JCC holds its Annual Flagship Conference on Central Asia & South Caucasus in Geneva
Historic developments and openings are changing the Caucasus and Central Asia regions. The pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and now the logistics crisis in Red Sea has led to the development of alternative routes across the Caspian Sea for trade and transit. In parallel, the greater Caspian region is becoming a nexus of increased interest for investment. While there is a lot of inter-regional economic movement, the potential exists for further expansion.
Against the backdrop of these developments, Joint Chamber of Commerce Switzerland-Eastern Europe, Central Asia, South Caucasus (JCC) held its annual flagship conference on “Doing Business in Central Asia and the South Caucasus” at the Hotel President Wilson, Geneva in partnership with JTI.
After a welcome by Dorit Sallis, Managing Director, JCC, Ambassador Andrea Rauber Saxer, Head, Bilateral Economic Relations Division, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) presented Switzerland’s policies in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, and the activities of the Swiss government to create favorable conditions for Swiss companies to do business in the region. Two panels moderated by Philippe D. Monnier, President, Swiss International Society, addressed the opportunities and challenges to regional trade & investment and examined possible solutions.
The first panel brought together H.E. Mr. Kairat Sarzhanov, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Switzerland; Murat Seitnepesov, President, Greater Caspian Association; Henrik Eklund, Vice President, MEA and Eastern Europe, Burckhardt Compression and Christophe Lachat, Senior International Sales Manager MEA&I, Central Asia, Victorinox. In a second panel, the audience heard from H.E. Mr. Omar Sultanov, Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic to Switzerland; Ramunas Macius, Vice President for Fiscal Affairs and Anti-Illegal Trade, JTI; Nikolaus Kohler, Regional Managing Director ME /Central Asia, M&M Militzer & Münch AG; Jürgen Helmle, Director, Business Development Switzerland, LeverX and Andreas Ragaz, Co-Director, SECO Start-up Fund (SSF). In a closing statement, Ambassador Tatiana Molcean, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe highlighted the value of regional cooperation and what UNECE is doing through SPECA to foster greater connectivity between Europe, Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
The overall conclusion of the conference was that complexity between countries should be reduced and the area managed as a regional bloc. More investment in energy corridors, logistics infrastructure and capacity, as well as digital connectivity, can turn the Greater Caspian Region into a more seamless web of interactions, reducing trade barriers and enhancing the overall competitiveness of these two regions. It would, thus, gain further relevance as a reliable partner for Europe and make it an attractive and stable hub for European trade and investment.
