A research associate of the Department of Science and Education of the Economic Scientific Research Institute (ESRI), Elsevar Latifli, attended the training for trainers. From the 26th to 28th of January 2023, he completed successfully the second phase of the regional training of trainers on free trade agreements under the regional technical assistance project titled "Strengthening knowledge and capacities for the design and implementation of free trade agreements involving CAREC member countries", implemented under the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation ("CAREC") program of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). During the training, topics such as development of experienced professionals in the aforementioned direction in the CAREC Program Member Countries, strengthening their knowledge and capacities and application of the acquired knowledge and capacities in each individual country were discussed. At the same time, the views on the results of the 1st phase of the training were exchanged at the event.
The international consultants, together with the experts from the ADB and the CAREC Institute, conducted the training in two phases: the first phase took place online with video lectures and the second phase was in the form of interactive seminars. It is expected that the training will produce a new group of competent experts in each of the beneficiary countries who can support the capacity building efforts of the CAREC program and serve as a resource for the governments during the preparation for future Free Trade Agreement negotiations.
The seminar was delivered in the form of three different interactive assignments, allowing participants to apply the knowledge acquired in the first (online) phase of the training. Mikhail Janelidze, Senior Lead in Trade Policy at PMCG, Simon Lacey, expert from the same company, Alexey Kravchenko, expert on economic issues of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), ADB Principal Regional Cooperation Specialist, Zulfiya Karimova, ADB economist Pramila Kivelli and experts of the CAREC Institute, Rovshan Mahmudov and Gulam Samad presented their opinions to the teams after each assignment.
