President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev is on a visit to the United States. The official reason is more than weighty – participation in the work of the UN General Assembly. The head of state’s speech is scheduled for September 25. In the meantime, bilateral meetings and negotiations are underway. Forums such as the UN General Assembly have always also served as a “platform” for bilateral meetings, not only in the political sphere. President Aliyev’s visit to New York confirmed this once again.
On the very first day, the President of Azerbaijan held talks with the heads of major investment companies. Thus, Ilham Aliyev met with Bruce Flatt, Chief Executive Officer of Brookfield Asset Management, one of the world’s largest companies in the field of alternative investment management. Founded back in 1899, this company is a global leader in managing alternative investments. It manages portfolios in key areas such as infrastructure, real estate, renewable energy, private equity, and credit. With Azerbaijan, the focus was specifically on projects in renewable energy. The interest here is long-term – Bruce Flatt recalled his visit to Azerbaijan in 2023 during the conversation with the President.
The President of Azerbaijan also met with George Walker, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Neuberger Berman, another major investment management company active in various sectors. Finally, another meeting was held with Jonathan Gray, President and Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone, one of the world’s largest alternative investment management companies. Blackstone manages investment portfolios in private equity, real estate, lending, infrastructure, data centers, renewable energy, and hedge funds.
Now – a bit of behind the scenes. All three meetings took place at the initiative of the other side. Moreover, according to reliable sources cited by Minval Politika, a whole series of other meetings with President Ilham Aliyev are also being arranged at the initiative of the other side. Simply put, as was the case in Davos, Munich, and other forums, those wishing to meet with the President of Azerbaijan are lining up.
Another noteworthy point: we have long been used to Azerbaijan attracting significant attention from international corporations and companies working in the field of traditional, namely hydrocarbon, energy. The signing of the “Contract of the Century” and the creation of an independent system of export pipelines all contributed to Azerbaijan’s current status as a valuable and reliable partner in ensuring Europe’s energy security. Logistics also draw great attention. Today, with traditional trade routes between Europe and the Far East essentially blocked due to war and sanctions, Azerbaijan – as a result of its “infrastructure revolution” – is becoming an important transport and logistics hub.
Now, however, we are seeing growing interest from such a promising sector as investment management. This is understandable as well. Azerbaijan has built a resilient economy. The country remains attractive to big business, and not only in the oil sector. Moreover, Azerbaijan itself actively invests in other countries, including the economies of Turkey, Georgia, Uzbekistan, and Italy. All of this creates very promising conditions for cooperation with the world’s leading investment companies.
This means that big business interest in Azerbaijan is growing and expanding into new areas. This interest is here to stay. Under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan has succeeded in creating a favorable environment for investment – despite all attempts by the “liberal circles” to downgrade ratings, mix business interests with human rights talk, and so on. In big business, they not only know how to count money and assess risks, but also how to separate the wheat from the chaff. The meetings of the President of Azerbaijan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly are clear proof of this.
Nurani
