OREANDA-NEWS. December 06, 2012. Lancaster House will be the scene of the first Caspian Corridor Conference, one of the highest economic growth regions in the world, reported the press-centre of IBA. 

The conference is being hosted by CityUK in association with the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) and Asia House, and takes place at Lancaster House, IBA said.

The conference will feature contributions from leading business and government figures with a close interest in the region, including Baroness Symons, Joint Chair of the Britain Azerbaijan Business Council (BABC) and former Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Dr John Chipman, CEO of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS); Lord Marland, Minister of Business, Innovation and Skills (DBIS); Rufat Aslanli, Chairman of Azerbaijan's State Committee for Securities and Cabinet Member; Lord Howell, Advisor to the Foreign Secretary and former Minister of Energy; Dan Yergin, Pulitzer Prize winning author and energy expert; H.E. Fakhraddin Gurbanov, Azerbaijan's Ambassador to the United Kingdom, among others.

They will be discussing regional issues and key trade and innovation sectors including energy, infrastructure and banking. A panel including Charles Clarke, former Secretary of State for Education, and Boris Becker, the tennis legend, will also be discussing Sports and Education and ways of using sport as a positive social tool across the countries of the Caspian Corridor.

The conference takes as its starting point the fact that the Caspian Corridor is now one of the fastest expanding economic zones in the world. Sustained GDP growth of 5-7% is projected for the years ahead across the energy Corridor that encompasses oil and gas exporters Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, as well as non-exporters Georgia, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan.

After the conference, the guests were invited to take part in an event of Azerbaijani music, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the International Bank of Azerbaijan. The works by Fikret Amirov and mugam will be performed by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with the participation of Azerbaijani performers conducted by People's Artist Yalcin Adigozalov.