Visvaldis Gerkans, IT Sales Manager, Jana Seta LTD (Latvia)
The company I represent is the Baltic region's largest provider of cartography and mapping solutions. We have come to Azerbaijan at the behest of Caspian Energy Club with a delegation of Latvian, Estonian, and Finnish entrepreneurs, and our visit, among all, features the exhibition held as part of Baku Water Week. The companies within our group are planning to establish cooperation links with local government and private organizations and companies.
I believe the Baku event has been organized at the highest level: just look at the preparation, decoration of stands, level of participants, and care of even tiniest details that are inherent to such a multidimensional endeavor. The main thing I spotted is openness to dialogue shared by virtually everyone engaged in the event. Our delegation already had an interesting verbal exchange with representatives of the Azerbaijan State Water Resources Agency, highlighting the outlooks of subsequent cooperation. We have also held critical meetings with quite a few participating companies. As a cartographer, the ones I enjoyed the most were with people from the Institute of Geography and the Institute of Geology and Geophysics.
The water industry exhibition is a first-timer in Baku. Water is a resource that, alas, is limited. No matter if you look at the water consumption and management issues from a local or global standpoint, such exhibitions become increasingly critical going forward. Through such events, we learn about innovative technologies and potential solutions to water-related problems; we react to challenges posed by nature today, for it is now that humanity must do its best to hand the optimum heritage down to the future generations. Our delegation members have been invited by the organizers to take part in the next exhibition as well; I believe this arrangement will be a win-win.