Elmar Mammadov, Senior Negotiator and Co-Leader of the Action Agenda Initiatives Team under the COP29 Presidency, delivered a keynote address at the 3rd Annual Conference of the Global Alliance of Special Economic Zones (GASEZ) in Xiamen, China, on September 8, 2024. During his speech, he presented the COP29 Baku Initiative for Climate Finance, Investment, and Trade (BICFIT).

The event, co-organized by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Green Partnership of Industrial Parks of China (GPIPC), founding member of GASEZ, was held as part of the China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT).

Launched in 2022, GASEZ aims to promote a new generation of special economic zones and is an alliance chaired by UNCTAD, a key partner in COP29’s BICFIT initiative. Mammadov emphasized that BICFIT will focus on the intersection of climate finance, investment, and trade, serving as a global platform to encourage green diversification investments, support policy development, and share knowledge through BICFIT Dialogue. One legacy of COP29 will be the establishment of "Free Green Economic Zones" (FGEZ), a fusion of "green energy zones" with renewable energy resources and "free economic zones," contributing to global decarbonization and sustainability efforts under BICFIT.