World Economic Forum on Europe and Central Asia in Turkey to discuss financial turmoil

Geneva, Switzerland – The first World Economic Forum on Europe and Central Asia will be held from 30 October to 1 November in Istanbul, Turkey – a place which symbolizes the merging of continents and civilizations and remains the epitome of economic optimism.

This is the first regional meeting of the World Economic Forum since the beginning of the global financial crisis, which is now impacting real economies around the globe.

The theme of the meeting “Confronting Challenges in Defining a Collaborative Future” reflects more then ever the current state of affairs worldwide and the determination of participants to engage in a constructive dialogue to search for solutions to the current financial and economic crises and to define a path towards a future where the rules of the global playing field are altered. We will look at the crisis through the prism of a longer term view –the implications on the global financial architecture; which areas of the globe (Asia, Middle East, Central Asia) will be more relevant as power shifts from the West; and how the new regulatory environment will evolve.

The meeting programme will focus on five areas:
1. Business opportunities stemming from the crisis
2. Geopolitical moves and rebuilding confidence in political cooperation
3. Energy and resources security
4. Central Asia: redefining the framework of collaboration and its role in the world
5. Turkey and its leadership role in the region: bridging Europe, Asia and the Middle East

Nine heads of state/government, 21 ministers and over 40 other public figures confirmed their participation. The heads of state/government are Sali Berisha, Prime Minister of Albania; Igor Chudinov, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan; Milo Djukanovic, Prime Minister of Montenegro; Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey; Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani, Prime Minister of Pakistan; Vladimer Gurgenidze, Prime Minister of Georgia; Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan; Hashim Thaçi, Prime Minister of Kosovo; and Valdis Zatlers, President of Latvia.

The ministers include Ali Babacan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chief Negotiator of Turkey; Micheline Calmy-Rey, Federal Councillor of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation; Hüseyin Celik, Minister of National Education of Turkey; Nimet Çubukçu, Minister of State for Women’s Affairs of Turkey; Karel De Gucht, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium; Bozidar Djelic, Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration and Minister of Science and Technological Development of Serbia; Mehmet Mehdi Eker, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Turkey; Nazim Ekren, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Economic Affairs of Turkey; Vecdi Gonul, Minister of National Defence of Turkey; Mehmet Hilmi Güler, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey; Manouchehr Mottaki, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran; Armen Movsissyan, Minister of Energy of Armenia; Yerbol Orynbayev, Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan; Waldemar Pawlak, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Poland; Marat Safiullin, Minister of Economy of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation; Vladimir Shkolnik, Minister of Industry and Trade of Kazakhstan; Mehmet Simsek, Minister of Economy of Turkey; Tachberdi Tagiyev, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkmenistan; Kürsat Tüzmen, Minister of State for Foreign Trade of Turkey; Kemal Unakitan, Minister of Finance of Turkey; Hoshyar Zebari, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iraq.

Notes to the media:
Media accreditation is closed now. No media accreditation will be granted on the spot for those who did not register beforehand within the deadlines.

For more information about the World Economic Forum on Europe and Central Asia go to: http://www.weforum.org/EuropeandCentralAsia2008.
The programme: http://www.weforum.org/europecentralasia2008/programme
Interviews: http://www.weforum.org/europecentralasia2008/interviews
Webcasts (as of 1 November): http://www.weforum.org/europecentralasia2008/webcasts
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldeconomicforum/sets/72157608117748405/