On June 13, 2019, JW Marriott Absheron Hotel hosted 5th EU-Azerbaijan Business Forum. The Forum was opened by EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations, Mr Johannes Hahn, and Azerbaijani Minister of Economy, Mr Shahin Mustafayev. The official opening was followed by the discussions on EU Business Climate Report Azerbaijan 2019, attended by Minister of Taxes - M. Jabbarov, first deputy Chairman of State Customs Committee - I.Huseynov, deputy Minister of Justice- T. Musayev, and deputy Minister of Education - I. Isayev.

KPMG’s Head of Tax&Legal in Azerbaijan, Farid Isayev, was a guest speaker at Plenary Panel Discussion on the Business Climate. Farid was joined by deputy Minister of Economy, first deputy Chairman of State Small and Medium Business Development Agency, Regional Head of European Investment Bank and OECD’s Head for Eurasia Region. Farid Isayev delivered speech on the recently introduced tax ombudsman institution in Azerbaijan, while outlining its possible impact on business environment by discussing the comparative experience of other countries.

The annual event attracted a high turnout of over 800 participants, including government representatives and business leaders.