Our Mission 

The British Chamber of Commerce Azerbaijan (BCCA) is a bilateral chamber, a professional body, privately financed, not-for-profit making membership organisation. 

Our mission is to

• advocate the voices of Azerbaijani and UK business communities in public affairs
• promote and market our members' businesses
• organise Trade Missions to both countries in coherence with each industry sector, keep our members informed on relevant matters
• provide a wide range of supporting services in the process of company set up and development in Azerbaijan and UK. 

By joining the BCCA, you will benefit from networking opportunities, business and educational seminars, government advocacy, marketing and promotional campaigns and much more.

The BCCA  is endorsed by the Department for International Trade UK (DIT), Azerbaijani embassy in London and the British Embassy in Baku. 

The BCCA is a new chapter in the 30-year UK-Azerbaijan strategic cooperation. We are committed to enhancing economic ties, trade and business relationships, investment opportunities between Azerbaijan and the UK. The Chamber acts as a facilitating network platform to expand bilateral engagement and advocate a mutual understanding of code of conduct in the countries’ business environment.

History of 30-year UK-Azerbaijan Strategic Cooperation 

 ‘The Contract of the Century‘, signed by the Azerbaijani government in 1994 with British Petroleum on the development of the Azeri, Chirag and Gunashli oil fields in the deep waters of the Caspian Sea, has served as a catalyst for solidifying the foundations for a stable, credible and well-grounded bilateral trade and investment engagement between the two countries. The upgraded “Contract of the New British Century” has been signed and extended up to 2049 for further development of the fields operated by BP. 

Today, the UK remains the largest investor in Azerbaijan contributing 51% of total investment in the country, and enjoys a healthy trade in goods, services, technology, engineering equipment and oil machinery. 
Since 2015 the UK and Azerbaijan have established an annually held Joint Intergovernmental Committee (JIC) to support and foster the bilateral economic and trade forum.  

Another important step in boosting UK-Azerbaijan trade relations came with the appointment  of Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne as the UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Azerbaijan in 2016. 

In light of a new chapter in the UK-Azerbaijan relations, the British Chamber of Commerce Azerbaijan (BCCA) was founded in November 2021 by Howard Lyn, well established British entrepreneur, who has been living and working in Azerbaijan for over 27 years, and businessman John Patterson, who has chaired the British Business Group in Baku for almost 20 years. The British Business Group was the first body of business networking which provided support for British companies seeking to establish a commercial foothold in Azerbaijan.

Working closely with the British Embassy, British Consulate,  Department for International Trade, the Azerbaijani Embassy in the UK and the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan, the Chamber will serve as a bridge to facilitate, assist and encourage bilateral trade and investment, and to promote interests of the Chamber’s Members.

With a growing importance of Azerbaijan as a regional hub located at the intersection of East-West and North-South transport corridors in Eurasia, the country’s leadership envisages a new future: less dependent on conventional hydrocarbon revenues and instead more sustainable and diversified in economy. Renewable energy, technology, healthcare, education, finance, agriculture, tourism, transportation, logistics are all forming a new agenda and commitment to a prosperous future. 

The Chamber's offices are located in Cambridge, United Kingdom and Baku, Azerbaijan.