“Anchoring the New Silk Road, Linking Three Seas:
Caspian, Black Sea and the Adriatic”
September 26-28, 2013
Draft Agenda
TheSilk Road:a historical network of interlinking trade routes that connectedEast,South, andWestern Asiawith theMediterraneanandEuropeanworld, as well as parts ofNorthandEast Africa.
The New Silk Road: an international web and network of economic and transit connections between Asia and the West, by building more rail lines, highways and energy infrastructure, upgrading the facilities at border crossings and removing the bureaucratic barriers and other impediments to the free flow of goods and people. The New Silk Road, as well as the Old one, is about connectivity and communication. It should be a superhighway built of both iron - and fiber optic cables.
Day one
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Plenary Sessions:
9:00-10:00 Official Opening: Building the New Silk Road: The Promise of a Trade and Investment Corridor (on the record, open to press)
Setting a vision and plotting a course for the Western anchoring of the New Silk Road; a sense of priorities; setting common overarching objectives for the region.
10:00-11:30 Out of the Maze: Transatlantic and Eurasian Security for the Next Decade (on the record, open to press)
The region will remain a linchpin of European and Eurasian security, being still affected by significant conflicts and security challenges. US- Russian relations remain burdened by serious divisions on issues like the SMD; what division of labor in the region?
11:30-11:45 Coffee Break
Parallel Panel Sessions:
11:45-13:00 Making the New Silk Road: Challenges for US, Europe and Eurasia(on the record, open to press)
EU-US cooperation posts the American Asia-Pacific rebalancing; different strategic ambitions; setting a vision & course for the Western anchoring of the New Silk Road.
11:45-13:00 Powering the New Silk Road: A Comprehensive Energy Agenda for Eurasia (on the record, open to press)
11:45-13:00 Access to Markets: How Transport Infrastructure Improves Trade and Investment in the Black Sea (on the record, open to press)
The panel aims to discuss the importance of transport infrastructure and linkages to economic growth and development while creating an open dialogue on economic trends of transport infrastructure in the Black Sea region.
13:00-14:30 Lunch
21:45 – 23:54 Bucharest Forum Fireside Chat Sessions (by invitation only, off the record, closed to press)
1. Frozen Conflicts, Lost Opportunities: Mapping Fractures and Seeking Opportunities in the Political and Economic Geography of the Region
2. Post Vilnius: What future for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy (ENP) and the Eastern Partnership (EAP)
3. The Matrix of Success: How to Measure Investment Potential in the New Silk Road Countries?
4. Silk Road and EU Growth Perspectives: European Strategic Investment in the Region
Day two
Friday, September 27, 2013
8:15-9:00 Bucharest Forum Breakfast Debates: The Voice of the Region - How Can Media Contribute to a New Silk Road Community? (off the record)
Plenary Sessions:
9:15-10:30 Silk Threads: An Infrastructure Investment Agenda for the Region (on the record, open to press)
This agenda is to include both physical infrastructure (ports, LNG facilities, roads, railroads, pipelines) and virtual: information hubs, mercantile exchanges, trade delegations etc. Investment protection; common priorities & conditions for economic development and a rapid expansion of regional trade infrastructures.
10:30-10:45 Coffee Break
10:45-12:00 Talking to Russia: Overcoming Obstacles to the US and EU Reset Policies (on the record, open to press)
What role for Russia? How does Russia see a Western New Silk Road strategy? A New Black Sea Political Agenda: Beyond Bloc Dynamics. Overcoming frozen conflicts; a complex timeline for the countries in the region; a possible agenda for collaborative diplomacy.
Parallel Panel Sessions:
12:00-13:00 Financing Economic Stability and Development: Building a Financial Logic for the New Silk Road (on the record, open to press)
What are the main obstacles to trade & investment in the region? How can the legal and institutional barriers be overcome?
12:00-13:00 Skilled Workforce for a New Silk Road Space of Economic Development (on the record, open to press)
Educating Silk Road boards and workforce: bringing jobs, developing and keeping technically skilled individuals and companies; a digital economy perspective for Eurasia.
12:00-13:00 Bringing Commerce and Manufacturing Back at the Heart of the Silk Road (on the record, open to press)
What role for manufacturing in the region? Trade networks and infrastructures; stock and commodities exchanges for the New Silk Road, bilateral and regional trade facilities; industrial policies nationally and across the region.
13:00-14:30 Networking Lunch (off the record, closed to press)
21:45 Bucharest Forum Fireside Chat Sessions (by invitation only, off the record, closed to press)
1. Turkey’s Regional Ambition: A Promise or a Stumbling Block?
2. Can Trade Displace Energy in the New Silk Road Set of Priorities?
3. Strategic Stability in the Tri-Seas Area: NATO Post-Afghanistan
4. The End of Empires and the Emergence of Trade Guilds
Day three
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Plenary Session
9:00-10:15 The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Negotiations and the New Silk Road: How will EU-NAFTA Negotiations Impact the Region? (on the record, open to press)
A complex, difficult and uncertain process; the momentous implications of an integrated space for free trade that encompasses over a billion people and almost a third of global trade and half of the world’s GDP; the impact for Eurasia: both an opportunity and a reason to actively envisage its positioning.
10:15-10:30 Coffee Break
Parallel Panel Sessions:
10:30-11:45 Connecting Seas: What Role for the Region’s Ports in the Context of Global Trade? (on the record, open to press)
The role of ports at the Adriatic, Black Sea, Caspian, in Eastern Mediterranean and western US coast in linking the NSR to a global. Security, economic, environmental and healthcare considerations necessary for the investment in port facilities in the tri-seas area (including those required by natural gas, containers etc.); competition on the emerging trade routes vs. increased cooperation between the ports. A strategic approach to bring about important private and public sector decisions.
10:30-11:45 Quality of Life on the Silk Road: Regional Healthcare Approaches (on the record, open to press)
Cost issues, accessibility and feasibility of large scale investment increasingly require cross-border and regional cooperation in areas like medical training, use of facilities, specialization etc. What are the needs of the region and what can technology bring to the table?
10:30-11:45 A Gate to the Levant (on the record, open to press)
The New Silk Road has always connected Asia and Europe but also the heart of Asia to the Levant. Current monumental challenges like Iran’s relations with the West; the division on how to solve the Syrian conflict but also regional dynamics around Cyprus, Israel-Turkey, Azerbaijan-Iran etc. create serious difficulties for economic relations and flows in the region. What role can a dynamic East-West economic corridor play in shaping EU’s role in the greater Middle East?
11:45-12:00 Coffee Break
Plenary Session
12:00 – 13:00 Supporting Leadership and Constructing a Common Vision: Culture, Education and the Media Shaping Regional Perspectives
Launch of the Regional Branch of the Global Women’s Leadership Initiative (on the record, open to press)
Constructing the post Post-Cold War perspective in Eurasia; women decision- makers; urban networks; academic networks.
13:00-13:30 Conclusions and Suggestions for Follow-up (on the record, open to press)
13:30 Closing Reception for the Forum (off the record, closed to press)