Connecting Eurasia Rail and Ports Forum Agenda

Turkey Events Connecting Eurasia Rail and Ports Forum Agenda

Connecting Eurasia:  Smart Ports and Rail Forum   

Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia - April 27, 28, 29, 2021

April 27, 2021 

Opening Remarks 
09:00-09:50 (16:00 Turkey time, 17:00 Azerbaijan and Georgia) 

  • Heather Byrnes,  Minister Counselor & Regional Senior Commercial Officer, U.S. Department of Commerce 
  • David M. Satterfield, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, U.S. Embassy Turkey 
  • Kelly C. Degnan, U.S Ambassador to Georgia, U.S. Embassy Georgia 
  • Natia Turnava, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development,  Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia
  • Lee Litzenberger, U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan, U.S. Embassy Azerbaijan 
  • David De Falco, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Europe and Eurasia, U.S. Commercial Service 

Railways Market Overview
09:50-10:35

  • David Peradze, CEO, Georgian Railway JSC
  • Alessandro Mascis, Vice President Electronics & Digital Sales, Wabtec         

U.S. Smart Rail Technologies
10:35-11:25

Moderated by: Mike Rush, Senior Vice President for Operations and Safety, The Association of American Railroads (AAR)  
Panelists:

  • David Milla, Director of Contract Administration, Globalstar  
  • Frederick Ronse, Founder, Chief Evangelist, Globalstar/Ovinto
  • Jim Trogdon, Principal Transportation Consultant, SAS
  • Alessandro Mascis, Vice President Electronics & Digital Sales, Wabtec

Questions & Answers
11:25–11:35


April 28, 2021

Opening Remarks
09:00-09:05    (16:00 Turkey, 17:00 Azerbaijan and Georgia time)
Heather Byrnes, Minister Counselor & Regional Senior Commercial Officer, U.S. Commercial Service 

Ports Market Overview
09:05-09:50

  • Tamar Ioseliani, Director, Maritime Transport Agency of Georgia (TBC)

U.S. Smart Ports Technologies
09:50-10:55     

Moderated by: Dave Matsuda, Principal, Matsuda Associates
Panelists:

  • Patrick King, Vice President, Jacobs
  • Medha Rahman, Director for Ports & Maritime, Jacobs
  • Meena Shah, Sales Engineer, Navis
  • Robert Rosenberg, President & CEO, NTELX  
  • Ian Williams, Director, Eurasia Sales, Rapiscan 

Questions & Answers
10:55–11:05


April 29, 2021 Financing of Rail and Ports Investments 

How Governments and Businesses can work with Multilateral Development Banks
08:30-09:30    

Moderated by: Danica Starks, Senior U.S. Commercial Liaison to the World Bank & Head of DOC Multilateral Development Bank Group, U.S. Department of Commerce 
Panelists:

  • Asian Development Bank (ADB) – TBD 
  • Sule Toplu Kilic, Deputy Head, Turkey, Sustainable Infrastructure and Energy, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) 
  • Catarina Bjorlin Hansen, Regional Director, Caucasus, EBRD
  • Sebastian Molineus, Regional Director for the South Caucasus (IBRD)
  • Karla Carvajal, Transport Practice Manager for the Europe and Central Asia Region, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) 

Questions & Answers
09:30-09:45

US Government Project Planning and Financing Tools
09:45-10:45

Moderated by: Andrea Berton, Commercial Attache, U.S. Department of Commerce 
Panelists:

  • Kenneth J. Angell, Managing Director, Project Finance, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)
  • Cheryl Conlin, Director of Rail Finance, Senior Loan Officer, Transportation Division, Export-Import Bank of The United States (U.S. EXIM Bank) 
  • Carl Kress, Regional Director, United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA)

Questions & Answers
10:45-11:00

×

Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

Privacy Program | Information Quality Guidelines | Accessibility