Since it launched in 2019, the Blue Dot Network has provided a new angle to the current spree of global infrastructure development. What the Blue Dot Network intends to bring to the table is a trusted means of certifying the costly infrastructure projects that seek to revolutionize the rhythms of global commerce. With its goals of bringing together stakeholders from the private and public sectors to establish a shared framework for quality and market-driven global infrastructure ventures, the Blue Dot Network has the potential to help the Caspian region build a broad set of partners around the world. As the Network grows and becomes more defined, understanding it may be crucial to navigating the world of infrastructure investment and international development.

The Caspian Policy Center and the United States Agency for International Development, in collaboration with the Embassies of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan, will bring together senior officials from the U.S. Department of State, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and ministerial-level representatives from the Caspian region to discuss economic policy and infrastructure development implications of the Blue Dot Network. The discussion will cover the Blue Dot Network’s development since its inception and how it might grow in the future to address infrastructure needs in the Caspian region. 

09:00 – 9:05   Welcome remarks – Efgan Nifti, Chief Executive Officer,Caspian Policy Center

09:05 – 09:10  Keynote address – Javier Piedra, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Asia, USAID

09:10 – 10:25  Panel discussion and Q&A session

Moderator:

• Dr. Kaush Arha, US G7 Sherpa for Blue Dot Network, USAID

  Panelists:

• J. Steven Dowd, U.S. Executive Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
• Caleb McCarry, Counselor to the Chief Executive Officer, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation
• Abdul Hadi Nejrabi, Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé D’affaires, Embassy of Afghanistan to the UnitedStates
• Emil Majidov, Adviser to the Minister of Economy, Azerbaijan
• Husniyya Mammadova, Head of Department of Economic Cooperation and Development, Ministry of ForeignAffairs, Azerbaijan
• Giorgi Tsikolia, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Georgia to the United States
• Anar Omarova, Advisor to the Governor of Astana International Financial Center, Kazakhstan
• Amina Turgulova, Advisor to the Governor of Astana International Financial Center, Kazakhstan
• Ilhom Umrzakov, Head of Macroeconomic Policy, Analysis and Forecasting Department, Ministry ofEconomic Development and Poverty Reduction, Uzbekistan
• Ambassador (Ret.) Robert F. Cekuta, Caspian Policy Center
• Senior Policy Representative from Turkey

10:25 – 10:30   Closing remarks