This report was prepared in the Eurasia Division of the OECD Global Relations and Co-operation Directorate (GRC), under the overall direction of Mr Andreas Schaal, Director of the OECD Global Relations and Co-operation and with the thorough review of Mr William Tompson, Head of the OECD Eurasia Division. The report was supervised by Mr Grégory Lecomte, Senior Policy Analyst and Head of the Central Asia Unit, and co-ordinated by Ms Céleste Laporte Talamon, Policy Analyst, OECD Eurasia Division.
The lead author of the report is Ms Céleste Laporte Talamon. Ms Mariia Vakulik, Mr Egor Polishchuk and Ms Mariam Chkhikvadze, Junior Policy Analysts in the Eurasia Division, made significant contributions to the work. Ms Anna Chahtahtinsky, Programme Administrator, Ms Jolanta Chmielik, Resource Management Advisor and Ms Elisa Larrakoetxea, Project Administrator in the OECD Eurasia Division, provided unfailing administrative, logistical and editorial support. Ms Blanche Lambert, cartographer and founder of AB Pictoris, designed the regional and country maps present in the report.
The project would not have been possible without the continuous support of, and dialogue with, representatives of government, the private sector, business associations, development partners and other stakeholders across the region.
In Kazakhstan, the OECD is particularly grateful for the support of Ms Aizhan Bizhanova, First Vice-Minister of Trade and Integration, Mr Nurlan Kulbatyr, First Deputy Director General of QazTrade, and Ms Ainur Tleuova, OECD Local Consultant. Mr Alexander Tatianin, Associate Director, Infrastructure at the EBRD, Mr Roman Mogilevskii, Senior Economist at the ADB and Ms Aizhan Beiseyeva, CLDP Transport Expert and Deputy Chairperson of the Central Asia Transport and Logistics Partnership provided valuable analytical insights.
In the Kyrgyz Republic, the OECD is grateful for the support of former Deputy Minister of Economy and Commerce of Sanjarbek Bolotov and Mr Alymbek Kalykov from the same Ministry. Mr Azamat Akeneev, OECD Local Consultant conducted the private-sector interviews and Ms Gulnara Uskenbaeva, President of the Association of Distributors, Producers and Importers provided useful insights to the findings.
In Tajikistan, the OECD is grateful for the leadership of First Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade Ashurboy Solekhzoda. Ms Nilufar Bulbulshoeva, provided analytical support and undertook the data collection. Ms Larisa Kislyakova, Chair of the Central Asia Transport and Logistics Partnership (TLP) provided constructive feedback to the findings, and Ms Veronika Grushevskaya, OECD Local Consultant, was pivotal in facilitating OECD dialogue with the government.
In Turkmenistan, the work was made possible thanks to Mr Daniil Maykovskiy and Mr Ata Seydov from MCT Agency and contributions from the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the former Agency for Transport and Communications under the Cabinet of Ministers. Mr Eric Livny, Head of the EBRD Office in Turkmenistan, provided invaluable inputs to the work. Ms Svetlana Bairamova of the EU Delegation to Turkmenistan played a key role in facilitating OECD work on the ground.
In Uzbekistan, the OECD is grateful to a wide range of partners, notably Mr Aleksey Sim and Mr Tengiz Asanov, respectively Head and Deputy Head of the Investment Climate and Ratings Department at the Ministry of Investments, Industry and Trade. Ms Gulchekhra Nasirlaeva, Ms Malika Namazova and Ms Samina Musaeva from Makon Consulting proved instrumental in the data collection process. Ms Asel Uzagalieva, Component Manager of the Trade Facilitation in Central Asia Project at GIZ, provided valuable inputs to the report.
Thanks are also due to Ms Elena Boutrimova, Chief of the Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Ms Adelina Harunjen, Associate Trade Facilitation Officer, Ms Silva Yerznkyan, Senior Programme Officer, and Ms Maria Usatenko, Programme Officer from the International Trade Centre (ITC), for the continued co-operation under the EU Prosperity Programme in Central Asia. Ms Tatiana Rey-Bellet, Director TIR and Transit, and Mr Vadim Zakharenko, General Delegate, both from the International Road Transport Union (IRU), shared their insights on the digitalisation of trade procedures.
The private sector played a pivotal role in refining the analysis. Beyond the 150 firms who responded to the OECD survey, Ms Vasilisa Dzehtsiarenka, Chair of the Board, Clever Logistics, Ms Oxana Sorokina, Managing Director at Seven R, Mr Stefan Muntoiu, Business Development Manager at Jan de Nul, Mr Elshan Zeynalov, Regional Director of Alstom for Azerbaijan, Georgia, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, Mr Maruf Djumaev, Sales and Commercial Director at CMA CGM in Uzbekistan, Ms Meerim Usubalieva, Director at Caravan Logistics, Mr Alexei Petrov, CEO at Roemer Silk Road, and Mr Adrien Henni, Vice-President Finance and International Development at IBC Global, deserve special mention for their extensive contributions to the analysis.
The OECD would also like to thank the Central Asian embassies in Paris for their support throughout the project, in particular Mr Askar Abdrakhmanov, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Kazakhstan to International Organisations in Paris; Mr Yerzhan Nessibkulov, formerly Counsellor at the Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Kazakhstan to International Organisations in Paris; Mr Ruslan Bekbolotov, First Secretary of the Embassy of the Kyrgyz Republic in France; Mr Burhon Mirzoev, Counsellor at the Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan in France; Mr Merdan Ergeshov, Third Secretary at the Embassy of Turkmenistan in France; and Mr Otabek Ungbaev, former Economic Counsellor at the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in France.
The present report was greatly improved by the numerous comments received from colleagues within the OECD. We are particularly grateful for the review and comments from Ms Peline Atamer, Senior Policy Analyst and Head of the Sustainable Infrastructure and Green Growth Unit in the OECD Global Relations and Co-operation Directorate, Mr Yaroslav Kholodov, Policy Analyst and Modeller at the International Transport Forum, Ms Enxhi Tresa, Trade Policy Analyst in the OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate, Ms Marzena Kisielewska, Head of Division and Mr Umur Gökçe, Economic Advisor, both in the South-East Europe Division of the OECD Global Relations and Co-operation Directorate.
Finally, this work would not have been possible without financial support of the European Union under its EU Prosperity Programme in Central Asia. In particular, the OECD is grateful to the five Delegations of the European Union based in Central Asia, including Ms Aleška Simkić, Ambassador of the European Union to Kazakhstan, Ms Julia Bañeres Rovirosa, Programme Officer at the Delegation of the European Union to Kazakhstan, Mr Hans Farnhammer, Head of Co-operation, and Mr Bakyt Aituganov, Programme Manager, at the Delegation of the European Union to the Kyrgyz Republic, Ms Beata Pęksa, Ambassador of the European Union to Turkmenistan, Mr Borislav Dimitrov, Programme Manager at the Delegation of the European Union to Turkmenistan, Ms Isabel Uriz Hernandez, Head of Co-operation, and Ms Karine Olislagers, Programme Manager, at the Delegation of the European Union to Tajikistan and Mr Wim Riepma, former Head of Co-operation, and Mr Elbek Khodjaev, Programme Manager, at the Delegation of the European Union to Uzbekistan, for their valuable support and interventions during workshops in all Central Asian countries, and for the feedback they provided on the draft report during bilateral consultations. In particular, the OECD would like to thank Mr Johannes Baur, Head of Co-operation, and Ms Ewa Zukowska, Programme Manager, at the Delegation of the European Union to Kazakhstan.