The organisers of international trade exhibitions in Azerbaijan have summed up the year 2022. Backed by government agencies, Caspian Event Organisers (CEO) and Iteca Caspian held a total of 14 trade and industrial exhibitions, one conference, and one forum. The Azerbaijan International Agricultural Exhibition “Caspian Agro” marked its 15th year, while “Caspian Power” and “Road&Traffic” celebrated their 10th anniversary.

In 2022, international exhibitions in Baku hosted about 1,500 companies from 50 countries, of which more than 700 are foreign exhibitors. The events were attended by 66,285 professionals, which is twice as many as in 2021 and 20% up from the last pre-pandemic year, 2019.

One of the brightest highlights of 2022 was Baku Energy Week, which brought together three large-scale events: the 27th Caspian Oil and Gas International Exhibition, the 10th Anniversary Caspian International Energy and Renewable Energy Exhibition and the Baku Energy Forum. Attending this prestigious event were over 250 major energy sector players from 31 countries of the world.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the opening ceremony of Baku Energy Week.

Welcome letters were also received from President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Joe Biden; besides, a video welcome was delivered by the UK Secretary of Energy. Baku Energy Week was honored to receive numerous high-ranking guests: Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, Minister of Mining and Energy; Deputy Prime Minister of Moldova, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Diplomacy; General Director of the Directorate-General for Energy of the European Commission; Energy Ministers of Romania, Bulgaria and Kazakhstan; Minister of Oil of the Islamic Republic of Iran; General Secretary of the International Energy Forum; General Secretary of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum; Deputy Secretary of State, Italian Ministry of Ecological Transition; Indonesian Director General for Oil and Gas (Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources); Additional Secretary, Department of Energy, Republic of India; Member of the Board and Executive Director (Bulgargaz EAD); General Director of the TANAP Consortium.

The closing ceremony of the Baku Energy Week was held in the liberated territories, in the city of Shusha, where the last session of the Baku Energy Forum was held with the active participation of SOCAR. This was the first international energy business event in Shusha after the victory in the Second Karabakh War. As part of this meeting, Azerbaijan's companies and agencies and their foreign counterparts signed a number of green energy agreements.

The Azerbaijan International Defence Exhibition “ADEX”, the first after the victory in the Second Karabakh War, was another momentous event of the exhibition season. The victory was one of the reasons for a high interest in this event at an international level. Represented were over 200 companies from around the world; 33 military delegations attended the exhibition, headed by respective defense ministers. Attending the showcase, President of Azerbaijan reviewed latest developments of Azerbaijan's and foreign defense industries.

For the second time in a row, Azerbaijan International “Restoration, Reconstruction and Development of Karabakh” exhibition “Rebuild Karabakh” became a tremendous success, taking place simultaneously with the 27th Azerbaijan International Construction exhibition – “BakuBuild” and 14th International Exhibition for Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning, Water Supply, Sanitary and Swimming Pool “Aquatherm Baku”. Both Caspian Event Organisers (CEO) and Iteca Caspian cooperated with the Karabakh Revival Fund under the Memorandum they signed last year; pursuant to this Memorandum, a portion of registration fees paid by corporate participants of both Rebuild Karabakh and BakuBuild was donated to the Karabakh Revival Fund. The Fund, in turn, awarded the organising companies with a certificate commemorating their contribution to the revival of the liberated Azerbaijani lands.

Almost 40,000 people visited the Baku Book Fair. Companies from 15 countries of the world took part in the fair, which has already become international.

The Azerbaijan International Medical Innovations Exhibition “Medinex” and Azerbaijan International Beauty Industry Exhibition “Beauty Azerbaijan” were held in the traditional format following a long break caused by the COVID pandemic. The exhibitions featured a dense business program, developed and implemented with the participation and support of the Administration of the Regional Medical Divisions (TABIB) and the State Agency on Mandatory Health Insurance.

B2B meetings have become an integral part of each exhibition. This year, international B2B meetings totaled 545 and brought together over 300 companies.

Partners and sponsors are quite important for any successful exhibition. In 2022, the exhibition sponsor list featured SOCAR, bp, ACWA Power, Equinor, Masdar, INPEX, Turkish Petroleum, Baker Hughes, Microsoft, PASHA Bank, TechnipFMC, Tenaris, TotalEnergies, Uniper, Azeri MI Drilling, AZFEN, Baku Steel Company, Equinor, Caspian Drilling, Caspian Marine Services Limited, Ernst & Young, Global Energy Azerbaijan Management, Tekfen, Gubre.az, Silo Construction, PMD Group, Holcim Azerbaijan, Jadara Equipment & Defense Systems, ASFAT, Turkish Aerospace, NB GROUP, Zeytun Pharmaceuticals LLC, AzeriMed, Referans Klinik & Laboratoriya. Iteca Caspian and Caspian Event Organisers partnered with “Caspian Event Management”, “ICA Eurasia”, “GIMA”, “Greenwich Travel Club” - tour operator; the official hotels are “Hilton Baku” and “Hayat Regency”; flower partner – “Lilac”; the official stand builder is “AzExpoMontage” and “Caspian Freight Services” the official cargo deliverer; “Bagcam” network provided child area partnership.

Preparations for the new exhibition season are well underway. 2023 has been declared the Year of Heydar Aliyev. This topic is going to be reflected in the upcoming exhibition season, with events dedicated to the National Leader's jubilee. The season is officially opening on 11 March by the 5th Anniversary Congress for People with Special Needs, “Fərqli Fərdlər” 2023. The season will continue with the 19th Azerbaijan International Travel and Tourism Fair “AITF”, the first after the pandemic. The spring 2023 will also see the traditional exhibitions “Caspian Agro”, “Interfood Azerbaijan”, “Caspian Oil and Gas”, “Caspian Power”, “Baku Energy Forum”, and “Translogistica Caspian”. A total of 17 showcase project has been planned for the year 2023.

For details on the upcoming events in 2023, please go to www.iteca.az and www.ceo.az or check our social network profiles #ItecaCaspian #CaspianEventOrganisers #BakuExhibitions