Panel sessions 2023
Ali Asadov
Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Dritan Abazović
Prime Minister of Montenegro
Ghida Fakhry
International broadcast journalist
Irakli Garibashvili
Prime Minister of Georgia
Nikol Pashinyan
Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia
Roberta Casali
Vice-President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Main topics:
Stronger Open Trade Policies Enable Economic Growth for All
Digital trade becoming more inclusive
Re-thinking sustainability in global supply chains
Emergence of the Middle Corridor as a viable route for East-West trade
Andrew Verity
Economics Correspondent for BBC News
Elnur Aliyev
First Deputy Minister of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Genadi Arveladze
Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia
H.E Ambassador Lazăr Comănescu
Secretary General of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
H.E. Ambassador Erin Elizabeth McKee
USAID Assistant Administrator for the Bureau of Europe and Eurasia
H.E. Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi
Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Minister in charge of Talent Attraction and Retention of United Arab Emirates
H.E. Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi
Secretary General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf
Tomislav Momirović
Minister of Internal and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Serbia
Main topics:
Incumbent and safe digital financial infrastructure as status quo
Increasing the role of fintech in connecting the world
Shift from competition to collaboration through implementation of cross-border regulatory regimes
Cross country collaborations around issuing Stablecoins (Central Bank Digital Currencies – CBDC)
Aaron Heslehurst
Presenter, BBC WORLD NEWS
Audrius Lučiūnas
Co-founder and board member at Paysera
Frederik Gregaard
CEO of the Cardano Foundation
James Wallis
Vice President, Ripple
Pat Patel
Executive Director, Elevandi
Vlad Martynov
Head of the Ethereum Competence Center
Main topics:
Potential of the Middle Corridor and possibilities for attracting more traffic flows
Tools and instruments for transport infrastructure financing
Current actions and future plans for transport corridor digitalization
Role of the Middle Corridor in advancing green agenda
Enver Iskurt
Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic Turkey
Ghida Fakhry
International broadcast journalist
Ilkham Makhkamov
Minister of Transport of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Kitack Lim
Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO)
Levan Davitashvili
Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia
Rashad NABİYEV
Minister of Digital Development and Transport of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Satzhan Ablaliyev
Vice-Minister of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Umberto de Pretto
Secretary General, International Road Transport Union (IRU)
Main topics:
The new reality of tourism - preferences and consumer behavior that are shaping the industry
Innovation and digitalization in Tourism - improving travel experience and promoting sustainable tourism
Partnerships for tourism development
Investment opportunities and financing tools for tourism
A New dawn for Aviation - Recovery and Sustainability
Haysam Fahmy
Vice President, Head of Marketing Services: Africa, Middle East & Eastern Europe Mastercard
Jeyhun Efendi
Senior Vice President Commercial Operations & Ecommerce, Fly Dubai
Mariam Kvrivishvili
Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia
Monika Jones
Deutsche Welle, TV News Anchor
Natalia Bayona
Executive Director, UNWTO
Philippe Merlo
Director of the European Green Sky Directorate, EUROCONTROL
Zurab Pololikashvili
Secretary General, UNWTO
Main topics:
Challenges of current geopolitical reality
Black Sea Submarine Cable – Modern Silk Road
Clean Energy Technologies – backbone of a carbon neutral world
Role of hydrocarbons in the energy mix and Cross border trading prospects
Elnur Aliyev
First Deputy Minister of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Elnur Soltanov
Deputy Minister of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Hakob Vardanyan
Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Republic of Armenia
Laura Buckwell
Event Host, Moderator and Broadcast Journalist
Lionel Rapaille
Director, EIB Global
Patrick Avato
Regional Upstream Lead, Infrastructure, Europe at IFC - International Finance Corporation
Péter Szijjártó
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary
Romeo Mikautadze
First Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia
Main topics:
Future of regional cooperation for development of meaningful connectivity
Ensure safe and secure open access to connectivity networks
Enabling environment for meaningful connectivity
The role of submarine cable networks and data centers for the meaningful connectivity
Digital Skills – inclusiveness, access to information and digital knowledge for all
Role of AI in transformation of ICT industry
Charles J. Cormier
Regional Director for Infrastructure for Europe and Central Asia at the World Bank
Ekaterine Guntsadze
Deputy Minister of Finance of Georgia
Gevorg Mantashyan
First Deputy Minister of High-Tech Industry of the Republic of Armenia
Konstantinos Masselos
Chair of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC)
Marjan Osvald
Deputy Director General of the UPU International Bureau
Nisha Pillai
International Moderator and journalist
Nomura Eigo
Director-General for International Affairs, Global Strategy Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication of Japan
Tomas Lamanauskas
Deputy Secretary General, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Main topics:
Need of resilient maritime sector and long term policy strategy
Response to shocks and stressors facing the maritime industry nowadays and expectations to evolve/change over the next decade
How shipping and supply chains could be more efficient, resilient, smart and greener?
Sustainability – IMO GHG strategy, EU Green deal
The role of private sector to drive positive change
Abdikerimov Gaidar Serikalievich
General Secretary of the ALE "IA" TITR ", PhD
Adrian George FOGHIS
Secretary of State, Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of Romania
Lizzy Burden
UK correspondent at Bloomberg TV
Nevillen Robert Bissett
Group Chief Executive Officer, QTerminals WLL
Nurzhan Marabayev
General Director of SEMURG INVEST LLP
Tamar Ioseliani
Chairperson at Supervisory Board, Anaklia Sea Port
Tzvetelina Borislavova
Chairwoman of Board of Directors and CEO of Clever Synergies Investment Fund; Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board of Bulgarian American Credit Bank
Main topics:
Policy decisions that boost investments in economies
Mitigate challenges and capitalize on opportunities in attracting FDI
Georgia’s success story, what lead to record high FDI
Alexander Benard
Co-Head of Cerberus Frontier and Senior Managing Director, Cerberus (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
Archil Gachechiladze
CEO, Bank of Georgia
Giorgi Tsikolia
Regional Director, Lineate
Jose Enrique Bofill
Regional Director MENA-Asia, FCC Aqualia
Melinda Crane
Senior Political Analyst at Deutsche Welle TV
Prakash Kejriwal
Director, Indorama Group
Richard Teng
Head of Regional Markets, Binance
Stefan Liniger
Co-founder, Conduct
Yann Guinard
Vice-President Central & Eastern Europe EDF INTERNATIONAL DIVISION