Georgia : Silk Road Forum

Project Name

Silk Road Forum

Project Number

53311-001

Country / Economy

• Georgia

Project Status

Closed

Project Type / Modality of Assistance

• Technical Assistance

Source of Funding / Amount

TA 9784-GEO: Silk Road Forum

Source	Amount
Technical Assistance Special Fund	US$ 150,000.00

Strategic Agendas

• Inclusive economic growth
• Regional integration

Drivers of Change

• Governance and capacity development
• Knowledge solutions
• Private sector development

Sector / Subsector

• Agriculture, natural resources and rural development / Agro-industry, marketing, and trade

• Energy / Large hydropower generation - Renewable energy generation - wind

• Finance / Banking systems and nonbank financial institutions - Infrastructure finance and investment funds

• Industry and trade / Large and medium industries - Trade and services

• Transport / Multimodal logistics

Gender

No gender elements

Description

This Technical Assistance is proposed to support Georgia's government to organize and hold a Silk Road Forum (the Forum) planned for 22-23 October 2019 in Tbilisi, Georgia. The Forum's goal is to: (i) discuss ways to enhance regional cooperation through cross-border transport and energy connectivity, trade facilitation and commerce along the Silk Road; (ii) help coordinate transport infrastructure investments and policy interventions aimed at achieving uninterrupted flow of goods through Silk Road corridors; and (iii) stimulate regional trade and commerce by identifying investment opportunities and facilitating business-to-business meetings and public-private dialogue.

The Forum will be opened by the Prime Minister of Georgia and is expected to attract about 800 high-level government officials, private sector stakeholders, representatives of development partner institutions, business associations, and other relevant organizations from ADB member countries. The Forum will consist of several moderated sector panels attended by high profile guest speakers and business-to-business meetings. During the Forum, the information on investment opportunities in Georgia will be disseminated through thematic panels and the investment catalogue to be distributed to the participants.

The government has requested ADB to mobilize necessary financing in an expedited manner to meet the funding gap and to ensure preparatory activities for the Silk Road Forum planned for 22-23 October 2019 are undertaken in a timely manner. The proposed TA falls under the capacity development and policy advice categories given that the Forum will serve as a venue for knowledge sharing and dialogue among ADB's developing member countries.

Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy

Starting from early 90s, the concept of reviving the Silk Road, a historical trade route extending from Asia to Europe, has been gaining increasing importance among the countries in the Asia region. The route is a natural economic corridor that can play important role in the process of both improving Asia's connectivity to the global economy and accelerating the economic integration within the region. Major initiatives put forward in the past to help facilitate this vision of Silk Road include the international Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA), initiated in 1993 as European Union TA program; the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation program (CAREC), launched in 2001 with support from ADB; and the Belt and Road initiative announced by the government of the People's Republic of China in 2013.

Georgia, a part of the Silk Road, has been rediscovering the advantages of its geographic location after the break-up of the Soviet Union. Since its independence in 1991, the country's successive governments have supported the idea of reviving the Silk Road trade route through active participation in various international initiatives aimed at improving connectivity and facilitating uninterrupted flow of goods and services through Georgia. Important regional projects implemented in Georgia during the last two decades include extension of oil and gas pipelines from Azerbaijan and Central Asia to global markets through Georgia; construction of new power transmission lines allowing for regional power trade; launching of BakuTbilisiKars railway, a regional rail link that completes a transport corridor linking Central Asia and People's Republic of China to Europe; and ongoing expansion of the strategic East-West highway connecting the land locked-countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia to Georgia's Black Sea ports.

As efforts continue to bring Georgia's transport and energy infrastructure to modern international standards, Georgia also aspires to firmly place itself within the global value chain, logistics networks, power trading mechanisms and tourism routes by becoming a regional transport, logistics, energy and tourism hub. Georgia's location at the crossroads of Asia and Europe and free trade regimes with the People's Republic of China, European Union, Turkey, and most of the countries within the Commonwealth of Independent States, provide significant opportunities for Georgia to become an important regional trade hub. ADB is well-positioned to support Georgia's aspiration through ongoing investments in Georgia's transport and energy sectors and technical assistance. ADB is among Georgia's largest development partners and is currently extending support to rehabilitate and upgrade the strategic East-West and South-North road corridors. The East-West highway is a natural continuation of CAREC's corridor 2 linking People's Republic of China, Afghanistan and the countries of Caucasus and the Central Asia to European markets and beyond. The North-South highway links Georgia and Armenia to Russia.

Georgia, with ADB's technical support and participation, has initiated and successfully implemented three important regional forums, which brought together more than 2,000 delegates from more than 60 countries representing both public and private sectors. The Georgia Investment Forum, Silk Road Forum, and Tbilisi Belt and Road Forum were held in Tbilisi in October 2014, October 2015 and November 2017 respectively. Transport infrastructure development, cross-border trade facilitation, energy trade, and investment opportunities in Georgia were among the key topics of presentations, discussions and business-to-business meetings. CAREC strategy 2030 was presented and discussed at a panel chaired by Vice President, Operations 1 during the Belt and Road Forum. As the result, Georgia has established itself as a facilitator and host for important international forums dedicated to regional cooperation and cross-border trade and investment.

By extending further technical assistance for the proposed Silk Road Forum in Tbilisi, ADB will support Georgia as a venue for policy makers, private sector, development partners and other stakeholders to discuss the ways to deepen regional cooperation along the Silk Road through improved transport and energy links, trade facilitation, and cross-border investment. Such support would be fully aligned with the current Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) 2014-2018 and the draft 2019-2023 CPS, both of which emphasize Georgia's strong potential as a regional trade and logistics hub and importance of ADB assistance for materializing such potential.

Impact

Economic engagement between Georgia and ADB-member countries in Asia Increased.

Project Outcome

Description of Outcome

Information about investment opportunities in Georgia disseminated internationally.

Progress Toward Outcome

Implementation Progress

Description of Project Outputs

Silk Road Forum held.

Status of Implementation Progress (Outputs, Activities, and Issues)

Geographical Location

Nation-wide

Summary of Environmental and Social Aspects

Environmental Aspects

Involuntary Resettlement

Indigenous Peoples

Stakeholder Communication, Participation, and Consultation

During Project Design

During Project Implementation

Business Opportunities

Consulting Services

The TA will support recruitment of an international consulting firm with expertise in international conference outreach activities, sector experience in the areas of regional cooperation in cross-border transport, energy connectivity and trade facilitation, as well as knowledge of Georgia's economic profile and business climate. The firm will carry out the following activities: (i) Conducting effective research and outreach to identify and invite high profile moderators and speakers for the panels of the Forum; (ii) developing program and synopsis for the 5 panel sessions of the Forum; (iii) developing the content for the official Forum website; and (iv) preparing a Silk Road Forum report, which shall include Forum descriptions, analysis, lessons learned and key recommendations to the government and ADB for future reference. A national individual consultant with event management experience will be recruited to: (i) Coordinate on site performance of event management firm engaged by Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development (MOESD) for preparatory activities for the Forum; (ii) assist MOESD and ADB in procuring goods and services necessary for the Forum and ensure conformance with ADB's procurement policy and regulations and rules related to placement of ADB insignia and other ADB references on banners and print materials; and (iii) coordinate panel schedules and logistics during the Forum sessions and oversee the process of removal and storing of Forum installations, including banners, posters, screens etc. and smooth hand-over of the Forum venues. The firm will be recruited through Single-Source Selection method (SSS). SSS was selected given that the consulting assignment is estimated at below $50,000 and there is urgency to recruit the consultants by early August 2019 to start preparatory activities for the Forum. A national individual consultant, with inputs of 3 person months, will be recruited on a competitive basis, to coordinate the preparatory activities. ADB will engage the consultants and carry out procurement following the ADB Procurement Policy (2017, as amended from time to time) and its associated staff instructions.

Procurement

The TA will cover the cost of procurement of goods, including participant bags, banners, posters, print materials, rental of lighting systems, floral decorations, video shooting and live streaming services. The TA resources will be disbursed following ADB Technical Assistance Disbursement Handbook (2010, as amended from time to time).

Contact

Responsible ADB Officer

Kiziria, George

Responsible ADB Department

Central and West Asia Department

Responsible ADB Division

Georgia Resident Mission (GRM)

Executing Agencies

Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia

Timetable

Concept Clearance

-

Fact Finding

15 Jul 2019 to 16 Jul 2019

MRM

-

Approval

07 Aug 2019

Last Review Mission

-

Last PDS Update

11 Sep 2019

Funding

TA 9784-GEO