Regional Economic Outlook for Central Asia and the Caucasus

How have countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus responded to COVID-19 and how are they planning to recover and rebuild? The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute invites you to the presentation of the International Monetary Funds' Regional Economic Outlook for Central Asia and the Caucasus, published on October 19, 2020. This important study offers a positive account of mitigation measures but cautionary words for the future. Our speaker was Dr. Subir Lall, Deputy Director, Middle East and Central Asia Department, International Monetary Fund. S. Frederick Starr chaired and moderated.

 When: Monday, December 21, 2020, 10 - 11 AM EST

The event was live-streamed on the CACI Facebook page and is now available on Youtube

 
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America's New Strategy for Central Asia: Is it Happening?

In February 2020, the U.S. released a new Strategy for Central Asia, subtitled “Advancing Sovereignty and Economic Prosperity.” Since then, the world has changed. How is this Strategy being implemented? This Central Asia-Caucasus Institute Forum discussion will focus on the concrete steps to implement America’s Strategy towards Central Asia.

Our guest speaker Lisa Curtis, Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for South and Central Asia at the National Security Council, The White House, discussed initiatives undertaken as part of the new strategy.  

This discussion was Moderated by: S. Frederick Starr, Chairman, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute.

When: Friday, October 16, 2020 at 10am EDT

The event was live-streamed on the CACI Facebook page and is now availabile on Youtube

 
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Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program
Silk Road Paper
July 2020

 

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The COVID-19 crisis represents not only an unprecedented economic disruption but also an opportunity for Central Asia. A specific economic policy response may trigger either game-changing reforms that can facilitate the development of full-fledged market institutions or lead to a protracted crisis that would jeopardize almost 30-year long market economy transition progress. As it is rather unclear where the recovery pendulum will make its final swing, the current situation provides fruitful soil for various assumptions. This paper proposes and examines four scenarios of economic response strategies for the region as a whole, and for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in particular, that result in unique development trajectories. The paper employs the foresight methodology to build four scenarios related to the situation after the lockdown is fully lifted. The scenarios serve the purpose of helping decision makers to embark on informed decisions while shaping anti-crisis measures and better understand causality mechanisms behind their policy choices.

Scenario 1 (Protectionist Autarky): Stability upheld, limited reforms, increased role of the state and protectionism.

Scenario 2 (Impactful Diversification): Increased social support, augmented role of the private sector, comprehensive diversification and enhanced regionalization.

Scenario 3 (Inertial Asymmetry): Selective support measures, inequality-conducive, restricted diversification and limited reforms, “business-as-usual” commodity market, growing regionalization.  

Scenario 4 (Unleashed Bazaar): Major institutional reforms, FDI-oriented economic openness, leapfrogging from stagnant to advanced emerging markets.

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Kazakhstan Beyond Headlines: One Year of Mr. Tokayev's Presidency

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has now been in office for a year, providing an opportunity to take stock of his time in office. This Forum will focus on the significant internal reforms announced during the past year. But President Tokayev has not only focused on internal affairs. As Foreign Minister two decades ago, he played an important role designing Kazakhstan’s foreign policy. The Forum will focus also on the evolution of Kazakhstan’s foreign and regional policy during his year as President.
 

Speakers: 

H.E. Yerzhan Ashikbayev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan

Ambassador Bolat Nurgaliyev, Deputy Chairman of Foreign Policy Research Institute 

Introduction by:

S. Frederick Starr, Chairman, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at AFPC 

Moderator:

Svante Cornell, Director, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute

When: Wednesday, July 8, 2020 at 10am EDT

The event was live-streamed on our Facebook page and is now available on Youtube.

 
Published in Forums & Events

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In lieu of our in-person annual gathering, the CAMCA Regional Forum organizers  are hosting a virtual e-CAMCA Week.

The June 2020 CAMCA Forum, to be held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, was postponed until June 2021. In its place, CACI and the Rumsfeld Foundation organized the e-CAMCA week of online events and publication. Find recordings of the e-CAMCA Week virtual events held over June 15th-19th at the CAMCA Forum YouTube Channel, as well a variety of original #CAMCAweek publications and resources for our CAMCA Forum community at www.camcaforum.org,. 

 

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CAMCA 2020 pic 2 

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E-CAMCA WEEK PUBLICATIONS

The Value of CAMCA 

A joint statement on the value of the CAMCA Regional Forum by three distinguished regional representatives: Amb. Tedo Japaridze, Sen. Sodyq Safoev and Amb. Hafiz Pashayev

Welcome Letter

Letter from Secretary Donald Rumsfeld

 and Dr. S  Frederick Starr for

e-CAMCA Week 2020 participants

Meet CAMCA Entrepreneurs

View features of some successful regional entrepreneurs from our CAMCA Network

"Caucasus & Central Asia Post COVID-19" Series- Volume I

The Strasbourg Policy Centre's Series brings together statesmen and scholars that reflect on how the current pandemic affects the economy and power distribution in the region bridging the Atlantic and the Pacific economies

Digital Transformation in the CAMCA Region

A jointly authored article by two CAMCA Network members - Mariam Lashkhi, Deputy Chairperson of Georgia’s Innovation & Technology Agency, and Talant Sultanov, Co-Founder of the Internet Society-Kyrgyz Chapter

Post COVID-19: Challeges & Opportunities for the Region

A comprehensive collection of brief commentaries on the short and long-term impacts – economic, political and social – of the COVID-19 pandemic on the CAMCA region.  Contributors to this unique publication include more than 20 experts and professionals from over 10 countries representing think tanks, business, academia, government and more.  Read these wide-ranging perspectives, including insights directly from the region, curated for our CAMCA Forum community.

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