World Economic Forum Strategic Dialogue on the Future of the South Caucasus and Central Asia

The countries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia have made significant strides since they emerged from the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Energy-rich Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan have registered double-digit growth rates and used the proceeds to invest in physical infrastructure. Others, like Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic, have also made progress in developing market economies and state institutions.Twenty years into the transition, much has been achieved in a region rich in natural resources and human capital. But can even its wealthier countries proceed at the same pace without more regional cooperation? And could their less well-endowed neighbours make faster progress through greater integration? Finding answers to these questions is the subject of an intensive 18-month process of dialogue launched by the World Economic Forum Strategic Dialogue on the Future of the South Caucasus and Central Asia in Baku, Azerbaijan, on7-8 April 2013