wider region. We are pleased to have the opportunity to be here at
such an important time,” she said.


Kekenadze said several memorandums of understanding are expected
to be signed on the sidelines of the forum.







“We have already signed an MoU between our education consortium
and universities in Uzbekistan. At the same time, we will sign
another memorandum at the forum with young entrepreneurs from the
Asia-Pacific region,” the CAMCA managing director said.


She emphasized that Azerbaijan is an important platform for
expanding CAMCA's ties with different regions.


“By leveraging Azerbaijan's leading role in connecting East and
West, we are expanding CAMCA's reach. Azerbaijan's unique role
allows us to build ties with Central Asia, the Far East, Arab
countries and the Gulf states,” Kekenadze emphasized.


The CAMCA managing director said the forum does not focus on a
single sector but brings together representatives from different
fields.


“The uniqueness of our forum is that we bring together people
representing different sectors, from education to business. We do
not focus on just one sector, because people working in all fields
should have opportunities to attract investment, gain international
recognition and cooperate with their counterparts outside
Azerbaijan,” she added.