Charity begins at home & home is where the heart is

I am a firm believer that charity begins at home, whether that means personally or socially, taking care of those that you love and that are in need of love is critical for the well being of humanity. In my opinion, despite Azerbaijan turning full-throttle into a largely developed country, there are still voids that exist in healthcare and welfare for children.

Which brings me on to Save the Children; the international organization that promotes children's rights is providing technical assistance to the Azerbaijani Government in order to facilitate efficient and effective development.

According to its website, Save the Children has been active in Azerbaijan since December 1993, arriving in response to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Supporting the uprooted Azerbaijani population by providing not only immediate relief, but the assistance needed to ensure access to long-term health, education and employment opportunities.

Save the Children initially managed an emergency response umbrella grant program, through which it funded and coordinated international relief efforts. The organization shifted its focus to development programs in 1998 and since then, Save the Children has been directly implementing programs in partnership with international and national NGOs, businesses, communities and the Azerbaijani government to help families and communities care for the needs of children by reforming the child welfare system, promoting economic opportunities, encouraging family and community healthy lifestyles, improving basic social and physical infrastructure, and developing new educational materials and curricula.

Let’s help make a change for Azerbaijan and the world!

Donate towards Save the Children’s global action fund here; any donation will be appreciated I’m sure.

Thanks for reading,

Anar.

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Clearing up Global Witness' accusations

Hello Internet, how are you?

I'm sorry that my first blog post is on the negative-side of things, but I just wanted to clear up the accusations published in December 2013 by the Global Witness report, Azerbaijan Anonymous, against me and my business ventures.

So, in case you haven't seen it before, and are asking questions yourself, please take a look at my official statement below:

"I am a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan, born in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, living and doing business in Azerbaijan for my entire professional career. My whole work involves investing and re-investing in projects central to the further development and growth of my country. I have been called a “man of mystery”, whereas, indeed, during my activities I place the highest value on privacy and protection of my personal and family life rather than publicising my activities.

Categorically untrue are Global Witness’ baseless claims, harmful to my country and raising questions about how I run my businesses. That report has already been substantially refuted in a separate review issued by SOCAR on December 13, 2013[1].

Here are the important issues for an objective discussion of my own position:

- I am in complete agreement with SOCAR's commitment to the international Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, and I run all my businesses in accordance with Azerbaijani laws and the laws where I am involved in business activities as well as with the requirements of international legal standards.

 - I have family relationship neither with His Excellency the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan nor with SOCAR’s President Mr. Rovnag Abdullayev.

 - I am the sole and ultimate beneficial owner of my businesses including those companies doing business with SOCAR. I remain a partner with SOCAR while at the same time like many other private enterprises seeking additional ways to raise capital and diversify projects for the economic development of Azerbaijan.

 - I fully comply with the requirements of Azerbaijani laws on disclosure of my income earned outside of Azerbaijan and payment of income tax applicable to my global revenues in Azerbaijan.

 - Neither I nor any of my businesses has ever been the subject of any criminal liability or convictions in Azerbaijan or elsewhere.

 - I run an international business focused on Azerbaijan, and will continue to seek out projects that produce a fair return and create opportunities to heavily re-invest in my own country."

[1]http://new.socar.az/socar/en/news-and-media/news-archives/news-archives/id/6872

Thanks for reading. Onwards and upwards!


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