Astana Economic Forum 2016: New Economic Reality

Astana, Kazakhstan, 25 May 2015/PRNewswire/ – The Astana Economic Forum 2016 is to take place in Astana, Kazakhstan on May 25-26. The theme of the AEF - "New economic reality: diversification, innovation and knowledge economy" - is related to global changes in the world determined by the development of a new economic reality and a number of challenges in geopolitics, the economy and financial systems.

This year AEF is organized by the Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan, the “Economic Research Institute” JSC, and the "Economic Initiatives Fund of Kazakhstan" CF.

The Forum will host 20 events which are focused on four main subthemes: global economy, economic diversification, innovation and technology, and knowledge economy.

AEF 2016 expects 3,000 delegates, including renowned politicians, international economists, Nobel Prize winners, heads of international organizations and representatives of influential media to attend.

The Regional Conference of the International Monetary Fund chaired by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, who visited Kazakhstan for the first time, was held on May 24.

The AEF 2016 starts with the "Future Energy: Global Trends and Technologies" session where participants discuss scenarios of global energy development till 2050; "The End of Hyperglobalisation" session organized by the Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee; and the "Kazakhstan Investment Summit" organized jointly with international magazine The Economist.

The Kazakhstan Privatization Forum co-organized by international publisher The Financial Times will take place on May 26. Being the new item on the AEF agenda, the session will identify new investment opportunities in key sectors of Kazakhstan’s economy. The “Regional Think Tank Summit” and the “Great Silk Road Countries” sessions will also be held on May 26.

The Forum’s closing event will be the Plenary Session, which, for the first time, will be held in the Kazakhstan Central Concert Hall. The plenary session will be opened by the President of Kazakhstan N.A.Nazarbayev and will be attended by renowned experts, politicians, heads of the largest financial institutions and international organizations, and Nobel Prize winners. Among them are: Jack Ma, founder of the AliBaba Group; Suma Chakrabarti, EBRD President; Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and one of the most influential economists in the world according to The Economist; Daron Acemoglu, Professor of Economics at MIT, bestselling author; and Roberto Azevedo, WTO Director-General.

The AEF partners: UN, OECD, World Bank, IMF, EBRD, ADB, Secretariat of Boao Forum for Asia and others.

For general queries or further information about the AEF please e-mail [email protected] or visit www.forum-astana.org