World Bank Regional Director for Infrastructure for Europe, Central Asia to feature in Tbilisi Silk Road Forum

Charles J. Cormier, the Regional Director for Infrastructure for Europe and Central Asia at the World Bank, will feature in the fourth edition of the Tbilisi Silk Road Forum, set to run in the Georgian capital between Thursday and Friday. 

Cormier will participate in a panel discussion titled Meaningful Connectivity Enabler for Global Growth and set to be led by international moderator and journalist Nisha Pillai.

The Forum will be opened by prime ministers of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Montenegro in a ceremony at Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre. 

High-ranking representatives of the governments of European and Asian countries, vice-prime ministers and ministers of economic profile will participate in panel sessions. Representatives of the diplomatic corps and international bodies, including financial and donor organisations, will also feature.

Up to 2,000 delegates from 60 countries will attend the Forum to discuss global economic challenges, ways to solve them, and aspects and perspectives of cooperation for connectivity. 

Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili on Monday said the large number of participants of the Forum indicated that Georgia and its economic trends were “interesting for many countries”.

Davitashvili said this year’s theme for the Forum was Connecting Today Resilient Tomorrow.

Connectivity - this topic has been relevant in recent years. Due to the geopolitical situation, when more attention is paid to Georgia's transport and logistics potential in the world, the main topic of the forum is connectivity”, he said.

Davitashvili said dozens of representatives of leading companies from countries of the South Caucasus, the Persian Gulf, the United States and China would participate in the Forum, while “leading journalists” from the BBC, Bloomberg and DW would moderate panel discussions.

The Ministry of Economy said 10 sessions would be hosted on the first day of the Forum, with day two used for discussion of Georgia's investment opportunities and B2B meetings.

Founded by Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, the first edition of the Forum was hosted in Tbilisi in 2015.