The V International Banking Forum kicked off in the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku on 8-9 December 2021. It was attended by key stakeholders of Azerbaijan and the region’s banking sector. The Forum titled “Cashless Economy: Reliable, Safe and Sustainable” covered everything from open banking and cyber security to digital currencies. Among the attendees were Alim Guliyev (First Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan), Rovshan Rustamov (Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Transport of Azerbaijan), Zakir Nuriev (President of the Azerbaijan Banks Association), Chairman of the Azerbaijan Fintech Association, members of the Central Bank of Russia and The Office of The President of Turkey.

Deputy Governor of Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Alim Guliyev speaking at V international Banking Forum

Executive Director, Shafiq Amiri was representing FARI Solutions at the Forum. He was the moderator and speaker of the “Digital Currencies” Panel where he explored the core benefits of digital currency and why central banks should issue their CBDC.

Comment from Shafiq Amiri:

“The Event was a great opportunity to discuss the future of trade finance with leading banks of Azerbaijan as well as the top monetary regulator. We had productive conversations with the management of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan about FARI and prospects of a CBDC and a blockchain based E-KYC platform inline with the Central bank’s digitization strategy.”