On January 27-29, 2019, the Emerging Markets Forum was held in the commune of Gerzensee in the canton of Bern, Switzerland. The theme of the Forum was devoted to the influence of the “Belt and Road Initiative” (hereinafter BRI), which was announced in 2013 by the People’s Republic of China on the countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

The forum was attended by 59 people, including representatives of international organizations, research institutions, financial organizations, former and current civil servants from the USA, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Japan , India, Germany, France, Belgium and Switzerland.

Senior Researcher of the Center for China Studies Y. Zhanseitov took part in the Forum on behalf of the CF NAC, speaking at the 3rd session with the report of the Chairperson of NAC A. Aitzhanova “The Belt and Road Initiative: Case of Kazakhstan”.

The Forum consisted of 8 sessions during which issues of further development of the BRI initiative were discussed, the impact the BRI on individual Central Asia and South Caucasus countries in particular, and on the region as a whole. Representatives of the abovementioned countries presented reports on the implementation of the BRI initiative in the respective countries. As a general characteristic in the affected countries, with the exception of the Kyrgyz Republic, we can note the lack of available information on projects implemented under the OPOP, as well as their effectiveness.

By the conclusion of the Forum, the following recommendations can be noted: the governments of the regional countries should conduct a thorough preliminary profitability assessment of the BRI projects. Regional cooperation should be strengthened in order to increase the efficiency of the projects. It is also necessary to create institutional infrastructure for the Central Asian countries.