BUSINESS

Celebrating Compliance, Ethics and Culture as a Vital Part of Company Performance

On November 4, Veon Georgia held its fi rst ever Compliance Fest - a one-day event jointly organized by the Ethics & Compliance and People & Organization functions. The event brought together employees of Veon Georgia from various functions, top managements of Veon Georgia and the VEON Group. The main aim of the event was to sum up a year of work, and to celebrate Veon Georgia’s success in observing the highest standards of Ethics and Compliance in business and living by those values while fulfi lling its responsibility as a company.

As Ethics and Compliance are an integral part of the way Veon Georgia does its business, they are also refl ected in the values that company stands for. This is why the event aimed to observe both the ethical standards and the company culture. The event became a way to cement the work carried out by Compliance and Ethics function and the company as a whole.

Veon Georgia employees attending the Festival had a chance to participate in activities and games in connection with Ethics & Compliance policies and procedures and company values, to attend a presentation by the local Ethics & Compliance function summing up the achievements, areas of improvement and future goals, and to hear from both Veon Georgia and VEON Group top management.

At an awards ceremony, which was one of the highlights of the event, the company recognized employees who have excelled at observing Ethics & Compliance standards, as well as employees who have been acting as role models for each of the company values. Covid-19 regulations were strictly observed at the event, with organizing staff and attendees all being fully vaccinated. The company is looking forward to holding the event annually.

“It is a signature event we are attending here today – a Compliance Festival, showing how important the principles, ethics, integrity, and code of conduct are to achieve success and to do so in a way to be proud of,” said Kaan Terzioglu, Group Chief Executive Offi cer of VEON.

“Today, Veon Georgia held its fi rst Compliance, Ethics and Culture Festival. This event is a celebration of the way we live, the way we do business, and the values that are an integral part of our everyday work. In addition to following the highest ethical principles within the company, we are working with our business partners and suppliers in the same way – with responsibility, integrity and ethics in mind,” said Lasha Tabidze, Veon Georgia CEO.

The Chinese Are Doing What the Mongols Did Before Them, Only Better

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Living in the steppe lands of Eurasia, the Mongols saw the great potential of massive Eurasian trade and wanted to serve as a bridgehead between the Mediterranean and Chinese worlds.

Their expansion (the conquests of Central Asia, Iran, Syria, and the Russian steppes), often called chaotic, was in fact logical in light of their quest to control major trade routes emanating from the Middle East and Europe to South Asia and China.

For the Mongols, Central Asia was an economic hub from which trade routes emanated in many directions. The modern day Russian steppes were important as well, because it was possible to reach the Black Sea fairly quickly by horse, and trade with Eastern Europe.

Conquest was one approach. Another was to stimulate trade across these large swathes of land. The construction of roads, protection of caravans, provision of special fi nancial rights to foreign merchants, and so on, were fundamental principles guiding the Mongols.

This concept of Asian “Eurasianism” existed after the Mongols too. Tamerlane, with his capital in Samarkand (modernday Uzbekistan), invaded much of the Middle East, Caucasus, and north India. Before his death, he was intent on invading China and thereby connecting two economic powerhouses: China, with its human and natural resources, and the Mediterranean.

Conquests by the nomads centuries ago were dictated by economic need and facilitated by Eurasian geographic landscapes. The modern-day Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), or Chinese Eurasianism, like its predecessor, nomadic Eurasianism, involves the Central Asian, Russian steppe, and Indian-Pakistani geographic corridors. It also entails the construction of roads, their protection, and the overall stimulation of fair trade.

The modern vision of Chinese Eurasianism, therefore, based as it is on economic connectivity, fi ts into Asian geopolitical thinking of the past.

Previous contenders to connect the whole of Eurasia lacked the necessary resources. The Mongols and later Tamerlane’s state lacked powerful economies of their own: they were simply trading middlemen between China and the Mediterranean world. They also lacked human resources and technological expertise. As a result, the Mongols and other nomadic powers, though masters of half of Eurasia, largely depended on the more experienced Chinese, Iranians, and others to run their empires. This is why those pan-Eurasian concepts, though important milestones in human history, were short-lived.

Modern Chinese “Eurasianism” can be likened to past Asian prototypes, but it is inherently stronger and much more infl uential over the people of Central Asia, the Middle East, the Caucasus, and South Asia.

The Chinese have what the nomads lacked: a large population, technological prowess, economically productive centers, and strong instruments of soft power. The BRI is therefore likely to be more successful and thorough.

Moreover, unlike their Asian predecessors, who swiftly invaded large territories, the Chinese of today are very patient about their geopolitical goals. Any rush could bring about a coalition of forces that might preclude their initiatives.

Also, because the Chinese are working closely with states to protect Eurasian trade routes, it is unlikely that there will be a swift deterioration of security in any part of the BRI.

The BRI, which clearly outstrips all previous Asian global initiatives, refl ects a nomadic understanding of Eurasian geography combined with a Chinese vision of the continent that surpasses military alliance models or closed security provisions among a group of states. The initiative projects Beijing’s notion of economic interconnectedness, interwoven with the centrality of China in Eurasia.

The Silk Road. Image source: FT