- Azerbaijan’s Education Minister Emin Amrullayev met CityU Hong Kong President Freddy Boey and Asia Greentech Fund Chair Michael Ngai at the Global Sustainable Development Congress in Istanbul to explore academic and green-tech collaboration.
- Discussions centered on joint research, scholar exchanges, and green-tech incubators, aimed at integrating sustainability into higher education and advancing Azerbaijan’s knowledge-based economy.
- The meeting marked a key step in Azerbaijan’s global academic engagement, with commitments to pursue MoUs and pilot projects aligning education with climate goals and innovation-driven development.
Azerbaijan's Science and Education Minister, Emin Amrullayev, hosted a meeting with Freddy Boey, President of City University of Hong Kong, and Michael Ngai, Chairman of the Asia Greentech Fund in Istanbul, during the Global Sustainable Development Congress. Their meeting was a strategic moment, bringing together two key academic and green-technology leaders and Azerbaijan's up-and-coming education chief.
The conversation focused on creating collaborative paths through science, higher education, and sustainable development. Participants highlighted each other's strengths: City University's global academic network and research excellence, Asia Greentech Fund's expertise in investment in environmental technologies, and Azerbaijan's vision to raise its science and educational infrastructure.
Phil Baty, Chief Global Affairs Officer of Times Higher Education, and Ulkar Sattarova, Director of Azerbaijan State Agency for Science and Higher Education, also attended, reflecting mutual engagement in international standards in education quality and innovation. Their presence reflected a desire to join global university rankings and best practices, basing Azerbaijan's growth curve on international benchmarks.
Both sides discussed the potential for common projects including scholarly exchange programs, joint research projects, green-technology incubators, and co-funded scholarships. These would be directed toward incorporating sustainable development into university teaching, creating innovation ecosystems, and speeding the nation's shift to a knowledge-based economy. Priority was given to harnessing green-tech expertise to develop solutions to national problems such as renewable energy, environmental remediation, and climate resilience in ways that were closely aligned with Azerbaijan's wider policy objectives.
This three-party conversation marks an active change in the way Azerbaijan is going about engaging with international academic cooperation, bringing together academic dreams and sustainable growth and investment in future technologies. While no agreements were signed during this first meeting, every party committed to progressing quickly toward memoranda of understanding and pilot projects. The outcome of this meeting could significantly advance Azerbaijan’s vision of crafting a future-focused science and education landscape, deeply integrated with global partners in academia and sustainability.
