Be Not Afraid of Growing Slowly, Just of Activists Seeing Your Agenda

Last week, the American-Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce boasted on its website that it was upgrading its annual American-Uzbek Business Forum in light of positive developments in bilateral relations:

Due to the positive developments during the recent Annual Bilateral Consultations between the Governments of the United States of America and the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Uzbek Government has decided to substantially increase its level of participation at the AUCC Annual Business Forum. The Uzbek delegation to the Republic of Uzbekistan will be led and represented by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Elyor Ganiev, who will attend the events organized by the AUCC and its members.

The AUCC provided an upbeat perspective on its own role and the need to keep moving:

The AUCC members hope that the U.S. - Uzbekistan Annual Business Forum will strengthen our countries’ understanding of the urgency and importance to engage more at the commercial, political and other levels. As they often say it in the East: Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid of only standing still. The AUCC members are confident that our nations dialogue on furthering bilateral cooperation will continue and the AUCC stands ready to be used as an impetus and a vehicle for letting it grow.

What followed then on the same page -- last week -- was a detailed agenda for the September 28 meeting and a list of all the speakers and their topics.

Evidently after learning of a planned picket by labor and human rights groups outside the venue, the AUCC removed the agenda from their website.

But you can still see partial evidence of it in the Google cache page preview:

Partial View of Agenda Removed from AUCC Website
...and we saved a copy:


PROGRAM

2011 U.S.-UZBEKISTAN ANNUAL BUSINESS FORUM
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2011
HOTEL W, WASHINGTON DC, USA

9.15 AM
Registration and Breakfast

9.30 AM
American-Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce: Welcome Remarks
Carolyn B. Lamm, Chairman
American-Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce

9.40 AM
Republic of Uzbekistan: Welcome Remarks
Elyor Ganiev, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan - Minister of Foreign Affairs

10.00 AM
United States of America: Welcome Remarks
Susan M. Elliott, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia
U.S. Department of State

10.15 AM
Report from the 2011 United States – Central Asia Trade and Investment Council Meeting
Jonathan Ward, Director for South and Central Asia
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

10.30 AM
U.S. Government Resources for Doing Business
Danica Starks, Senior Caucasus and Central Asia Policy Advisor
Office of Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce

10.45 AM
Coffee Break

11.00 AM – 12.00 PM
INVESTING IN UZBEKISTAN: INDUSTRY CASE STUDIES AND SUCCESS STORY
Moderated by Shukhrat Vafaev, Managing Director
Fund for Reconstruction and Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan

11.00 AM
Prospects for Developing Uzbekistan – American Investment Cooperation and Navoi Free Industrial Economic Zone: Opportunities to Produce High-Tech Products for Exports
Davron Dadakhanov, Head of the Department
Ministry for Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade

11.15 AM
Uzbek Oil and Gas Sector: Prospects for Bilateral Cooperation
Djurabek Mirzamakhmudov, Deputy Chief of the Main Directorate
Uzbekneftegas National Holding Company (Uzbek Oil and Gas)

11.30 PM

Presentation by the Main Sponsor of the Event
NUKEM and NMMC: Reliable Supply of Uranium to Western Markets for 19 years
Tim McGraw, Executive Vice-President
NUKEM, Inc.

11.45 PM
Uzbek Chemical Industry: Prospects for Bilateral Cooperation
Khamidilla Shermatov, Chairman
UzChimProm State Company (Uzbek Chemical Industry)

12.00 PM
Lunch

1.00 PM – 2.15 PM
AUCC MEMBERS: U.S BUSINESSES AT THE FOREFRONT OF PROMOTING BILATERAL TRADE AND INVESTMENTS
Moderated by Tim McGraw, AUCC President

1.00 PM
CNH in Uzbekistan
Stuart Campbell, Business Director
Case New Holland

1.15 PM
GE’s Perspective on Doing Business in Uzbekistan
George A. Pickart , Director of Global Government Relations for GE Energy
General Electric Company

1.30 PM
Caterpillar and Zeppelin; Reliable Partners for Growing Uzbekistan’s Economy
Tom Moran, Consultant
Zeppelin International AG

1.45 PM
Uzbekistan and Honeywell: 20+ Years of Partnership
Art Simonetti, Vice President
Honeywell

2.00 PM
GM Uzbekistan: A Partnership For Success
Arturo Elias, VP International Government Relations & Public Policy
General Motors

2.15
Coffee Break

2.30 PM – 3.45 PM
UZBEK, U.S. & INTERNATIONAL BANKING, FINANCIAL AND POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS: ECONOMY, BANKING, ENERGY AND SECURITY
Moderated by Dr. S. Frederick Starr. Co-moderated by Tim McGraw, AUCC President

2.30 PM
The Three Poles of Uzbek-American Relations and Where They Are Pointing
Dr. S. Frederick Starr, Chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program Joint Center
Johns Hopkins University

2.45 PM
Uzbekistan at 20: A Time for New Approaches
Dr. Martha Olcott
Senior Associate
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

3.00 PM
Economic Outlook for the Central Asia Region, Including Uzbekistan
David Owen, Deputy Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department, International Monetary Fund

3.15 PM
Banking and Financial Sector of the Republic of Uzbekistan: How the Fund Can Help U.S. Investors
Shukhrat Vafaev, Managing Director

Fund for Reconstruction and Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan
3.30 PM

Development Opportunities and Challenges for Middle Income Economies
Takuya Kamata
Country Manager, Uzbekistan
The World Bank

3.45 PM
Conclusion & Discussion

4.00 PM
End of the Annual Business Forum

6.30PM
Gala Reception hosted by the Uzbek Embassy
1746 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20036

***

Susan Elliott, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central And South Asia, was schedule to speak, (although was not listed on the public schedule today at State).