The First Caspian Economic Forum has been held in the city of Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan.

Participants in the event included delegations led by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Iran’s First Vice-President Eshag Jahangiri, and Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin. The forum also saw the participation of delegations led by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, and Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov as guests.

Azerbaijan was represented at the event by a delegation led by Prime Minister Novruz Mammadov.

In his opening remarks, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted that the efficient use of hydrocarbon resources of the Caspian Sea can be a powerful impetus for the region's economic growth.

Addressing the event, Azerbaijan’s Prime Minister Novruz Mammadov thanked the Turkmen President for the excellent organization of the Forum. He described the Forum as a new format for enhancing cooperation between the Caspian littoral states. Prime Minister Novruz Mammadov affirmed Azerbaijan’s hope that the Caspian Economic Forum will give additional impetus to bilateral cooperation in trade, transport, investment and tourism areas.

Pointing to the Caspian Innovation Technologies Exhibition, the Prime Minister expressed his hope that such exhibitions will contribute to the expansion of mutual economic ties between the business communities of the Caspian littoral states and improve the information content in the region. The Prime Minister hailed Azerbaijan’s excellent trade relations with the Caspian littoral states.

Concluding his speech, Azerbaijan’s Prime Minister Novruz Mammadov congratulated the event participants on the occasion of the holy Eid al-Adha, the symbol of moral unity, solidarity and brotherhood, and once again thanked the Turkmen leadership for sincere reception and hospitality.

Other speakers also underlined the Caspian Sea as an important linking factor that contributes to deepening cooperation between the Caspian littoral states.

The process of establishing the legal status of the world’s biggest landlocked water body – the Caspian Sea, began in November 1996 in Ashgabat at the first meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Caspian states.

In parallel with elaboration of the basic document – the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea, the littoral Caspian states were carrying on the development of the documents in separate areas of the regional cooperation. First five-sided document was the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea (the Tehran Conference), signed in November 2003.

Up to date four protocols of the convention were adopted – on Fight against oil spillage (Aktau Protocol), on Protection from pollution from land resources, (Moscow Protocol), Preservation of the biological diversity (Ashgabat protocol), assessment of the impact on environment in trans-border context.