Baku, March 3 (AZERTAC). The season of international exhibitions organized in Azerbaijan by Iteca Caspian will begin this April. All of the exhibitions have official support from the state bodies of Azerbaijan. A number of the projects will also have the support of international unions and industry associations. The international status of the events is reinforced by Iteca's membership of UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry. The exhibition results are assessed every year for the accuracy of data and level of organisation, with the "UFI Approved Event" status being awarded. The work of the international network of ITE Group Plc offices to help with the organisation of the exhibitions and conferences in Baku makes an important contribution to their success. These offices include ITE Moscow (Russia), EUF (Turkey), GIMA (Germany), ITE China (China) and ITE Gulf (UAE). The offices work together to attract international companies to exhibit at exhibitions in Azerbaijan.

The exhibitor applications for the 2014 season are now being accepted. This allows the organisers to forecast 15% growth of their exhibitions in Azerbaijan. The list of exhibitors already contains major companies that are the leaders in their field - Azersun Holding SOCAR, BP, Nokia-Siemens Networks, OMV, Cross Caspian Oil and Gas Logistics LLC, Saipem, Matanat A, Milla, Şirin, Azerbaijan Railways, Herrenknecht AG, GEA Westfalia, Huawei Technologies Investment Co Ltd, RussNeft, Schlumberger, Turkiye Petrolleri A.O. (TPAO), Total E&P Azerbaijan, Samsung Techwin Co., Ltd. and many otherss. There are also more countries that present their national stands at the exhibition, including Argentina, Bulgaria, China, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Malaysia, Montenegro, Mauritius, Slovenia, Thailand, Turkey, and UAE.

This year John Deere will act as the General Sponsor of the 8th Agrihort Azerbaijan Exhibition, while Aztexnika will be the Registration Sponsor. Sponsors of the Caspian Oil and Gas Exhibition will include the State Oild Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), Azeri MI Drilling, AZFEN J.V Construction, Baker Hughes, BP, Bos Shelf, Caspian Drilling Company, Caspian Marine Services, Caspian Geophysical, Cross Caspian Oil&Gas Logistics LLC, Dentons, Inpex, Nobel Oil, Statoil, Total, Tekfen Construction, RussNeft, and Ukrainian Airlines as the Official Airline of COGC. Azvirt will be the sponsor of the 4th Caspian International Road & Traffic 2014 exhibition. NB Group brands Karella (General Sponsor) and Azpol (Gold Sponsor) have been announced as the sponsors of BakuBuild 2014, the main construction exhibition in the Caucasus. Holcim Azerbaijan will be the Registration Sponsor of the exhibition for the second year running. The Official Partners of all of the exhibitions in 2014 are SafeLife, JW Marriott Hotel Absheron Baku, Caucas Point Hotel and Greenwich Travel Club.

Iteca Caspian is planning to organise exhibitions on 25 subject areas in 2014. They will include both traditional and new projects. It is great to note that a number of exhibitions outside the oil industry will be celebrationg their Anniversaries this year. WorldFood Azerbaijan, BakuBuild and BakuTel will be marking their 20 year anniversary and the CTE exhibition will celebrate 5 years on the market. Over the years, these exhibitions have achieved leading positions in the Caspian Region and have become the traditional meeting places for professionals that attract the greatest number of visitors. The Anniversary events will have a special programme which will offer the opportunity to present projects more extensively.

The 8th Baku International Motor Show 2014 (BIMS) will be a long awaited event for car enthusiasts, which will take place from the 15th to 17th May. The largest automotive show of the Caspian region will gather Azerbaijani and foreign manufacturers, distributors and dealers of word famous brands of vehicle and components under one roof. Exhibitors will include distributors of international passenger car manufacturers such as Bentley, Toyota, Lexus, Volvo and many others. Motorcycle dealerships will present new models from leading international manufacturers such as Aprilia, Suzuki, Harley Davidson and Vespa. The commercial sector will demonstrate heavy goods vehicles, dump trucks and semi-trailers from MANN and HOVA. The section devoted to vehicle parts, oils, filters and other automotive chemical products will be given a prominent place at the exhibition.

The 1st Caspian International Boat and Yacht Show 2014 (CIBS) will take place for the first time alongside BIMS for the first time. The exhibition will be a dynamic and interesting event which will provide a real understanding of the Boat and Yacht market in Azerbaijan. The exhibition will feature presentations of boating equipment and goods for active recreation and will become another standout event.

Another new project for 2014 will be the 1st Azerbaijan International Defence Industry Exhibition (ADEX). ADEX is poised to become an important meeting place for the global arms industry and a platform for the demonstration of the military potential of exhibiting countries, the exchange of experience and discussion of defence issues. The exhibition will attract producers and buyers of armaments and military technology and serve to encourage cooperation in the defence industry field. The exhibition will be organised with the support of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of the Defence Industry of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

A rich and varied business programme will be an inseparable part of the exhibitions, featuring informative seminars, conferences, meetings and master classes. This year will be the fourth time that Iteca Caspian will organise a seminar for exhibitors on the subject of "How to raise the effectiveness of exhibiting at exhibitions". This practical seminar will take place on the 14th of March at the Fairmont Baku hotel. The seminar is recommended for company directors, marketing directors and managers, sales directors and managers and other company employees responsible for preparations to exhibit at exhibitions. The seminar will be led by General Director of the ExpoEffect consulting company Nikolai Karasev (Russia), who is an author of a practical guide entitled "How to obtain the maximum results at exhibitions" The purpose of the seminar will be to increase and systematize exhibition experience and allow companies to look at themselves from outside, as well as showing how to avoid widespread mistakes and stereotypes related to preparation for exhibitions.

The venue for all of the exhibitions will be the Baku Expo Center. As always, a range of services will be made available for the convenience of exhibitors and guests. Everyone that wants to attend the exhibitions will be offered to use comfortable buses which will pick visitors up for free from the Nariman Narimanov metro station and take them to the Baku Expo Centre and back. The exhibition venue contains a free Business and Press Centre for exhibitors as well as a cafe and restaurant.

Every year, the organisers introduce various technologies to simplify exhibition registration for visitors. This year, the organisers have prepared a special service for constant visitors to the exhibitions. One of the entrances into the Baku Expo Center will contain a turnstile which can be used with special plastic cards. These cards will be given to the constant visitors of the exhibitions and the honoured guests and will be valid throughout the year. Card holders will have direct access to exhibitions without having to go through the registration process and will also have the opportunity to use additional services provided by the organisers, such as a VIP lodge, business centre, seminars and other additional events at the exhibitions. There will also be special, exclusive offers for card holders from the exhibition partners.

All visitors to the exhibition will be able to use alternative methods of registration in the foyer of the Baku Expo Center by using self service terminals. These terminals allow for quick self registration without the assistance of an operator. To do this, visitors will have to have a "visitor's bar code", which must be entered into the terminal to receive a badge. The bar code is on the named invitation ticket as well as on the electronic ticket once you go through online registration on the exhibition website. We would also like to note, that soon you will be able to go through electronic registration by downloading a special mobile app onto your telephone. All of these new features will allow visitors to use their time at the exhibitions as efficiently as possible, without spending it on standing in registration queues. Registering in advance will allow you to receive a list of exhibitors, information about the exhibitions and the timetable of business events.

Saturday has been added as the last day to the majority of events in 2014 following feedback from exhibitors and visitors, which will allow exhibitors more time for interacting with the end consumers.

These new exhibitions promise to bring new technologies, new contacts, partners and investments to the rapidly developing national economy. Every specialised exhibition is the meeting place for a whole industry offering near unlimited potential. You can find a detailed calendar of the exhibitions in 2014 on the www.iteca.az website. To receive more detailed information about the exhibitions, please contact the organisers at [email protected]