2020 CENTRAL ASIA VIRTUAL TRADE FORUM
THE 10th CENTRAL ASIA TRADE FORUM
“CENTRAL ASIA – GROWTH AND PROSPERITY”
The Central Asia Trade Forum is a flagship international event for companies and officials. This year’s forum entitled CENTRAL ASIA – GROWTH AND PROSPERITY will be a virtual event. Hosted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the forum will explore new trends and market reactions in Central Asia during the post COVID-19 economic recovery.
The Central Asia Trade Forum is one of the largest annual events promoting regional trade and connectivity in Central Asia and has evolved into a widely-recognized brand. The agenda of the Central Asia Trade Forum in 2020 comprises live interactive panel sessions and webinars. Links to background interviews and presentations from thought leaders will support each sectoral panel session and webinar.
AGENDA
November 16th, 2020
14:30 – 15:25
15:30 – 17:00
LIVE PANEL SESSION 1: COVID-19’S IMPACT ON REGIONAL SUPPLY CHAINS – STRENGTHENING TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS NETWORKS IN CENTRAL ASIA
Central Asia is landlocked and farther from an ocean than anywhere on earth. In normal times, this makes trade with the rest of the world expensive and challenging, at best. These are not normal times. The Global Pandemic has disrupted global supply chains and the effects of this disruption continue to ripple around the world. How has the pandemic impacted trade, transportation and logistics in this remote region? What are companies doing to adjust? After a devastating forest fire, new shoots emerge from charred earth, what kinds of opportunities arise from this crisis? How has the pandemic accelerated the adoption of new technologies like robotics, 3-D printing, Artificial Intelligence. In this live panel discussion, you will gain salient insight into how the pandemic is transforming transportation and logistics, and what the future has in store.
WILL BE AVALIABLE SOON
November 17th, 2020
LIVE PANEL SESSION 2: TOURISM RECOVERY IN CENTRAL ASIA – HOW CAN REGIONAL COOPERATION REVITALIZE TOURISM?
Tourism has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with millions of jobs at risk in one of the most labor-intensive sectors of the economy. As governments around the world have introduced unprecedented measures to contain the virus, restrictions on travel, business operations and people-to-people interactions have brought the tourism economy to a standstill. Central Asian countries are managing the re-opening of the tourism economy. This is a complex and challenging task, involving lifting travel restrictions, restoring traveler confidence and rethinking the tourism sector for the future. This live panel session brings together local and global tourism experts to discuss the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on regional tourism and potential solutions to restart and rebuild the tourism industry.
WILL BE AVALIABLE SOON
9:00 – 13:00
SPECIAL EVENT: ISO WEBINAR FOR SMES (FIRST PART)
ISO WEBINAR “SHIFTING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM MINDSETS WITH NEW QUALITY STANDARDS ISO 9001:2015, ISO 22000:2018 AND ISO 45001:2018”. CHANGING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM”
ORGANIZER: CERT INTERNATIONAL Separate Registration is required.
15:30 – 17:30
LIVE PANEL SESSION 3: LEVERAGING E-COMMERCE TO DRIVE REGIONAL TRADE – HOW COLLABORATION IS OVERCOMING BARRIERS
Leveraging eCommerce for Central Asian businesses’ trade and growth
eCommerce is opening extraordinary opportunities for Central Asian firms of all sizes to reach new customers, export, and grow. Surveys show that firms that sell online are 2-3 times likelier to export than offline sellers, and that most firms that sell on global online marketplaces export to ten or more markets, and that online sellers grow faster than offline sellers.
eCommerce is still nascent in Central Asia, but growing rapidly as regional and global consumers migrate online amid Covid-19. The region has promising online retailers, for example of groceries, textile and apparel, food products, and artisan products. However, the region’s firms still face a number of challenges to translate eCommerce opportunities into exports and growth, such as limited eCommerce skills and knowledge about best-in-class eCommerce-related technologies, complex and expensive cross-border logistics, frictions with cross-border online payments, and regulatory fragmentation of the regional digital markets, among others.
The purpose of this panel is to explore solutions to these challenges. The panel brings together local and global eCommerce leaders who discuss what their businesses are doing to drive eCommerce in the region and how they can collaborate with regional large firms and SMEs as well as with regional governments in enabling eCommerce. The panel also features visionary leaders who are fashioning the region’s regulatory and physical infrastructure conducive to eCommerce.
November 18th, 2020
10:00 – 12:15
PANEL SESSION 4: GROWING BUSINESS CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN CENTRAL ASIA AND AFGHANISTAN (REGIONAL AMCHAM NETWORK)
Central Asian Governments are increasingly engaging in talks to increase regional economic cooperation including trade and investment links with Afghanistan. USAID and other donors are supporting these discussions with cross-border B2B, training and other activities to enhance business connectivity. In this panel session AmCham business leaders and member representatives from across the region and Afghanistan will discuss joint opportunities for cross-border trade and investment and the impediments to be overcome.
10:00 – 11:00
PANEL 1. Regional AmCham Network
11:15 – 12:15
PANEL 2. A Local Afghan Perspective To Business Opportunities With Central Asia
9:00 – 13:00
SPECIAL EVENT: ISO WEBINAR FOR SMES (SECOND PART)
ISO WEBINAR “SHIFTING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM MINDSETS WITH NEW QUALITY STANDARDS ISO 9001:2015, ISO 22000:2018 AND ISO 45001:2018”. CHANGING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM”
ORGANIZER: CERT INTERNATIONAL Separate registration is required.
15:30 – 17:00
LIVE PANEL SESSION 5: GROWING PUBLIC-PRIVATE DIALOGUE – COMING OF AGE OF NATIONAL TRADE FACILITATION COMMITTEES
The risk of a recession of the Global Pandemic tempts governments to raise trade barriers further, the exact opposite is needed to boost regional output and employment. How can regional interaction of Trade Facilitation Committees solve issues related to trade development and promote regional trade in Central Asia and other regions? Is there any successful international experience in the functioning of Trade Facilitation Committees? How can private sector cooperate and participate in Trade Facilitation Committees? In this live panel discussion, you will gain valuable insight into how meaningful and productive public-private dialogue, in the face of the pandemic, can be an effective mechanism for solving trade facilitation issues.
November 19th, 2020
PANEL SESSION 6: AVERTING A REGIONAL CRISIS – SMARTER WATER MANAGEMENT
WILL BE AVALIABLE SOON
15:30 – 17:00
PANEL SESSION 7: POWERING CENTRAL ASIA – REGIONAL MARKET SOLUTIONS TO BETTER ELECTRICITY DELIVERY
- Overcoming the challenges for power systems integration in CA
- Accelerating economic growth in CA through a regional electricity market
- Renewable energy opportunities in CA
November 20th, 2020
PANEL SESSION 8: REGIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR START-UP COOPERATION
Central Asia: the region full of opportunities
The panel session «Central Asia: the region full of opportunities» is targeted on building bridges between the public and private sectors in the startup community both in each individual country and in Central Asia as a region. Startup leading will participate from multiple countries, to present their experiences on the opportunities, as well as challenges. The main discussion will be around four topics: Regulatory issues for startups in Central Asia; Infrastructure for systematic development of startups; Investments and finance sources for startups; and IT Startups as a base for Digital Economy.
Breakout sessions/webinar:
Community Building of the Central Asia Startup Ecosystem
15:30 – 17:00
PANEL SESSION 9: NETWORKING WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS ACROSS CENTRAL ASIA – SHARING EXPERIENCE AND MARKET ACCESS
Women business owners are increasingly active across the region – particularly as microenterprises in agriculture and handicrafts. Microenterprises face significant barriers to growth and profitability. This panel session brings women business leaders from across the region to discuss how women small business owners can leverage the experience and market access of other women business owners in the region to access new markets and expand their businesses.
VIDEO SESSIONS
TIMELINE
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan 
Virtual
Event
PARTNERS
MEDIA
2018
Uzbekistan Today Newspaper
{Exclusive Video} with U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur L. Ross The interview highlighted the Central Asia Trade Forum in Tashkent.
Uzbekistan Today Newspaper
New Ideas, New Contracts, New Markets
UzA
Tashkent hosts Central Asian Trade Forum
Uzbekistan Today Newspaper
New Ideas, New Contracts, New Markets
