Grateful to have finally made it to Baku, Azerbaijan, to attend Day 2 of the CAMCA Regional Forum 2026, my first experience with the CAMCA Network community, and possibly as the only Malaysian in the room.
A special thank you to Dato’ Eric Ku for first introducing me to CAMCA Regional Forum after his participation in the previous forum in Mongolia.
Although I could only attend the second day, it opened a new window of understanding into this region (Central Asia, Mongolia, the Caucasus and Afghanistan).
As I reflected on the conversations, many of the themes felt deeply relevant to the leaders and organisations I work with globally, especially around leadership adaptability, talent development, trust, and building future-ready cultures.
One of the many highlights was the keynote interview with H.E. Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Head of the Department of Foreign Policy Affairs.
Across the day’s conversations, a few leadership and business reflections stood out for me:
- Peace Builds the Foundation for Trust & Growth – H.E. Hajiyev’s session reminded me that peace is not passive. Whether in countries, organisations or teams, leaders have a responsibility to create the stability, confidence and trust needed for people and communities to grow.
- Growth Needs Both Ambition & Systems – Entrepreneurs may have big aspirations, but scaling regionally or globally requires strong products, relevant partnerships, governance, talent and execution discipline.
- Talent Stays Where Opportunity Grows – One HR leader asked how the region can attract, engage and retain young high-potential talent instead of losing them to international markets. It reminded me that retention is not only about keeping people from leaving. It is about creating meaningful reasons for them to stay, grow, build and contribute.
- Identity Matters in Leadership – This region is not defined only by geopolitics or economics. It is also shaped by people, culture, creativity, education and a strong sense of shared identity.
Perhaps the most memorable parting line from H.E. Hajiyev was:
“If you like the messages of Azerbaijan, please tell others, it you don’t like it, I’m ready for discussion.”
That reflects confidence, openness and a willingness to engage, qualities leaders need even more in complex times.
Glad to have connected with so many leaders and new friends from this region.
As a parting question this weekend, how can leaders create environments where young talent does not just stay, but chooses to grow, build and contribute?
#CAMCA #ExperienceAzerbaijan #GlobalLeadership #TalentDevelopment #JonathanLow #EMBXY #PATA
