The conference, hosted by the Government of Azerbaijan and co-funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), served as a platform for exchange on corruption in growing resource-rich economies.

Anti-corruption activists – including TI’s chapters – international experts and civil society leaders from close to 40 countries in Europe and Central Asia, as diverse as Ireland and Mongolia, gathered to debate national strategies for fighting corruption. It also was an opportunity to discuss region-specific issues such as the challenges of economic transition and managing natural resource wealth. Speakers included former Romanian Justice Minister Monica Macovei and Polish economist Leszek Balcerowicz, who highlighted the difficulties of defining corruption in communism.