The 2021 e-CAMCA Forum was held over June 21-25, 2021 and brought together speakers and participants from 15 countries to discuss economic prospects of the CAMCA region.
Key Events
Main events included a welcoming address by Dr.
Svante Cornell, Director of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at the American
Foreign Policy Council (AFPC), keynote interviews and online panel discussions,
as well as the release of numerous commentaries and updates.
Keynote Interviews
The 2021 e-CAMCA Forum featured keynote interviews
with Sergei Guriev, Professor of
Economics at the Instituts d'études politiques in Paris (Sciences Po)
interviewed by Rakhim Oshakbayev, Director,
Center of Applied Research TALAP; Carlos
Gutierrez, Chairman & CEO at EmPath and former U.S. Secretary of
Commerce interviewed by Samiullah Mahdi, award-winning
journalist and lecturer at Kabul University; Saad
Mohseni, Chairman and CEO, MOBY Group interviewed by Ali Aslan, international TV presenter
& journalist; and Douglas Becker,
Founder & Chairman, CINTANA Education interviewed by Dr. Mamuka Tsereteli, Senior Fellow,
Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, AFPC.
Panel Discussions
Live virtual panel sessions addressed the
following topics: "New Regionalism in
Central Asia and Its Challenges" moderated by Dr. S. Frederick Starr, Chairman, Central
Asia-Caucasus Institute, AFPC; "U.S.
Withdrawal from Afghanistan: What Does it Mean for Political and Economic
Alignments in the Region?" moderated by Michael
Doran, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute; "Impediments
to Foreign Investments in CAMCA: Real or Imaginary?" moderated by Gaukhar Nurgalieva, Senior Advisor, FMA; "Will a New Entrepreneurial Class Drive CAMCA
Economies?" moderated by Zabihullah
Ziarmal, Director General, Afghanistan National Standard Authority and
Chairman of the World Trade Centre Kabul Afghanistan; and "Can Education Systems of CAMCA Countries Adjust to
New Labor Market Demands?" moderated by Yernar
Zharkeshov, Principal and Head of Eurasia, Whiteshield Partners.
Speakers
Speakers included distinguished professionals from a variety of sectors: Dennis de Tray, Board Member and Adviser to the President, Nazarbayev University; Dr. Subir Lall, Deputy Director, Middle East and Central Asia Department, IMF; Dr. Eldor Aripov, Director, Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan; Dr. Taleh Ziyadov, Director General, Baku International Sea Trade Port, Azerbaijan; Aziza Umarova, Co-Founder of SmartGov Consulting, CAMCA Network Member, Uzbekistan; Dr. Omar Sharifi, Country Director, American Institute of Afghanistan Studies, and Assistant Professor of Social Sciences in the American University of Afghanistan, CAMCA Network Member; Ikram Sehgal, Chairman, Pathfinder Group and Chairman, Karachi Council on Foreign Relations; Ambassador Gautam Mukhopadhaya, Senior Visiting Fellow, Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi; former Ambassador of India to Afghanistan (2010-2013); Alex Vatanka, Director of Iran Program and Senior Fellow, Frontier Europe Initiative, Middle East Institute; Iskander Akylbayev, Executive Director, Kazakhstan Council on International Relations, CAMCA Network Member; Dulguun Baasandavaa, Deputy Chairman, National Development Agency of Mongolia, CAMCA Network Member; Yusif Abdullayev, Acting President, Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation; Baurzhan Kankin, Chairman, Social Entrepreneurship Corporation Shymkent; Valeri Chekheria, Serial entrepreneur and hotelier, Founder and CEO of Hospitality Projects, and Adviser to the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia; Abdullo Kurbanov, Co-founder and CEO, Alif Bank, CAMCA Network Member, Tajikistan; Khulan Davaadorj, Founder, Director and Chief Technologist, LHAMOUR LLC, CAMCA Network Member, Mongolia; Aziz Soltobaev, Founder, KG Labs Public Foundation, CAMCA Network Member, Kyrgyzstan; Abdulahad Badghisi, General Manager, Samarkand Bukhara Silk Carpet JV; Dr. Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, University of Central Asia; Fariz Ismailzade, Executive Vice Rector, ADA University, Azerbaijan; Hikmat Abdurahmanov, Co-founder and CEO, TEAM University, Co-founder, HMPARTNERS, CAMCA Network Member, Uzbekistan; Talant Sultanov, Co-founder and the Chair, Kyrgyz Chapter of the Internet Society, CAMCA Network Member, Kyrgyzstan; Dr. Irakli Laitadze, Chief Financial Officer, GMT Mtatsminda, and Lecturer, Ilya State University in Tbilisi, CAMCA Network Member, Georgia.
Publications
