25 May 2026 – The Board of the CICA Business Council held an online meeting to review outcomes of the activities throughout 2025 and discuss its agenda for the upcoming Ninth Plenary Session of the CICA Business Council and the Eleventh CICA Business Forum, planned for September 2026 in Baku.
In his opening remarks, CICA Secretary General Ambassador Kairat Sarybay drew attention to the connection between modern urban development and business growth – a dynamic he observed during his recent visit to the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku. He further underlined that this focus closely aligns with the Azerbaijani Chairmanship's priorities on green transformation and digitalization.
To strengthen CICA’s role as a platform for practical economic cooperation, Secretary General Sarybay advocated for a comprehensive approach, noting that the recently launched CICA Women's Council and the CICA Youth Council could serve as vital platforms for empowering women in business and advancing youth entrepreneurship through mentoring programmes, incubators and innovation centers.
He also suggested that engaging international financial and development institutions in the upcoming events would complement the discussion under the Business Council. The expertise of these organizations can be instrumental in translating the Council's best practices into concrete, action-oriented, and financially viable projects.
CICA Business Council Chairman Orkhan Mammadov presented the proposed theme for 2026 – “Entrepreneurial Ecosystems for Competitive and Inclusive SME Growth in the CICA region” and emphasized that the Council's agenda is designed to provide a broader, more supportive business environment for youth, women, and innovative enterprises. He noted, the September events will act as a platform, bridging the gap between startups, academic expertise, and the investment community.
During the meeting, Board members actively contributed to shaping the upcoming agenda in Baku. To ensure the events deliver direct, tangible benefits to the business community across the region, participants jointly proposed enriching the discussions with highly practical topics, particularly the advancement of SME digitalization and development of international industrial cooperation to build strong B2B ties.
