Speakers 2017

WELCOMING PANEL - High Level Dialogue on Belt and Road Connectivity for Stability

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  H.E. Giorgi Kvirikashvili

  Prime Minister of Georgia

  Giorgi Kvirikashvili is the Prime Minister of Georgia. Prior to becoming Prime Minister in December 2015, he served as Vice Prime Minister (2013-2015) while serving as Foreign Minister (2015) and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development (2012-2015). Kvirikashvili is leading the effort to modernize Georgia's economy and fully integrate the country into European and Euro-Atlantic economic and security structures.

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  Qian Keming

  Deputy Minister of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China

  Mr. Qian Keming, male and of Han ethnicity, was born in Langxi, Anhui Province in September 1962.

  He started his career in August 1987 and joined the China Democratic League.

  Qian holds a bachelor’s degree in agronomy from Anhui Agricultural College, a master’s degree in genetics and breeding and a doctorate in agricultural economy management from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and worked as a research fellow at CAAS.

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  Henrik Hololei

  Director-General for Transport and Mobility, European Commission

  Henrik Hololei is an economist, graduating from Tallinn Technical University and he also studied at Aarhus University in Denmark.

  He held various positions in the Estonian Government Office between 1995 and 2004. He was responsible for leading and steering the work for the Estonian accession to the European Union, working directly with the Government and Prime Minister.
   

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  H.E. Pavel Filip

  Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova

  Mr. Pavel Filip is the Prime Minister of Moldova. Before becoming the 12th Prime Minister of democratic Moldova in January 2016, he served as Minister for Information Technology and Communications in four consecutive Ministerial Cabinets. A passionate supporter of Moldova's integration into the European Union, Mr. Filip has embraced a pragmatic, result-driven approach in government and, as Prime Minister, has launched comprehensive and structural reforms aimed at modernizing and developing the Eastern European country.

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  H.E. Volodymyr Groysman

  Prime Minister of Ukraine

  Mr Volodymyr Groysman is the Prime Minister of Ukraine since April 14, 2016.
  November 27, 2014 – Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
  February 27, 2014 - Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine/Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine.
  
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  H.E. Erbolat Dossaev

  Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan

  In August 2017 Mr. Dossaev was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

  In 1987 he graduated from the Republic’s Physics and Mathematics Boarding School in Alma-Ata.

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  H.E. Karl Erjavec

  Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Slovenia

  1995-2000 - Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman: Director of the Expert Service; Head of the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman 
  2001-2004 - State Secretary, Ministry of Justice 
  2004-2008 Minister of Defence 
  2006 - Chair of the Informal Meeting of NATO Defence Ministers, Portoroz, Slovenia 
   

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  H.E. Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan

  Cabinet Member and Minister of Tolerance, United Arab Emirates

  His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan is the Minister of Tolerance in the new Cabinet announced in October 2017. 

  His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak joined the Federal Government in 1992 and held a number of government portfolios including Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Minister of Education and Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development. 

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  Wencai Zhang

  Vice President, ADB

  Mr. Wencai Zhang is the Vice-President (Operations 1) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He joined ADB in December 2013. 

  Mr. Zhang is responsible for operations in the South Asia Department and the Central and West Asia Department. 

  Prior to joining ADB, Mr. Zhang was the Director General of the Department of External Economic Cooperation at the Ministry of Finance (MOF) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). 
   

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  Alain Pilloux

  Vice President, EBRD

  Alain Pilloux took up the position of Vice President, Banking on 15 November 2016. He has overall responsibility for the effective delivery of the Bank’s investment and advisory activities in the EBRD’s thirty six countries of operations, as well as contributing to the delivery of policy engagement activities. He is a member of the Executive Committee and other leadership fora.

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  Dr. Anil K. Gupta - KEYNOTE SPEAKER

  Michael Dingman Chair & Professor, The University of Maryland at College Park

  Dr. Anil K. Gupta is the Michael Dingman Chair in Strategy at the Smith School of Business, The University of Maryland, USA. He also holds a Distinguished Visiting Professorship at Tsinghua University, China as well as the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and has earlier served as a Chaired Professor in Strategy at INSEAD and as a visiting professor at Stanford. He earned his PhD at Harvard University.

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TRADE FACILITATION ALONG BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE - Session I - TRADE FACILITATION

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  Aaron Heslehurst

  BBC World News presenter

  Aaron Heslehurst is an award winning news presenter and one of the main faces on BBC World News TV. 

  He has been a BBC business news presenter since February 2002. In May of 2017 he launched his own named show "Talking Business with Aaron Heslehurst" A daily half hour global show that's dynamic, exciting and very informative.  Aaron cuts through the jargon with live top CEO interviews and brings you the latest innovations in technology.
   

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  Genadi Arveladze

  Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia

  Mr. Genadi Arveladze is the Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia. He has widespread experience in foreign trade and economics, serving as Georgia’s chief negotiator in number of free trade agreements’ negotiations. Mr. Arveladze has effectively contributed to the diversification and development of Georgia’s foreign trade. 

  A strong supporter of Georgia's association process to the European Union, Mr. Arveladze is coordinating implementation of Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area part of EU-Georgia Association Agreement.

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  Qian Keming

  Deputy Minister of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China

  Mr. Qian Keming, male and of Han ethnicity, was born in Langxi, Anhui Province in September 1962.

  He started his career in August 1987 and joined the China Democratic League.

  Qian holds a bachelor’s degree in agronomy from Anhui Agricultural College, a master’s degree in genetics and breeding and a doctorate in agricultural economy management from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and worked as a research fellow at CAAS.

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  Ms. Nataliya Mykolska

  Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Ukraine

  In the Government of Ukraine Nataliya Mykolska focuses on export promotion efforts, negotiations of multilateral and bilateral preferential trade agreements, building of a consistent and predictable trade policy and protection of the interests of Ukraine in the WTO. 

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  Dana Meager

  Deputy Minister of Finance of the Slovak Republic

  Ms. Dana Meager assumed the position the Deputy Minister of Finance of the Slovak Republic in April 2016.

  Ms. Dana graduated from the Faculty of Commerce at the University of Economics in Bratislava.

  Before an appointment she served as the Vice President of the Financial Administration at the Financial Directorate of Slovakia, since 2013.

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  Dr. Abdel Aziz Hamad Aluwaisheg

  Assistant Secretary-General for Political and Negotiation Affairs, Gulf Cooperation Council

  Dr. Abdel Aziz Hamad Aluwaisheg is the GCC Assistant Secretary General for Political and Negotiation Affairs. In this capacity, he is responsible for coordination of GCC foreign policy towards regional and international issues, as well as managing GCC relations with the rest of the world. He is also responsible for GCC trade negotiations, strategic partnerships and dialogue with other countries and blocs.

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  Yi Xiaozhun

  Deputy Director-General, World Trade Organisation

  Mr. YI Xiaozhun has been a Deputy Director-General at the World Trade Organization since October 2013.

  Yi Xiaozhun has extensive experience in world trade and economics, both as a senior government official and subsequently as China's ambassador to the WTO. He represented China as a key negotiator in China’s WTO accession process, making an important contribution to the negotiations.
   

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TRADE FACILITATION ALONG BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE - Session II - E-COMMERCE

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  Aaron Heslehurst

  BBC World News presenter

  Aaron Heslehurst is an award winning news presenter and one of the main faces on BBC World News TV. 

  He has been a BBC business news presenter since February 2002. In May of 2017 he launched his own named show "Talking Business with Aaron Heslehurst" A daily half hour global show that's dynamic, exciting and very informative.  Aaron cuts through the jargon with live top CEO interviews and brings you the latest innovations in technology.
   

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  George Melashvili

  Executive Director of National Bank of Georgia

  Mr. George Melashvili is an Executive Director of the National Bank of Georgia since 2009.

  He is in charge of several important directions of NBG including the payment systems in terms of oversight payment systems and payment instruments, facilitation growth of non-cash payments within the country and operation of the main interbank payment system (RTGS System) of Georgia. 

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  Andriy Shcherbina

  Visa Digital Solutions Director for South East Europe

  Andriy Shcherbina is currently the Director of Digital Solutions for Commonwealth of Independent States and South East Europe region (CIS and SEE, except Russia), which includes 17 countries.

  With primary focus on Visa Token Service and Visa Developer Platform, Andriy is also acting as subject matter expert in the following areas that are foundational for further proliferation of innovations: 

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  Ana Hinojosa

  Director, Compliance and Facilitation, World Customs Organisation

  Director Hinojosa assumed her elected post in the Compliance and Facilitation Directorate of the World Customs Organization (WCO), effective January 1, 2016, after serving nearly 29 years with the United States Custom Service/Customs and Border Protection (CBP). 

  She leads the WCO directorate that is responsible for assisting Members in implementing effective and efficient controls, ensuring fair and accurate revenue collection, and protecting society by intercepting and suppressing illicit and criminal activities. 

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  Mutua Muthusi

  Director Executive Office at Universal Postal Union (UPU)

  Mr. Muthusi is currently the Director of the Executive Office of the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union. 
  
  He has over 20 years of experience working in the postal environment. He started his postal career at the Kenya Post and Telecommunications Corporation, where he handled communications and international relations.

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  François Davenne

  Secretary General, OTIF

  François Davenne is Secretary General of OTIF (Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail) since 2013. He promotes interdisciplinary work and partnership building to expand uniform regulations for international carriage by rail. 

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  Weijiang Feng

  Senior Fellow and Director of the Department of International Political Economy, IWEP, CASS

  Dr. Feng Weijiang is Senior Fellow and Director of the Department of International Political Economy, IWEP, CASS, and is Master's Supervisor of the Graduate School of CASS. His main research interests include IPE Theory and International Economic Cooperation.

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TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE

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  Melinda Crane

  Chief Political Correspondent, Deutsche Welle TV

  Dr. Melinda Crane has given speeches and moderated events and discussions for a wide range of international organizations and firms. She is a frequent guest and commentator on German television and radio and regularly analyses US policy for the news broadcaster n-tv. An experienced TV anchor, she is chief political correspondent at DW TV and also hosts the DW talk show “Quadriga”. 

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  Dimitry Kumsishvili

  First Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia

  Dimitry Kumsishvili is the First Vice Prime Minister of the Government of Georgia and the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development. 

  From November, 2016 to November 2017, Mr. Kumsishvili was taking a position of the Minister of Finance of Georgia.

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  H.E. Ahmet Arslan

  Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications of turkey

  Born on 2 June 1962, H.E. Ahmet ARSLAN graduated from the National Security Academy and Istanbul Technical University (ITU), Faculty of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering.

  He worked in the private sector for seven years, assuming various duties at the Pendik Shipyard in Istanbul. 

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  H.E. Ramin Guluzade

  Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan

  H.E. Ramin Guluzade is a Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan, since February 13, 2017.

  He graduated from the Azerbaijan State University of Economics and holds MA degree from the same university. 

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  Henrik Hololei

  Director-General for Transport and Mobility, European Commission

  Henrik Hololei is an economist, graduating from Tallinn Technical University and he also studied at Aarhus University in Denmark.

  He held various positions in the Estonian Government Office between 1995 and 2004. He was responsible for leading and steering the work for the Estonian accession to the European Union, working directly with the Government and Prime Minister.
   

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  H.E. Andrzej Adamczyk

  Minister of Infrastructure and Construction of the Republic of Poland

  H.E. Adamczyk holds the position of the Minister of Infrastructure and Construction of the Republic of Poland since November 16th 2015.

  Deputy to the Sejm of the V, VI, VII and VIII term from the Kraków constituency.

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  Peter Gaspersic

  Minister of Infrastructure of the Republic of Slovenia

  PhD in Civil Engineering, Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana Peter Gaspersic began his career in academia as a young researcher at the Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, where he had graduated and received a Preseren Award for Students for his undergraduate thesis. He also studied in the USA, where he examined the practical aspects of earthquake resistance of structures.

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ENERGY - TRANSREGIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

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  Eithne Treanor

  Managing Director, E.Treanor Media

  Eithne Treanor is a former international TV journalist and a professional conference moderator and facilitator. She runs a specialist media and communications training consultancy based in Dubai with a focus on energy, economics and development. 

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  George Chikovani

  Deputy Minister of Energy of Georgia

  Mr. George Chikovani, Deputy minister of Energy of Georgia has more than 15 years of experience with strong focus on the Georgian and regional energy sector. 

  Mr. Chikovani assisted the Georgian government in the national energy policy and strategy, market development and investment promotion. As a result of the projects that he actively supported Georgia has adopted new energy policy, transmission grid code, made several amendments to the Electricity and Natural Gas Law, implemented new electricity hourly nominations software, established Transmission System Operator and Market Operator, signed Cross Border Electricity Trading Agreement with Turkey, introduced Uniform System of Accounts and developed Ten Year Network Development Plan. 

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  David Tvalabeishvili

  General Director of Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation

  Mr. Tvalabeisvhili is General Director of Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation and has almost twenty years of experience with strong focus on Georgian enegy sector.

  Before becoming General Director of GOGC, in 2010-2011 he was working for United States Agency for International Development Mission Georgia as a Energy Project Manager.

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  Gary Jones

  BP Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey Regions

  Gary Jones is the Regional President for BP’s Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Region. In this role he is accountable for all of BP’s upstream activities in the Region. These include BP’s ca. 600,000bls/d oil (gross) and ca. 1060mmscfd gas (gross) exploration and production business. He is fully accountable for regional strategy, operating quality and relationships with governments and co-investing partners.

   

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  Bjorn Brandzaeg

  Chief Executive Officer, Clean Energy Group Georgia

  Mr. Bjorn Brandzaeg is a founder and CEO of Clean Energy Group, based in Oslo. Mr Brandtzaeg is also the CEO of Clean Energy Group Georgia, the project company for the development of the 433 MW Namkhvani HPP.  

  From 2011 until 2015, Bjorn was the CEO in AGL/KGL the project companies for the 187 MW Shuakhevi Project and the 115 MW Koromkheti Projects in Georgia.
   

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  Francis Malige

  Managing Director, Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, EBRD

  Mr. Francis Malige is the Managing Director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus for the EBRD.

  He has been based in Kiev since his appointment in 2014 and is responsible for leading the Bank’s operations and policy initiatives in Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
   

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DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY

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  Axel Threlfall

  Editor-at-Large, Reuters

  Axel Threlfall is Editor-at-Large, Reuters, based in London. Alongside his editorial duties, he hosts high-profile engagements and thought leadership events for and on behalf of Reuters and Thomson Reuters, such as the Newsmaker series and the World Economic Forum news programs in Davos. 

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  Giorgi Cherkezishvili

  Deputy Minister, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia

  Mr. Giorgi Cherkezishvili is a Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia since March, 2017.

  One of the direction under his responsibilities is  ICT&Innovations.

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  Brahima Sanou

  Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau (ITU-D)

  Mr Brahima Sanou has more than 35 years of experience in the telecommunication/ICT sector. He was elected Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) in 2010 and unanimously re-elected in 2014. 

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  Mr. Lawrence Meredith

  Director for Neighbourhood East, DG NEAR - European Commission

  Mr. Meredith has been Director for Neighbourhood East in DG NEAR in the European Commission since 1 December 2015.

  In 2015, he was Head of Strategy in DG NEAR, and led work on the European Neighbourhood Policy Review.

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  Deng Xiao Feng

  CEO of China Telecom Global Limited

  Mr. Deng Xiao Feng is the Chief Executive Officer of China Telecom Global Limited.

  Mr. Deng is a senior engineer. He graduated from the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications with a bachelor degree in radio telecommunications engineering, and received a MBA from South China University of Technology.
  
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  Vahan Martirosyan

  Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies of the Republic of Armenia

  Mr. Martirosyan is the Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies of the Republic of Armenia as of September 20, 2016.

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  Istvan Lepsenyi

  State Secretary for Economic Development and Regulation, Ministry for National Economy of Hungary

  Mr. Lepsenyi is a State Secretary for Economic Development and Regulation, Ministry for National Economy of Hungary.

  Previously he was a Chairman of the Supervisory Board  of KNORR-BREMSE Fékrendszerek.

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  Dr. Stefka Slavova

  Lead Economist, The World Bank

  Dr. Stefka Slavova is Lead Economist in the World Bank Group’s Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice and she is based in the World Bank’s Central Asia Regional Office in Almaty, Kazakhstan. 

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NEW GATEWAY FOR OPPORTUNITIES

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  Matthew Oresman

  Counsel, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman

  Matthew Oresman regularly works on front-page matters of critical importance to corporate and government clients. He is a Counsel in Pillsbury’s International Public Policy and Trade Practice and is based in the law firm’s Washington, DC and London offices.
   

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  Mamuka Bakhtadze

  Minister of Finance, Ministry of Finance of Georgia

  Dr. Mamuka Bakhtadze is a Minister of Finance of Georgia, since November 13, 2017.

  Prior to this position worked as a Chief Executive Officer of JSC Georgian Railway from April 1, 2013 until November 13, 2017. 
   

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  Abbas Akhoundi

  Minister of Roads and Urban Development of the Islamic Republic of Iran

  In the second term of office, Dr Abbas Akhoundi appointed as Minister of Roads and Urban Development in President Rouhani’s Cabinet on 19 August 2017 with 198 votes of confidence. 

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  Levan Akhvlediani

  CEO, Anaklia Development Consortium

  Mr. Levan Akhvlediani was appointed as the CEO of the Anaklia Development Consortium in September 2014, and has been involved in development its projects since mid-2013.

  He has 10 years of experience in corporate and project finance, and he has held senior leadership positions at various companies within TBC Holding, an affiliate of one of the largest Georgian banks, TBC Bank. 
   

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  Javid Gurbanov

  Chairman, JSC Azerbaijan Railways

  Mr. Javid Gurbanov has been the Chairman of “Azerbaijan Railways” CJSC since 2015.

  He was selected as deputy and member of the economic and political constant committee of the national Assembly of the Republic of Azerbaijan of the bases of 3rd and 4th call of electoral district number 123 form Kalbajar.

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  Maksat Kabashev

  Vice President of JSC NC Kazakhstan Railways

  Kabashev Maxat - Vice-president for Development in JSC "National Company" Kazakhstan Railways".

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MBA.

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  Andre Hempel

  General Manager, Trans-Eurasia Logistics GmbH

  Mr. Andre Hempel was born in October 12th, 1964 in Dresden. 

  After an apprenticeship as a freight forwarder, he completed an economic degree with a diploma in economics in Berlin. 

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  Zhang Hailin

  Executive Director, Rewin Finance

  Zhang Hailin has worked as financial experts in industrial business for over 20 years.

  He accumulated experience in both governments owned organizations and private ones, before he worked as the executive director of Rewin, he was the executive vice president of RATO which is a large engine manufacture enterprise with billion dollars of output value as well as million dollars of exporting every year.

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WELCOME SPEECHES

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  H.E. Giorgi Kvirikashvili

  Prime Minister of Georgia

  Giorgi Kvirikashvili is the Prime Minister of Georgia. Prior to becoming Prime Minister in December 2015, he served as Vice Prime Minister (2013-2015) while serving as Foreign Minister (2015) and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development (2012-2015). Kvirikashvili is leading the effort to modernize Georgia's economy and fully integrate the country into European and Euro-Atlantic economic and security structures.

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  Vazil Hudák

  Vice-President, European Investment Bank

  Mr. Vazil Hudák joined the European Investment Bank as Vice-President at the beginning of October, 2016.

  Prior to this office, he was appointed as the Chief Negotiator of the EU Budget during the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

  He has served as Minister of Economy of the Slovak Republic from 2015 until 2016.

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  Lu Jianzhong

  Chairman, SRCIC

  Mr. Lu Jianzhong graduated from Northwestern Polytechnic University with an Engineering Management Master’s degree. He is a recipient of the Special Government Allowances of the State Council as a national expert of China and a member of the Economic Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
   
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CAPTURE THE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES - Session I - INVESTING AND TRADING OPPORTUNITIES IN GEORGIA

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  Ian Burrell

  Media Consultant

  Ian Burrell is a UK-based Media Consultant. He is the former Assistant Editor and Media Editor of The Independent, based in London, where he worked for 20 years.

  He previously worked for the Sunday Times of London as an investigative reporter and for the ITV television network. 

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  Dimitry Kumsishvili

  First Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia

  Dimitry Kumsishvili is the First Vice Prime Minister of the Government of Georgia and the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development. 

  From November, 2016 to November 2017, Mr. Kumsishvili was taking a position of the Minister of Finance of Georgia.

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  David Saganelidze

  CEO, Partnership Fund

  Dr. David Saganelidze was appointed the CEO of the Partnership Fund in September, 2015. Before joining the Fund, Dr. Saganelidze was a leader of the Parliament majority representing the Georgian Dream Coalition, the country’s ruling party since 2012. David Saganelidze was appointed as a lawmaker in 2012 Parliamentary election. 

  Mr. Saganelidze has been in politics over 20 years. He has been an MP since 1999 and held leading positions at the Georgian Parliament. 

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  Irakli Gilauri

  Group CEO, BGEO Group

  Irakli Gilauri was appointed as an executive Director of BGEO on 24 October 2011 and has been re-elected by shareholders at each AGM thereafter.

  Mr. Gilauri has served as CEO of BGEO since his appointment in 2011, and was appointed as a Chairman of the Bank in September 2015, having previously served as a CEO of the Bank since May 2006. 

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  Zurab Gelenidze

  Acting CEO, Financial Director (CFO), Georgian Industrial Group

  Mr. Zurab Gelenidze was appointed as a Chief Financial Officer at Georgian Industrial Group on Novemebr 1st, 2013.

  2011 - 2013 Deputy Head of Corporate Business at JSC TBC Bank
  2010 – 2011 Deputy Head of Commercial Banking at HSBC Georgia
   

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  Taekwon Seo

  Vice CEO, JSC Nenskra Hydro

  Since joining Korea Water Resources Corporation, Mr. Seo has been involved in strategic planning and corporate finance area.

  He has started his overseas project career in 2005 and has developed 147MW Patrind Hydropower IPP in Pakistan, made an acquisition deal of  218MW Angat Hydropower Plant in Philippines and is developing 280MW Nenskra Hydropower project in Georgia. 

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  David Borger

  Vice President, Business Development, Silk Road Group

  Mr. Bogner is a Vice President, Business Development, of Silk Road Group since June 2003 Geneva, Switzerland.

  Core Competence: Solution-driven, analytical and entrepreneurial team-player and generalist with over 25 years of experience in consulting and business development with top international consulting firms. Responsibilities included advising boards of medium-sized and multinational companies and leading multinational teams of up to 20 people. 
   

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  Valery Vavilov

  Founder and CEO, Director of the Board, The Bitfury Group

  Mr. Valery Vavilov is the CEO and founder of The Bitfury Group – the world’s leading full service Blockchain company.

  Valery’s entrepreneurial experience and passion for Blockchain technology led him to found the company in 2011, when Blockchain technology was just beginning to capture the world’s attention and imagination. A native Latvian who experienced first-hand the challenges resulting from the collapse of the Soviet Union, Valery was inspired by Blockchain technology and saw an opportunity to build technological solutions that could improve the lives of people all over the world.

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CAPTURE THE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES - Session II - GEORGIA - REGIONAL FRONTIER FOR GLOBAL INVESTMENTS

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  Ian Burrell

  Media Consultant

  Ian Burrell is a UK-based Media Consultant. He is the former Assistant Editor and Media Editor of The Independent, based in London, where he worked for 20 years.

  He previously worked for the Sunday Times of London as an investigative reporter and for the ITV television network. 

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  Keti Bochorishvili

  CEO, JSC Anaklia City

  Counting 17 years of management experience including 7 years of her dedication to Georgia’s public sector as a senior executive, Ketevan has successfully served as vice minister of Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, under four consecutive leaderships of two democratically elected governments. 

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  Pankaj Birla

  Area Vice President - Eastern Europe, Marriott International

  Mr. Pankaj has worked for Marriott for over 20 years. After graduating from University in the US, Pankaj worked in various positions in finance on the West Coast and in Hawaii, before moving to his home country to open the first Marriott Hotel in Goa, India.

  While in India, mr. Pankaj also opened the first JW Marriott hotel and Renaissance hotel in India.  

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  Prashant Joshi

  Chief Executive Officer, Adjaristsqali Georgia LLC

  Mr. Prashant Joshi took over as CEO of Adjaristsqali Georgia LLC (AGL), a joint venture company between Clean Energy Invest (Norway), TATA Power (India) and IFC Infraventures in February 2017.

  As the time of his taking over as CEO, the Shuakhevi Hydropower Plant (HPP), one of the largest infrastructure investments in Georia, was nearing completion of the construction phase.

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  Richard Tollis

  Head of Project Finance and Infrastructure Group in EMEIA, EY

  Mr. Richard is the Partner leading EY’s EMEIA Infrastructure Team in the Transactions space and has more than 20 years’ experience advising the public and private sectors on M&A, privatisation, PPPs, fund design and raising debt and equity.

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  Flavia Palanza

  Director Lending operations in EU Neighbouring Countries, European Investment Bank

  Mrs Palanza, who holds a Master’s degree in Economics, joined the Bank in 1984.

  She has spent most of her career working in different regions outside the EU, initially as an economist in the Projects Directorate, and since 2001 in the Directorate for Lending outside the EU,

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  Bruno Balvanera

  Director for Caucasus Moldova and Belarus, EBRD

  Bruno Balvanera joined the EBRD in 1996; currently he is Director for Caucasus Moldova and Belarus, based in Tbilisi. His experience covers wide variety of sectors, countries and products.

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CAREC 2030: Connecting the Region for Shared and Sustainable Development

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  Safdar Parvez

  Director of Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division of the CWRD, ADB

  Mr. Safdar Parvez is currently the Director of Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division of the Central and West Asia Department (CWRD) of ADB. 

  Prior to CWRD, Mr. Parvez worked on corporate-level policy and strategy papers together with business processes related to ADB's country partnership strategies in developing member countries as a Principal Economist in the Strategy, Policy and Interagency relations Division of the Strategy and Policy Department (SPD). 
   

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  Dr. Mustafa Mastoor

  Acting Minister of Economy, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

  The career of Dr. Mustafa Mastoor spans a wide spectrum of public sector responsibilities for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Most recently in August 2017 he was appointed as Acting Minister of Economy.
  
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  Genadi Arveladze

  Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia

  Mr. Genadi Arveladze is the Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia. He has widespread experience in foreign trade and economics, serving as Georgia’s chief negotiator in number of free trade agreements’ negotiations. Mr. Arveladze has effectively contributed to the diversification and development of Georgia’s foreign trade. 

  A strong supporter of Georgia's association process to the European Union, Mr. Arveladze is coordinating implementation of Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area part of EU-Georgia Association Agreement.

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  Wencai Zhang

  Vice President, ADB

  Mr. Wencai Zhang is the Vice-President (Operations 1) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He joined ADB in December 2013. 

  Mr. Zhang is responsible for operations in the South Asia Department and the Central and West Asia Department. 

  Prior to joining ADB, Mr. Zhang was the Director General of the Department of External Economic Cooperation at the Ministry of Finance (MOF) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). 
   

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  Alain Pilloux

  Vice President, EBRD

  Alain Pilloux took up the position of Vice President, Banking on 15 November 2016. He has overall responsibility for the effective delivery of the Bank’s investment and advisory activities in the EBRD’s thirty six countries of operations, as well as contributing to the delivery of policy engagement activities. He is a member of the Executive Committee and other leadership fora.

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  Stefanos Fotiou

  Director, Environment and Development Division, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

  Stefanos Fotiou is an expert on sustainable development and environmental management and currently serving in the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) as the Director of the "Environment and Development" Division.

  Under his portfolio he is planning, coordinating and managing the work of UN-ESCAP on sustainable development, quality of growth, urbanization, natural resources management, climate change, and the post-2015 UN development agenda. 

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