From 20 to 24 January, the World Economic Forum (WEF) was held in Davos, Switzerland.  The event was held under the slogan “Stakeholders for the sake of consolidation and stability of the world.” Delegates at the 2020 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum include representatives from 117 countries and 121 nationalities. Amongst the participants were Armenian President Armen Sarkissian, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, as well as Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia.

Armenia

Armen Sarkissian attended the conference at the invitation of the founder and President of WEF Claus Schwab. “You were the first chairman of the World Economic Forum’s global energy security agenda board. The Forum looks forward to hearing your vision of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, new quantum technologies, quantum politics and trends and trends in the development of the modern world,” read the invitation letter to Sarkissian.

At the Forum, Sarkissian held a speech with the Nobel Prize laureate in economics Joseph Stiglitz on the rapid developments in the world, global risks, new quantum technologies and systems, quantum policy behaviour, trends and trends in the development of the modern world. 

Sarkissian also held meetings with various business leaders, most notably with Apple CEO Tim Cook, Mitsubishi Group’s Heavy Industries board chairman Shunichi Miyanaga, and Microsoft Vice President Judson Althoff. Sarkissian and Cook exchanged views on the cooperation opportunities in the fields of information, digital technologies and innovations. At the meeting with Miyanaga, the sides discussed cooperation, as well as opportunities to apply Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ advanced technologies and expertise in Armenia; issues pertinent to nuclear fuel and management of nuclear waste; as well as Sarkissian’s initiative ATOM (Advanced Tomorrow) which is aimed at the development of modern technologies based on artificial intelligence, management of large volumes of data and mathematical modelling. At the meeting with Althoff, areas of cooperation and joint ventures were discussed, as well as Microsoft’s potential involvement in ATOM. 

Sarkissian also met with a number of political leaders, most notably with Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia and the President of Iraqi Kurdistan Nechirvan Barzani. At the meeting with Gakharia, both parties underlined that there was great potential for cooperation in the areas of high-tech, agriculture, food production and supply and tourism. At the meeting with Barzani, Sarkissian said Armenia closely follows the ongoing developments in the Middle East and is attaching importance to the development of friendly relations with Iraq, including Iraqi Kurdistan. He added that the country will continue boosting and deepening the ties with Iraqi Kurdistan in the context of the dynamic relations of the two countries. The sides highlighted IT, creative education, tourism and e-governance as possible areas for cooperation.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s article entitled “Azerbaijan’s role in a cohesive and sustainable world” was made public at the official WEF website. The article described how Azerbaijan’s economy grew by 80% between 2007 and 2019, by 2.1 times in the non-oil sector and by 13 times in its strategic currency reserves. The article also highlighted how poverty decreased in the country and that the unemployment rate settled at 4,9%. It further read that Azerbaijan is establishing itself as a strategic transportation hub, with the notable mentions of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and the Baku International Sea Commercial Port. It also read that has become a key energy player, with the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor which would diversify the EU's gas supplies.

At the conference Aliyev held a number of meetings, most notably with the President of the WEF Borge Brende, Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga,  Chairperson of Public Sector Solutions of Swiss Re Veronica Scotti, President of Poland Andrzej Duda, President of Mongolia Khaltmaagin Battulga, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, and LUKOIL President Vahid Alakbarov and CEO of Equinor Eldar Saetre.  

At the meeting with Sommaruga,  the sides discussed bilateral relations between the two countries. They exchanged views on Azerbaijan's experience during its chairmanship in the UN Security Council. Azerbaijan's role in ensuring Europe's energy security, as well as regional security. At the meeting with Duda, cooperation prospects in the oil-gas sector, as well as the current geopolitical situation in the world, were discussed. Aliyev and Battulga exchanged views on the deepening of the ties between Azerbaijan and Mongolia. It was noted that wide cooperation opportunities exist in the field of agriculture, especially stockbreeding; the investment possibilities in the copper and gold industry sector were also discussed.

At the meeting with Gakharia, the sides talked about strategic partnership between Georgia and Azerbaijan and transport-energy projects of regional importance. “The meeting indicates… the high-level dynamics of bilateral relations. Prime Minister Gakharia and President Aliyev agreed that intensive communication between them will continue in the future,” read the information of Press Services.

As for the business meetings with Alakbarov, the joint development of Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan and Goshadash fields with LUKOIL company, as well as views on prospective structures and SOCAR-LUKOIL cooperation were discussed. Veronica Scotti from Swiss Re noted that the reforms implemented by the head of state in Azerbaijan in recent years has provided good opportunities for the development and improvement of the insurance sector in the country. She expressed the company's readiness to be involved in the reforms carried out by Aliyev and contribute to the further development of the insurance market in Azerbaijan. With Saetre, the Karabakh field project was discussed. 

Georgia

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia spoke at the panel under the topic “New ambitions for Europe”. He said that the region Georgia belongs to is “extremely challenging,” and Georgia has to cope with “daily challenges” caused by the occupation of 20 per cent of its territories by Russia. Gakharia said that the country’s Euro-Atlantic integration is the “firm choice” of the Georgian people, with more than 70 per cent of the country’s population supporting the idea. He stated that his country faces security and economic challenges, especially in the Black Sea area. He also underlined that Georgia needs closer economic cooperation with the EU, but that the absence of land borders with the EU is a problem. Gakharia stated that the Black Sea could be solution in overcoming this problem.

Gakahria also spoke on the relevance of the Caspian region, at the Caspian week panel. He touched upon the significance of coordinated operation. “Establishment of relations is of great importance to us. That's why we are here in Davos. We are here to speak about relations in our region, in Georgia and the Caspian region,” he said. He also stated that the cooperation in the Caspian region is of great importance. 

Gakharia met with the First Vice President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Jürgen Rigterink, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Secretary-General Angel Gurria, Vice President of Coca-Cola Michael Goltzman, and the Vice Chairman of the Citigroup Jay Collins on the sidelines of the WEF.

At the meeting with Rigterink, Gakharia said that the EBRD was a strong supporter of Georgia and that the Georgian government welcomed prolific cooperation with the bank. He also underlined that Georgia was one of the largest beneficiaries of EBRD investments in 2019 and the bank’s diversified portfolio starting from the energy sector to agriculture, gave important possibilities to the country for development. At the meeting with Gurria, Gakharia noted the support of OECD in creating a 2016-2020 development strategy for small and medium size enterprises and said that the new 2021-2025 strategy will be in full compliance with EU principles. Gurria expressed positive feedback on Georgian reforms. “Cooperation between Georgia and the OECD is strong. We are cooperating in the fields of green economy, sustainable growth, investments, small and medium sized enterprises,” he said.

At the meeting with Plenkovic, the sides discussed the preparation process for the next Eastern Partnership Summit to be held in June and Euro-Atlantic integration related issues. They also talked about the expectations Eastern Partnership countries had regarding the summit. Georgian Prime Minister provided his Croatian counterpart with the information about the difficult humanitarian situation across occupied territories of Georgia. The focus was placed on the importance of developing bilateral economic relations between Georgia and Croatia and making necessary steps to use the currently existing potential. 

At the meeting with Goltzman, the Coca-Cola Vice Chairman stated that his company was “interested in expanding production in the region and continues to invest in Georgia.” He also noted that expanding production in Georgia will increase the country's employment rate and supports the country’s further economic development. The Citigroup representatives expressed interest in investing in the Georgian financial market. Citigroup was also considering becoming involved in the digitisation process of accounting and settlement of public funds and payment systems. This would occur by deploying advanced technologies, thereby sharing its experience to Georgian counterpart. It was also noted that the group expressed its interest in refinancing the securities of the Government of Georgia denominated in Euros (500 million-worth of Euro Bonds) scheduled to be issued in 2021.