Parallel Side Event:

Iskandar Abdullaev

Deputy Director, CAREC Institute

Mr. Abdullaev has over 25 years of experience in water management and environmental topics. His academic and professional experience include Central Asia, Sri Lanka, Iran, Pakistan, Thailand, Israel, USA, Germany, and Netherlands. Mr. Abdullaev held various advisory, editorial, research, and senior posts with GIZ, ZEF Center of Bonn, NGOs, boards, and associations.

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Shixin Chen

Vice-President of Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Mr. Shixin Chen is the Vice-President (Operations 1) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He joined ADB on 12 December 2018. Mr. Chen is responsible for operations in the South Asia Department and the Central and West Asia Department. Prior to joining ADB, Mr. Chen headed the Department of International Economic and Financial Cooperation at the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

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Akaki Saghirashvili

Deputy Minister, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia

Mr.Saghirashvili is Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia since 1 October 2018.

He had long term career with the Georgian Railway LLC, including Head of Corporate Management Department, Deputy Director for Infrastructure Branch, Head of Legal Services and Advisor to Executive Director. He also taught law in Caucasus School of Law.

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Sukhrob Mirzozoda

First Deputy Minister, Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Tajikistan

Mr. Mirzozoda is First Deputy Minister of Ministry of Transportation of the Republic of Tajikistan since 2015.

He has outstanding career of more than 30 years in transport and road sector in Tajikistan and globally, Head of Department of construction, reconstruction and overhaul of roads and bridges in Dushanbe, Director of Autostrada LLC, Manager in road projects in Tunisia, Deputy general inspector for Transport inspection, Project coordinator with the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Tajikistan and Chief engineer in Road departments and Road Construction Institute of Tajikgiprotranstroy.

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Taleh Ziyadov

Director-General, Port of Baku, Azerbaijan

Dr. Taleh Ziyadov has served as Director-General of the Port of Baku by appointment of the President of Azerbaijan since November 14, 2014. He has extensive knowledge of issues related to transport, logistics, and supply chain management in the Caspian region. Since 2008, he has professionally advised private and public companies as well as international organizations on the matter of transport and logistics in Azerbaijan and the Greater Central Asian region.

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Tamar Sulukhia

Director, ISET Policy Institute, International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University

Tamara Sulukhia was World Bank’s Sustainable Development and Infrastructure Program Leader for Turkey February 2016-March 2019, based in Ankara, Turkey. In 2010-2015 she served as a Sustainable Development Program Leader for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, based in Kiev, Ukraine. She joined the World Bank in the Regional Office for Caucasus in Tbilisi in 2004 as Senior Infrastructure Specialist.

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S. Sohail H. Naqvi

Rector, University of Central Asia

Prof. Dr. S. Sohail H. Naqvi is the Rector of the University of Central Asia. Prior to joining UCA in August 2018, Dr. Naqvi served as Vice Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences.

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Siddhart Saxena

Chair of Central Asia Forum, Cambridge University

Dr.Saxena is Chairperson of the Cambridge Central Asia Forum, Director of Cambridge Kazakhstan Centre and Honorary Secretary of the Committee for Central and Inner Asia. He trained as an anthropologist, historian and a physicist. His research interests are in the areas of religion and identity, knowledge systems, social and political development and institutional history in Central Asia and the Middle East. In Physics he works on science of strongly correlated electrons, superconductivity and magnetism. He also holds a Fellow Commonership at Jesus College, University of Cambridge. He also holds a number of Professorships, Honorary Professorships and Visiting Professorships.

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