The first Technical Committee Meeting was convened to launch a new project in the field of anti-corruption and anti-money laundering in Azerbaijan, within the third phase of the European Union and the Council of Europe Partnership for Good Governance Programme. The meeting brought together representatives from key beneficiary institutions to present the activities to be implemented under the new project and discuss the expected results and timelines of the activities. The Technical Committee Meeting also underlined the role of the committee members in facilitating efficient coordination during the implementation of project activities.
All national stakeholders expressed their readiness to actively engage in project interventions aiming to support Azerbaijan’s efforts to prevent and combat all types of economic crimes. The stakeholders stressed the importance and timeliness of this project that will allow them to build on and retain the momentum in light of the newly introduced legislative and institutional frameworks and processes in the area of anti-corruption, anti-money laundering and recovery of illicit assets.
In view of emerging needs in the area of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) and the newly adopted National AML/CFT Action Plan’s timelines, it was requested to revise the implementation timeframes for several project activities and envisage their delivery in 2023 or in early 2024. The meeting also provided an opportunity for stakeholders to highlight the significance of joint international and national interventions as a potentially more effective way of combining international experience and expertise with the local context. Additional and more specified areas of support were requested by national stakeholders during the meeting as well.
Furthermore, with a view to ensure enhanced and effective application of anti-corruption and AML/CFT measures in Azerbaijan, national stakeholders underlined the need for support with the implementation of pending recommendations of the Fifth Round Evaluations of the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) and Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL).
The meeting represented an opportunity to reconfirm support for the government’s efforts in preventing and fighting economic crime through a strong and coordinated partnership. National stakeholders, on their part, reaffirmed their strong commitment to continue cooperation on the ground, to foster actions for combating corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing and recovering proceeds from economic crimes in a more efficient and meaningful manner.
This event was organised within the framework of the project on “Preventing and fighting economic crime in Azerbaijan”, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe, in their Partnership for Good Governance III 2023-2027.
