“On April 22, 2024, the first business trip of the Azerbaijan Banking Mission to Washington, USA, commenced. The delegation includes leading representatives from the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan (CBA), the Azerbaijan Banks Association (ABA), as well as chairmen from several banks.”
On the first day of the business trip, jointly organized by the US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce, and the Azerbaijan Banks Association (ABA), the U.S. Department of State, along with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of Treasury, held a briefing on “U.S. financial policies amid the geopolitical shifts in Eurasia.”
“During the meeting, following opening speeches by Rashad Orujov, First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA), and Zakir Nuriyev, President of the ABA, a presentation was delivered by Togrul Aliyev, Director General of the Central Bank, focusing on “Azerbaijan’s efforts in combating money laundering and terrorist financing.”
Discussions pertaining to the topic were also conducted with the meeting participants, during which questions were addressed. The significance of perpetuating such gatherings and organizing collaborative educational initiatives was underscored.
The next meeting on the first day of the mission was with the Bankers Association for Finance and Trade of the American Bankers Association. During the meeting, the Association held a workshop titled “Building Correspondent Banking Relationships with American Banks: From basics to the best practices.”
At the gathering, Yunus Abdulov, the Executive Director of ABA, delivered a presentation on the banking sector. The meeting participants engaged in discussions regarding the establishment of correspondent relations, trade financing, emerging trends in the US banking sector, and various other topics.
On that day, Khazar Ibrahim, the Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the United States of America, welcomed the participants of the mission.
The ambassador remarked that organizing such missions contributes to the strengthening of constructive dialogue and cooperative relations between the parties. Additionally, the ambassador highlighted the crucial role of the banking and financial sector in expanding trade relations between the two countries.
It is worth noting that the Azerbaijan Banks Association (ABA) was established in 1990 by commercial banks. The primary objective of ABA is to safeguard the interests of its member organizations, provide assistance in fulfilling their requirements for various types of business services, and coordinate their activities. Presently, ABA boasts a membership comprising 23 banks, 2 non-bank credit organizations, and 4 other organizations, totaling 29 entities.
