Our interviewee is Mr. Nuri Akhmedov, General Director of Azerbaijan-Great Britain Joint Venture AzEuroTel.
- Management is the key aspect of business effective operation. What can you say about it as a part of success?
- Yes, you are right. There are a lot of factors depended on the efficient management. It is possible to collect a team of highly skilled specialists but have an unfavorable result. The result will depend on the coordination and direction of the personnel work. Management means the practice, based on particular theoretical knowledge. I have held various government positions for a long time where mainly the administrative command methods of management were implemented. It inhered in that way of life. Traditionally within this management method employees reluctantly take responsibilities upon themselves for fear to be punished in case of failure. Now I am leading one of the largest telecommunication enterprises in the Republic over more than five years. The work within market conditions requires from the executive to always work at self-improvement. Fortunately today information access is tremendous and varied. It includes Internet as well as large quantity of printed output. I have time for it. Within these new conditions our company’s managers of high and medium level make an effort to teach employees to solve problems without assistance, make decisions to the extent of their ability and bear responsibility for making decisions. There is a very competent personnel in our company and I will make no secret of the fact that sometimes I have to learn from my colleagues. It is a kind of information interchange that improves mutual understanding. If I was appointed, roughly speaking, to lead a dull team, I doubt whether I could raise its working level. In my practice I have never met a case when the personnel headed by a competent specialist reaches his level. The reverse happens more often.
- What are the main principles of the company’s investment strategy?
- Undoubtedly our Azerbaijan telecommunications especially AzEuroTel are of great interest to foreign investors, but in order to attract an investment we need to be rapidly privatized and remove all administrative barriers to the development of telecommunication companies. As you know, we are the joint venture 50 percent of which is a share of the Ministry of Communications that unfortunately cuts down all initiatives. I want to give a simple example from our practice. On the New Year and Novruz Holiday we usually grant our subscribers a discount of 50 percent for international telephone calls. This allows to significantly increase the number of outgoing calls. In other words due to the large quantity we can operate without any losses during this period. Hence we hold a competitive activity which causes discontent of the Ministry of Communications. But however that may be, Azerbaijan communications are developing better than other CIS countries and company’s further development forecast is optimistic. There are many clever and competent operators in Azerbaijan and they are able to bring the telecommunication up to the highest world level.
- What do you think about the telecommunication development in the world?
- Recently I took part at the World Telecommunication Conference organized by Financial Times newspaper. Large-scale worldwide operators as ATA, British Telecom, Deutsche Telecom, as well as leaders of first-rate companies-producers of telecommunication equipment were participating at this event. After what I have learned and observed at this forum I can conclude that temporary crisis felt by telecommunication companies during last two years is past. The outlook provides for the development of the infocommunication - the product of information technologies and telecommunications integration, Internet services development, creation of multiservice communication networks, further rate reduction for local, national and international services.
- How do you evaluate the market reforms in Azerbaijan?
- I think today a positive progress can be observed. I relate the greatest success therein to the establishment of the Ministry of Economic Development. The fundamental economic laws complying with international standards has been accepted. But it is well known that law effectiveness depends on the person and form of its execution. And we have a big problem with it. You come to an official and say that according to the law it must be done in this way, but he answers: «Forget this law, if you want to work - you have to do like this». In other words «no comments». That is the source of all our problems.
- How successful is the integration process of Azerbaijan into the world economic system?
- This question must most likely be addressed to the government. I just can express my subjective opinion on this process. Azerbaijan has joined the European Union. Is it good or bad? Neither me nor you know the answer yet. Only assumptions. This is up to the analysts. And time will show. There are plans made on joining the World Trade Organization. Some will benefit from it, some will not. But again only analysts will evaluate all positive and negative aspects of joining WTO.
- What is the role of charities in your company?
- The leading role. We carry out a great number of projects, render assistance to the families of martyrs and war veterans as well as to gifted children. But you will never see or hear any advertisement like «AzEuroTel JV is a sponsor of this event». Not to publicize our charity activity is the main principle of our patronage policy. I think it is humiliating to lend charitable assistance and try to make a profit on it. For instance, it is very unpleasant for a disabled veteran to receive a donation in front of TV cameras, isn’t it? But he is obliged to do so because of existing circumstances. And now, having got an opportunity to announce about our specific charitable activities I refuse it. I would just like to give only one example argumentative of the fact that our assistance to assigned persons produces results. A few years ago we started to render assistance to Teymur Rajabov. He was known to nobody then. Today he is a well known chess player, the youngest grand master in the world. His name stays along with such names as Anatoliy Karpov, Viktor Korchnoy and other famous grand masters. And only the taxation authority is aware of the financial aspects of our charities.
- What are your future plans?
- Not to stop at the achieved.