October 21, 2019

Registration

Please bring your ID and  pick up your Badges

The Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi

Address: 29 Shota Rustaveli Ave.

Parallel Side Event: "Potential of New Silk Road for Tourism Tech Opportunities"

Organized by Georgia's Innovation and Technology Agency

Tech Park Georgia

Address: 7 Innovation str. Okrokana, Tbilisi

Side Event: Session of the working group of the Association of Legal Entities "International Association "Trans-Caspian International Transport Route"

Organized by Georgian Railway (Closed Session)

Tbilisi Marriott - Ballroom

Address: 13 Shota Rustaveli Ave.

Side Event: Jointly Building Belt and Road towards SDGs

Organized by UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs

Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel

Address: 1 Rose Revolution Square

Welcome Reception hosted by Ms. Natia Turnava, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia (by invitation only)

NOTE: Transportation will be provided from partner hotels at 17:20 hrs. Guests not staying at the partner hotels, shall use the transportation services from Biltmore Hotel

BIOLI Hall

Address: Bioli Street 1, Kojori, Tbilisi

October 22, 2019 - Day 1

00:00 - 22:00

Registration 

Please bring your ID and  pick up your Badges

The Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi

Address: 29 Shota Rustaveli Ave.

Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre

Address: 25 Shota Rustaveli Ave.

09:30 - 09:40

Family Photo of Heads of Delegations

Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre

Address: 25 Shota Rustaveli Ave.

Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre

Address: 25 Shota Rustaveli Ave.

10:30 - 11:30

Opening Panel - High Level Dialogue

Towards the Common Future: Understanding Stability and Sustainable growth patterns

• New regional economic architecture;
• Roadmap for collaboration along the Silk Road;
• Silk Road – Ensuring sustainable connectivity;
• Challenges and opportunities of small economies to integrate in global value chain.

Panel moderator: Dr. Nouriel Roubini, Professor of economics at New York University’s Stern School of Business

Panel members: 

• H.E. Maya Tskitishvili. Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia
• H.E. Tigran Avinyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia
• H.E. Elyor M. GANIEV, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan
• Mr. Li Hui, Government Special Envoy in Eurasia Region of the People's Republic of China
• Mr. Shixin Chen, Vice President of Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre

Address: 25 Shota Rustaveli Ave.

12:00 - 13:15

Panel Discussion: Trade2Win

• Challenges and opportunities to enable transformative change for improved SME competitiveness to facilitate their growth and integration in global markets;
• Aspects of strengthened quality infrastructure for regional integration and trade development, new modes of partnerships to enable growth markets;
• Key trends in trade and investment, including the digitalization of economies and the role of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to connect societies into the global economy.

Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre

Address: 25 Shota Rustaveli Ave.

Panel moderator: Mr. Aaron Heslehurst, Presenter, BBC WORLD NEWS

Panel members:

• Mr. Genadi Arveladze, Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia
• Dr.  Sahar Nasr,  Minister of Investment and International Cooperation of the Arab Republic of Egypt
• Mr. Ivan Scalfarotto, Under-Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy
• Mr. Yonov Frederick Agah- Deputy Director General, WTO
• Ms. Arancha González, Executive Director, International Trade Center

General Meeting of the Association of Legal Entities "International Association "Trans-Caspian International Transport Route"

Organized by Georgian Railway (Closed Session)

Tbilisi Marriott - Ballroom

Address: 13 Shota Rustaveli Ave.

13:15 - 14:30

Lunch

MOMA - The Museum of Modern Art

Address: 27 Shota Rustaveli Ave.

Parallel Panel Discussion: The Future of Energy - Emerging trends, Security and Sustainability of the Silk Road Energy Belt and beyond

• Challenges and opportunities arising from future trends in Energy sector;
• Digitalization of the energy sector;
• Energy security and sustainability;
• Future of energy supply, renewable energy and increasing role of cross border trading; 
• The new electricity market and prospects for regional power exchange.

The Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi - Amphitheatre

Address: 29 Shota Rustaveli Ave.

Panel moderator: Mr. Constantin Cotzias, Director, Bloomberg Europe / Chair, Bloomberg London

Panel members:

• Mr. David Tvalabeishvili, Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia
• Mr. Werner E. Liepach, Director General Central and West Asia Department, Asian Development Bank
• Ms. Aida Sitdikova, Director Energy, Eurasia, Sustainable Infrastructure Group,  European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
• Mr. Yashar Latifov , Vice President, The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR)
• Mr. Wang Lei, Vice President of China Tianchen Engineering Corporation (TCC)

Parallel Panel Discussion: Innovation driven growth - Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Silk Road

• Policy and regulatory frameworks;
• AI in research and development;
• AI ethics and challenges;
• Opportunities for cross-border regulation of AI and other 4th Industrial Revolution technologies.

The Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi - Ballroom

Address: 29 Shota Rustaveli Ave.

Panel moderator:  Mr. Rob McCargow: Director of Artificial Intelligence, PwC

Panel members:

• Mr. Nikoloz Alavidze, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia
• Ms. Nino Enukidze, Rector, Professor, Business and Technology University
• Mr. Armen Abroyan, Deputy Minister of High-Tech Industry of the Republic of Armenia
• Dr. László György, Secretary of State for Economic Strategy and Regulation, Ministry for Innovation and Technology of Hungary
• Mr. Irakli Beridze, Head of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, United Nations UNICRI
• Mr. Marko Marn, Senior Partner Solution Professional Data&AI,  Microsoft CEE Multi Country

Parallel Side Event: Connecting to Europe – The Development of the Extended TEN-T

Organized by European Investment Bank

• Effects of TEN-T connectivity within the Eastern Partnership countries and between the Eastern Partnership countries and the European Union on economic growth, interdependency, and long-term stability and prosperity of the region;
• Factors enabling the development of the extended TEN-T;
• Creating a sustainable transport network adjusted for future needs – digitalisation, road safety.

Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel - Ballroom 1

Address: 1 Rose Revolution Square

Moderator: Mr. Richard Willis, Press officer, Communication Department,  EIB

Speakers:

• Mr Irakli Karseladze, First Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructures of Georgia, Chairman of Roads Department of Georgia
• Mr. Bagrat Badalyan, Deputy Minister for Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia
• Mr. Elmir Tofig oglu Velizade, Deputy Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan
• Ms. Elena Perminova, Deputy Minister of Economy and the Republic of Belarus
• Mr. Ionel Minea, Secretary of State at Ministry of Transport of Romania
• Mr. Lawrence Meredith, Director, European Commission DG NEAR Neighbourhood East
• Ms. Flavia Palanza, Director, European Investment Bank, Lending Operations in EU Neighbouring Countries
• Mr. Libor Lochman, Executive Director, CER

The Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi

Address: 29 Shota Rustaveli Ave.

/ Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel

Address: 1 Rose Revolution Square

Parallel Panel Discussion: Transport Connectivity – Transformation along the Silk Road and beyond

• Opportunities for improvement of transport links along the Silk Road;
• Infrastructure financing: successful models and existing financial mechanisms;
• Mobilization and leveraging of additional resources for transport infrastructure development;
• ITC and digital solutions in transport and logistics for safety, reliability and effective supply chain management.

The Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi - Ballroom 

Address: 29 Shota Rustaveli Ave.

Panel moderator: Ms. Juliette Foster, Founder and Managing Director, Magnus Communications; Former Sky News/BBC business presenter

Panel members:

• Ms. Natia Turnava, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia

• Mr. Yama Yari, Minister of Transport of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

• Ramin Namig oglu Guluzade, Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan

• Mr. Rossen Jeliazkov - Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications of the Republic of Bulgaria
• Mr. M. Cahit Turhan, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Turkey
• Mr. Vladyslav Kryklii, Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine
• Mr. Umberto de Pretto, Secretary General - International Road Transport Organization (IRU)

Parallel Side Event: "Silk Road Knowledge Dialogue"

Organized by CAREC institute

Opening Remarks by Mr. Shixin Chen, Vice-President of Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Discussion Points:

• Knowledge corridors can be visualized as an interconnected web with virtual destinations, thoughts and ideas of knowledge enablers (government), knowledge articulators (sector experts), knowledge generators (research entities), and knowledge transformers (business sector) to translate knowledge into tangible gains;
• Role of knowledge corridors to regional economic cooperation platforms are critical, considering importance and need of standardized and systematic approach in regional transport, trade, energy and tourism development;
• The central idea of knowledge corridors is to make knowledge a profitable commodity or convert ‘data to dollars’;
• Rapid advancement in information and communication technology, reduction in time and cost of access to information and data sharing, and higher connectivity and mobility facilitate knowledge exchange and partnership at a greater degree.

The Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi - Amphitheatre

Address: 29 Shota Rustaveli Ave.

Moderator:  Dr.Iskandar Abdullaev, Deputy Director, CAREC Institute

Speakers:

• Mr. Akaki Saghirashvili, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia
• Mr. Sukhrob Mirzozoda, First Deputy Minister, Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Tajikistan
• Dr. Taleh Ziyadov, Director-General, Port of Baku, Azerbaijan
• Dr. Tamar Sulukhia, Director, ISET Policy Institute, International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University
• Dr. S. Sohail H. Naqvi, Rector, University of Central Asia
• Dr. Siddhart Saxena, Chair of Central Asia Forum, Cambridge University

Parallel Side Event: Improving Freight Transit and Logistics Performance of the Trans-Caucasus Transit Corridor 

Organized by World Bank

Welcoming Remarks by Mr.Bernard Aritua, Senior Infrastructure Specialist, The World Bank

Key Note Speech by Mr. Abdulaziz Faghi, Program Leader for Infrastructure, Europe and Central Asia Region, The World Bank

Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel - Meeting Room

Address: 1 Rose Revolution Square

Moderator:  Bernard Aritua, Senior Infrastructure Specialist, The World Bank

Speakers:

• Mr. Victor Aragones, Senior Transport Economist, The World Bank
• Mr. Hendrik Wehlen, General Manager Sales and Operations, InterRail Europe GmbH
• Mr. Javid Gurbanov, Chairman, Azerbaijan Railways CJSC (ADY)
• Mr. David Peradze, General Director, JSC Georgian Railway (GR)
• Mr. Ming Li, Director of Smart City Department of China Center for Urban Development, National Development and Reform Commission
• Mr. Pasha Karim, Regional Manager, Kerry/Globallink Logistics
• Mr. Jiyi Zhang, Chairman of China Railway Container Transport Corp.,Ltd. 

October 23, 2019 - Day 2

The Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi

Address: 29 Shota Rustaveli Ave.

10:15 - 11:30      

Panel Discussion: Invest2Succeed

Session I - Georgia Rising - Facilitating Impact Investment

• Investment Attractiveness Update: Reforms and Initiatives aimed at further improving Business Climate;
• Georgia – a rising destination for new investment opportunities;
• Recent initiative of Georgia’s sustainable development aspirations towards greener economy;
• Facilitating Impact Investments for Sustainable Economic Development.

The Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi - Ballroom 

Address: 29 Shota Rustaveli Ave.

Panel moderator: Mr. Joe Lynam, BBC's Senior Business Correspondent

Panel members:

• Ms. Natia Turnava - Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia
• Mr. Valery Vavilov, Founder and CEO , Bitfury Group
• Mr. Alexander Benard, Co-Head of Cerberus Frontier and Senior Managing Director, Cerberus (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
• Mr. William Markstein, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Trammo
• Mr. Fatih Guven, General Manager of ENKA Power
• Mr. Irakli Burdiladze, CEO of JSC m2 Real Estate

11:30 - 12:45

Panel Discussion: Invest2Succeed

Session II - Silk Road: The New Landscape for Cross-Border Investment

• How a better connectivity across the Silk road paves the way for new investment opportunities;
• The importance of stable investment partners & destinations for connecting Europe, the Middle East and Asia;
• Making the most of FTA networks and improved global market access for the Silk Road countries.

The Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi - Ballroom 

Address: 29 Shota Rustaveli Ave.

Panel moderator: Mr. Joe Lynam, BBC's Senior Business Correspondent

Panel members:

• Mr. David Saganelidze, CEO of JSC Partnership Fund
• Mr. William Tompson, Head of the Eurasia Division in the OECD Global Relations Secretariat
• Mr. Abdulrahman Essa Al-Mannai, CEO, Milaha Group (Qatar Navigation)
• Dr. Alexander Maier, CEO, AE Solar Alternative Energy GmbH
• Mr. Robin Jowitt,  Partner at EY, Leader of capital transformation in Europe, Middle East, India, Africa / CESA
• Mr. Archil Gachechiladze, CEO,  Bank of Georgia

12:45 - 14:00

Lunch

MOMA - The Museum Of Modern Art

Address: 27 Shota Rustaveli Ave.

14:00 - 18:00

B2B Meetings: one-to-one meetings between companies

The Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi - Ballroom

Address: 29 Shota Rustaveli Ave.