Budapest, 27 March 2024 - The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) and the State Service for Antimonopoly and Consumer Market Control under the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan have strengthened their cooperation. Csaba Balázs Rigó, President of the GVH stressed – “The GVH has been paying special attention to the development of competition policy and competition law in the transition and candidate countries for years. Hungary and the national competition authority are a bridge between the EU economies and the emerging countries. We Hungarians believe in interconnection, not separation. Blocking is a step backwards in the development of economies.”
The Azerbaijani competition authority has been an active partner and has maintained close contacts with the Hungarian Competition Authority. It is a beneficiary of the Regional Centre for Competition (RCC) in Budapest, jointly operated by the GVH and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Hungary and the GVH play a leading role in the region in providing technical assistance and participation in the development of transition economies through the RCC.
In autumn 2023, the GVH, the RCC and the Azerbaijani competition authority held a joint competition seminar in Baku to train competition practitioners from 13 countries in East, South-East and Central Asia on issues such as competition law and competition advocacy.
In early 2024, the GVH joined the Competition Council of the Turkic States as an observer, similar to Hungary's status in the Organisation of Turkic States. With this accession, the national competition authority aims to further strengthen the development of competition law and policy in the countries concerned and to deepen its relations with the competition authorities of these states.
This is the purpose of the Hungarian-Azerbaijani agreement (MoU) signed by Csaba Balázs Rigó, President of the GVH, and Mammad A. Abbasbeyli, Head of the Azerbaijani competition authority, on 26 March 2024 in Budapest, at the GVH headquarters. The further deepened cooperation includes, among others, the exchange of expertise in the areas of antitrust regulation and enforcement, international relations and international professional presence; closer cooperation in the organisation of international professional events; and assistance in the development of competition law strategies.
Csaba Balázs Rigó, President of the GVH, stressed that "the GVH's strategic goal is to act as a bridge between different countries, jurisdictions and economies. By joining the Competition Council of the Turkic States, we have strengthened our cooperation with the competition authorities of the Turkic States, and today we are further deepening our work with our Azerbaijani counterparts. In addition to the energy security, investment and education agreements between the two countries, we are also giving momentum to cooperation on competition policy."
„International cooperation among competition authorities is essential for fostering a competitive global marketplace and addressing anticompetitive behavior effectively. By signing the MoU, our collaboration will facilitate the exchange of expertise, best practices, and insights into emerging competition issues and enable authorities to stay abreast of evolving market dynamics.” – emphasized Mammad A. Abbasbeyli, Head of the Azerbaijani competition authority.
GVH Public Service Communications Section
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Katalin Gondolovics, Spokesperson +36 30 603 1170