The Strategy Den

It’s been a while….

admin — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 09:43:09 +0000

Kazakhstan-built Tractors still in service

I’ve been busy running the Regional Economic Cooperation Project for USAID/Central Asia since I returned from India. The project is putting on some big trade facilitation events over the next couple of months. More hard-hitting analysis of how to implement economic reforms, global climate change and all things multilateral, financial and Central Asian to follow…

Morning Delhi Street Scene

USAID Central Asia's Export Partnership Initiative

Awesome Antonov Flight from Dushanbe to Bishkek Last Year

admin — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 16:37:03 +0000

Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program

admin — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 07:44:12 +0000

A colleague and I wrote remarks for the the ADB CAREC Senior Officials Meeting in November 2011. He delivered our remarks while I sureptitiously filmed on my Dell Streak 5. I am an enthusiast of the ADB’s CAREC program as it has been reasonably effective at getting Central Asian countries to discuss economic cooperation issues: trade facilitation and policy, transport and power sector development. Approximately $2o billion in infrastructure investments will have been made within the cadre of CAREC by 2020.

Efforts at regional cooperation and economic integration move slowly in Central Asia. Some countries appear openly hostile to these concepts with political decisions taking precedence over those certain to increase the wealth of citizens of CAREC member countries. The Regional Trade Liberalization and Customs Project that I managed for USAID until the project’s close in September 2011 worked with public organizations like customs services, ministries of trade and associations of freight forwarders and logistics service provides. We created a lot of research on trade facilitation and trade policy matters. Hopefully, these considerable intellectual output of the project will continue to be available online. I collaborated closely with CAREC and other donors like the World Bank and GiZ in the implementation of this project, as well as with enthusiastic Central Asians in the public organizations. There are many angles of pushing regional economic cooperation in Central Asia that are possible such as integrated border management, facilitating supplier/customer relationships between Central Asian firms, pre-customs data exchange and implementation of transit cargo regimes between countries. Single Window systems are necessary to decrease the cost and time for moving goods across borders.

When I get to the office on Monday, I will continue working on new projects that collaborate with Central Asian businesses to help them network and find solutions to export-related problems. These include finding and booking lower cost transport services, finding trade financing, developing joint ventures with CAR businesses. These efforts will result in new customer/supplier relationships among Central Asian firms, stronger trade support organizations, joint ventures and new investment.

The competitiveness of partner firms will improve.

USAID’s Impact Blog

admin — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:05:32 +0000

The picture of the week is from a project Serdar and I designed about two years ago for Turkmenistan. Now, calves are being born. My boss still takes the piss due to the project focus being artificial insemination and greenhouses. He arrived at post after the whole project piece for plugging farmers into agricultural processors had to be dropped for lack of funding. Oh well, AI and greenhouses are working well…

Some press on USAID’s Regional Trade Liberalization and Customs Project

admin — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:34:47 +0000

I saw this press release from Kazakhstan’s Center for Trade Policy Development concerning the Regional Trade Liberalization and Customs Project. I managed this project until it ended in September. This was USAID’s most significant trade facilitation activity in Central Asia over the past five years.

My Twitter feed is intlstrategy

admin — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 02:58:21 +0000

Please subscribe.

The EurAsEC Customs Union of Belarus, Russia and Kazakstan.

admin — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 03:42:55 +0000

I was cited by a journalist in one of the online Central Asian business journals. My prose is likely much more elegant in Russian, but the writer got the point.

The OECD/WTO Aid for Trade Report

admin — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 08:25:30 +0000

$40 billion spent by donors on Aid for Trade. Success stories can be found in the report from the OECD here.

Berlin News

admin — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:17:10 +0000

My brother’s latest article in the Guardian.

Minister Kelimbetov at the World Economic Forum

admin — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 10:57:26 +0000

An attempt to inbed a video of Kazakhstan’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade Kelimbetov from Bloomberg.