Today started in Baku the 2012 edition of AIIF - Azerbaijan International Insurance Forum. Organized by AIA - the association of Azeri insurers, with the official support of the Ministry of Finance of the Azerbaijan Republic and in cooperation with Media XPRIMM, Romania, the Forum gathers over 200 top level professionals of the insurance industry across the Caucasus region, Middle Asia, Europe, Turkey, Russia and CIS. Representatives of the supervising authorities, foreign reinsurers or relevant international services providers for the insurance industry are also participating in the meeting.

The first day's debates, chaired by Mariusz WICHTOWSKI, President, Council of Bureaux, started with a section dedicated to the current status of the Caucasus insurance market. The first panel included presentations held by:

• Azer ALIYEV, Chairman, Azerbaijan Insurance Association
• Azer BAYRAMOV, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Finance
• Ziyad SAMEDZADE, Member of Parliament of Azerbaijan
• Chingiz MEHDIYEV, Chairman of the Management Board, AZ Re Reinsurance Company, Azerbaijan
• Sergiu COSTACHE, President Media XPRIMM
  

The second part is dedicated to a very important topic for all the emerging insurance markets of the region: the mandatory insurance lines and their effectiveness for the market development. Relevant speakers will share their experience and analyze the first results of the new mandatory types of insurance introduced in the local insurance markets, as well as the future potential developments, both from a local and international perspective:

• Namik KHALILOV, Head of State Insurance Supervision Service, Ministry of Finance, Azerbaijan
• Mariusz WICHTOWSKI, President, Council of Bureaux
• Capitolina TOURBINA, Director of Russia Representative Office, GEN Re
• Elkhan GULIYEV, Chairman, Compulsory Insurance Bureau, Azerbaijan
• Zafar VOKHIDOV, Commercial Property Manager, CIS and Georgia, CHARTIS Insurance, Russia
• Roumen GALABINOV, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, Bulgarian Association of Insurance Brokers
• Menekse UCAROGLU, President of the Board, IUC, Turkey
  

The final section of the AIIF's first day will put in the spotlight the reinsurance perspectives in the Caucasus countries and Middle Asia.

A Gala dinner offered by AzRe and UNITY Re will end the day, offering extended networking opportunities. Tomorrow the Forum will continue, with two sections dedicated to life insurance and insurance distribution.