Fifth North and Central Asian Multi-stakeholder Forum on Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals

Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is the Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Formerly, she was Professor of Economics at Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia, where she also served as a Director for the Center for Sustainable Development Goals Studies, as well as Vice Chair of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences. Prior, she was the Minister of National Development Planning and the Head of National Development Planning Agency in Indonesia, alongside being the Alternate Governor of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank representing Indonesia.

H.E. Muhammetgeldi Serdarov is a Minister of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan since July 2020. From August 2019 to July 2020, he worked as Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan. Mr. Muhammetgeldi Serdarov is the World Bank Governor, National Сoordinator of EU Technical Assistance to Turkmenistan, National Focal Point for Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program (CAREC). Mr. Serdarov graduated from the Turkmen State Institute of Transport and Communications, Transport Economy and Management Faculty in 2000 and received a degree in Engineering Economics.

Gwi-Yeop Son began her career in Haiti, assisting HIV/AIDS patients with the non-governmental organization. She then worked with the Country Women’s Association of Nigeria, focusing on microfinance schemes. In 1994, Ms. Son was posted to Somalia as a Programme Officer with the United Nations (UN) Development Programme (UNDP), marking the beginning of an 18-year period with UNDP. After two years in Somalia, she worked in various other locations including Lao PDR, Timor-Leste during the pre-independence period, Indonesia during the first democratic elections and Tsunami 2004 period. She was also posted in New York to serve as a Programme Adviser on Afghanistan and as OCHA’s Director of Corporate Programmes. In OCHA, she was responsible for organizing the World Humanitarian Summit and provided direct oversight over work on communications, information services, policy development and humanitarian financing including the CERF and the country based pooled funds. Ms. Son took up her assignment as the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in August 2018 until August 2020. Subsequently, she assumed the Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia with the Development Coordination Office.

His Excellency Muratbek Imanaliyev currently works as a Director of the Centre for Foreign Policy Analysis at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic. Previously he served as a Secretary General of the SCO, Minister of Foreign Affairs, ambassador to People’s Republic of China and adviser of Russian Federation embassy in PRC. He is Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Dr. Rafis Abazov is an honorary director of Ban Ki-moon Institute for Sustainable Development, Almaty, Kazakhstan. Dr. Abazov also serves as a regional director for the Model UN New Silk Way (MUN NSW) Programme and a co-director for the Global Hub of United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) program on sustainability (2012-2019). He was elected as an elected member of the Committee on Innovations and PPP at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) 

A passionate networker helping other professionals and business people establish and maintain new business relationships by creating a unique networking strategy. UMAY Global Head. Founder and CEO at "PIPL" Networking Bureau​. Ambassador for Central Asia and CIS at Women's Entrepreneurship Day​. MA Development Management and Development Studies at University of Westminster​ ​

Main area of professional expertise and activities are related to mainstreaming climate change adaptation and mitigation into national development plans and strategies. Prior to joining CAREC, Mr. Makhmudov served as the Head of the Project Implementation Unit at the Committee for Environment Protection under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, where he coordinated projects on natural resource management at all levels of their implementation, including project development, structuring, negotiation, execution and monitoring, carried out in close cooperation with a number of international development partners, donor community and multilateral development banks by providing access to climate and environmental funds supported by the National Coordinator. The portfolio of implemented projects included the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience in Tajikistan “Environmental Land Management and Improving Livelihoods in Rural Areas” and “Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Aral Sea Basin”.

Dr. Amson Sibanda is the Chief of the National Strategies and Capacity Building Branch, in the Division for Sustainable Development Goals, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Prior to his appointment in January 2020, he was the Chief of the Social Policy Analysis Section in the Division for Inclusive Development, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Dr. Sibanda has published widely on African demography, migration and employment, children's schooling, fertility trends, HIV/AIDS, child marriage, household structure, poverty and inequality.

Caitlin Porter is the senior Voluntary National Review (VNR) advisor at ESCAP where she provides technical and strategic support to countries developing their VNR.  Caitlin has a background in governance, strategic planning and intergovernmental processes. Prior to working with ESCAP she worked with the government of Timor-Leste as the strategic team leader and lead writer for the 2019 Timor-Leste VNR. She has also worked with UNDP, European Commission, and international NGOs.  She holds a master’s in governance from the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex.

Bakytgul Khambar is providing expert and analytical support for building an integrated national financing system in the Republic of Kazakhstan. She served as Deputy Director of the Center for Strategic Development and Economic Research before working as Director of the Center for Strategic and Competitiveness Research/Center for Strategic Research and Sustainable Development. Bakytgul is also an independent expert of the National Center for Scientific and Technical Expertise and JSC "Science Fund". She has co-published 2 monographs: “New model of state planning in the Republic of Kazakhstan,” 2010, and “Evaluation of the effectiveness of the implementation of state programs,” 2009.

 Tamar Iakobidze is a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist and SDG Focal Point with the Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN). Her work includes leading projects’ monitoring and internal evaluation as well as coordinating SDG-related activities of the organization. Previously, Ms. Iakobidze has worked with the Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) in analysis and project management, serving as their Public Policy and Participation Direction Lead. She has also worked as an invited lecturer at the International Black Sea University (IBSU). Ms. Iakobidze holds MSc in Policy Studies (University of Edinburgh) and a BA in Political Science (Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University).

Arman Bidarbakhtnia is the head of Statistical Data Management Unit at UNESCAP-Statistics Division. Arman’s areas of research and professional interest include measures for human development, survey methodology, and micro-econometrics. Prior to joining UN, Arman worked as survey statistician at Statistical Centre of Iran (SCI).

Meirgul currently oversees the education program implementation, including activities related to strengthening education policy, planning and monitoring to provide equitable and quality lifelong-learning in Central Asia as well as strengthening competences through Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship Education, including through capacity building of education policy-makers, teachers, learners, etc. Before joining UNESCO, she worked in CSO focused on youth and think tank dealing with education policy.

Bibigul Assylova is a Vice-Minister of Education and Science Republic of Kazakhstan. Ms. Assylova has a degree in Economics from the Kazakh State Management Academy. Prior her current role, she held various management positions in the Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning, Ministry of FInance, Ministry of Labour and Social Protection dealing with social policies budgeting issues.

Ivelina Borisova is UNICEF’s Early Childhood Development Advisor (ECD) for the Europe and Central Asia Region. In this role she is leads the regional priorities on early childhood development and is responsible for regional technical assistance to 22 countries offices. Prior to this, Ms Borisova was UNICEF’s global lead in the area of early childhood education (ECE). She was responsible for global strategy development, advocacy and partnerships in the area of ECE, aimed at achieving equitable access to quality pre-primary education by 2030. Prior to joining UNICEF, Ms Borisova was the Director of Impact and Innovations for ECD at Save the Children, managing a broad portfolio of global initiatives, innovations, and regional multi-donor funds. Ms Borisova has rich field experience across many regions and countries. She is a national of Bulgaria and she holds a Doctorate in Human Development and Education from the Harvard University.

Thomas Radinger is a policy analyst with the OECD Early Childhood Education and Care team. He has most recently worked on Starting Strong VI on policies to support meaningful interactions in ECEC, the second volume of TALIS Starting Strong, an international survey of the ECEC workforce, and a country policy review of Ireland. At the OECD since 2012, Thomas also worked on school resource and evaluation and assessment policies and the development of an interactive website.

Gaukhar Kiikova is an independent expert on Early Childhood Development (MA), Head of the Institute of Childhood OYNA and a researcher. She has co-authored the Model of Development of Preschool Education of Kazakhstan (2020) and the new version of the State Standard of Preschool Education and Care (2021). Currently, Gaukhar is working on the National Study of Quality of Preschool Education and pursuing her Ph.D. at Nazarbayev University.

Since 1996 Aigul has been working in the preschool education system. She worked as an educator, head of a kindergarten, a leading specialist of the Education Department of Bishkek, a chief specialist of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic. In 2016-2018, she worked for the international organization Save the Children in a preschool education project. Since 2019, she has been working as a teacher at the Department of Preschool Education of the Bishkek Pedagogical College named after Tashtan Ermatov and as a UNICEF consultant.

Dr. Anna Cristina D'Addio is an Economist by background and has worked as a Senior Policy Analyst in the GEM Report team at UNESCO since March 2017. Prior to this position, Anna worked at the OECD on a comprehensive list of issues ranging from financial education and literacy, inequality, poverty, to social policy. She holds a Ph.D. in Quantitative Economics and Doctorate in Public Economics from the University of Pavia.

Author of republican educational projects, including ITeachMe, Leader Z Compass and many others, which help participants acquire digital skills and their first work experience in the intellectual labor market.

Aziz Soltobaev is an expert in information technologies, private equity, and venture capital, Mr. Soltobaev actively promotes entrepreneurship in Kyrgyzstan and the region by giving guest lectures in leadership and entrepreneurship, providing trainings, and participating in different startup events. He also advises policy makers on economic reforms. Mr. Soltobaev holds a BA in Economics from the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek (1999) and is active in the AUCA Alumni Association. He is also a founder of KG Labs Public Foundation, which aims to spur startup entrepreneurship in Central Asian countries.

Diana Koroleva (PhD) currently serves as Director of the Laboratory for Educational Innovation Research at Institute of Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow, Russia). Koroleva scholarly interests include implementation and diffusion of innovations in education including digitalization process. Diana Koroleva is a creator and director of the Education Innovation Competition (KIVO). Diana has an experience working as a consultant for the World Bank, OECD, Russian Ministry of education and various government and nongovernment organizations.

Nargis Azizova, Intergovernmental partnership, Normative and Knowledge Management Specialist, UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECA RO) Economist. Prior to commencing her work in a position at ECA RO in 2018, UN Women, Nargis worked for more than 15 years at the United Nations in various capacities as UNDP Assistant Representative, UNIFEM/UN Women Gender and Governance Advisor in Tajikistan, UN Women manager for the interagency regional migration programme. Prior to joining the UN, Nargis for more than 10 years worked at the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of Tajikistan. Nargis led preparations for B+25 regional and sub-regional reviews in 2019 and for other intergovernmental processes on GEWE.

Malinka Koparanova is Senior Social Affairs Officer and Gender Focal Point at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). She coordinates the work related to gender mainstreaming in UNECE and leads the Special Programme of the Economies in Central Asia on Gender and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She conducts and coordinates research and policy analysis on development issues and gender, including women’s economic empowerment and entrepreneurship development; facilitates intergovernmental meetings, conferences and workshops with a strong component of capacity building. She has previously worked as economist at the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) of the UN, monitoring and reviewing the economies in Europe and Central Asia. She has a Ph.D. in Economics and has published books and articles on globalization, capital markets, structural changes, trade, FDI and most recently on women entrepreneurship.  

Akma Basirova is an experienced social entrepreneur, Founder of public fund aimed at protecting mothers' rights "Aq Alem" since 2019. She has 20 years of experience in managing positions and owns successful cleaning company. She has been numerously engaged in public and government initiatives to support women entrepreneurship. Her commitment and contribution to build inclusive and just society has been acknowledged by the Government of Kazakhstan and peer civil society organizations. Currently she serves as a Founder and Chairwoman of "Anadan Qasiet" Association. 

Yevgeniy Son is an expert in small and medium business support and international development with 15 years of experience in international organisations such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and the International Red Cross. A certificate from the Institute of Project Management (USA) confirms professionalism in project management. Graduated from The Graduate Institute of Geneva with a Master in Development Policies and Practices. Today Yevgeniy is the Coordinator of the EBRD Women in Business Programme in Kazakhstan. 

Rimma Sabayeva has more than 12 years of experience with UNV in different positions (2008-2020), contributed towards UNV’s national, sub-regional and regional programme development, partnerships building and volunteer mobilization in Kazakhstan and Central Asia region; engaged with development of new strategic partnerships including the launched UNV Full Funding Programme by Kazakhstan, adoption of the National Volunteerism Law and other initiatives for development of the volunteer infrastructure. She started her professional journey in the UN from the UNDP Finance Kazakhstan in 2008. Before joining the UN she was working in management positions with local universities and private sector. Educational background: Master’s Degree in Education and the Bachelor’s degree in Economics.

Dr. Katinka Weinberger is the Chief of Environment and Development Policy Section (EDPS) in UNESCAP. As Chief of EDPS, she provides leadership in formulating and coordinating ESCAP's response to the 2030 Agenda.  Before joining EDPS she was the Head of the Centre for Alleviation of Poverty for Sustainable Agriculture (UNCAPSA) and before that worked in different scientist positions within the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). A Socioeconomist by training, her professional interests include the integration of the environmental, social and economic dimensions of policies, especially in the context of rural development and food systems. She has more than twenty years of experience in research for development, has been involved in empirical field research in collaboration with national and international partners in Asia and the Pacific and across Africa, and authored more than 80 publications.

Sanjay K Srivastava, Ph D (Applied Physics), is presently Chief of Disaster Risk Reduction at UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). He was ESCAP Regional Adviser on Disaster Risk Reduction from Oct 2009 to June 2014; Head of SAAARC Disaster Management Centre – New Delhi from 2007-2008; Deputy Project Director of Disaster Management Support Programme at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO); Scientist/Engineer at ISRO HQ Bangalore since 1991. He is the recipient of ISRO’s Team excellence award in 2008-09 for his contributions towards harnessing space technology applications for the benefits of rural poor. While he has more than 100 publications on disaster risk reduction, including research papers in peer reviewed international journals, intergovernmental reports and books; Sanjay has been a lead author of ESCAP’s flagship publication – Asia-Pacific Disaster Report.

Davlatova Safarbi was born on April 09, 1972 in Shamsiddin Shokhin district. She has a secondary education. Safarbi started working in forestry in 2011 and currently works as an Assistant to the Head of the site. Previously, she took part in a wildlife monitoring training delivered by UNDP, and today is fighting poaching and helping conserve nature. She aims to inspire a generation of active women who contribute to the preservation of the environment and the livelihoods of their communities, especially when it comes to the economic empowerment of local women. During her work, Safarbi made a significant contribution to the creation, restoration and monitoring of forests, the preservation and protection of fauna and flora. One of the significant results of her work that she is proud of is the creation of a nursery under her management, in which more than 30 thousand seedlings and seeds are grown. This nursery is organized in 0.60 hectares of land, which is under the direct management of Davlatova Safarbi. Safarbi also has been making a huge contribution to attracting female households in wildlife conservation, teaching them the rules for inspection of forested areas, planting and caring of trees and plants, and gardening.

Bibimoh Rahimova, in spite of the fact that she is raising her 9 children, has chosen the difficult job of the Ranger and performs it sincerely. Named difficult job - because the rangers have to carry out part of their work in monitoring and controlling the forest of their plots. Despite the fact that her husband and children are waiting for Bibimokh at home, she sometimes inspects forest areas with a horse in the middle of the night and proudly calls herself “Daughter of the Forest”. In the meantime, she proudly recalls her multiple encounters with snow leopards, typically known for their rare sightings. This gives Bibi hope that the critically endangered snow leopard populations would recover. It is her personal and communal responsibility, reminiscent of the respect for the wisdom of the mountain spirits that appear as snow leopards. Along with preserving forests, Bibi has a hobby to plant seedlings and take up gardening. She is also the chairman of the women of the Sari Khosor jamoat of the Baljuvan region, constantly calls them for increasing their level of education and preserving the nature, fauna and flora.

Kholova Gulandom was born on April 21, 1977 in Shamsiddin Shokhin district. She has a secondary education. Gulandom started working in forestry in 2015. She started her work in the field of forest conservation because of her great interest in nature conservation. Gulandom actively speaks at workshops and public events, calling the local communities to preserve trees and plants, which decline has caused climate change and irrational use. Gulandom also contributes to the cultivation of seedlings and plants in the forestry nursery.

Boris Erg is Director of the IUCN Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (IUCN ECARO). Boris’ professional career spans 25 years with core expertise in nature policy, protected and conserved areas, and nature-based solutions. Throughout his career, he has cooperated with numerous international organizations, UN agencies, state authorities, NGOs, research organisations, businesses and financial institutions. He is a member of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas where he serves on the Executive Committee of the Transboundary Conservation Specialist Group. Boris has continuously promoted the concepts of fair and equitable governance of natural resources as a response to growing societal and environmental challenges.

Makhmud Shaumarov is a Regional Program Coordinator for Central Asian Countries Initiative for Land Management, phase 2 (CACILM-2). Since 2018 he coordinates a regional FAO-GEF project on "Integrated Natural Resources Management in Drought-prone and Salt-affected Agriculture Landscapes in Central Asia and Turkey" under umbrella of CACILM-2 program. Prior to this assignment he was working for World Bank as Consultant on Rural Development, as well as for FAO as International Consultant for various projects in Central Asia.  Before joining FAO and WB, Makhmud worked for the ICARDA Regional Office as Research Field Coordinator for Dryland Systems Program in Karakalpakstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. He also worked at UNDP Office Uzbekistan to support environment unit portfolio on sustainable natural resources management. Makhmud received his joint European MSc degree in International Rural Development with the Great Distinction from Ghent University, Wageningen University, and Humboldt University of Berlin in 2008. He holds a Bachelor degree in Agricultural Economics from Tashkent State Agrarian University.

An ecologist by training, Vera has started her professional activity in the field of ecological tourism and continues to provide consultations on this topic. For the last 10 years she has been actively involved in the development of a national NGO - the Kazakhstan Association of Biodiversity Conservation, and for the last 5 years she has been in the position of Executive Director. ACBK is a largest conservation NGO in a country, focusing on wildlife conservation based on science and modern technologies, BirdLife Partner in Kazakhstan. 

Mr. Martin Dasek is the Senior Climate Financing Specialist & Climate Advisory Expert for Europe, Turkey, Middle East & Central Asia in IFC’s Financial Institutions Group (IFC FIG). He is responsible for climate investments implementation and advisory support to FIs in the region. Martin has been engaged in many climate related investment projects with FIs in total volume more than US$6 billion (as credit lines, risk sharing products, Green Bonds and trade guarantees). He is based in Vienna, Austria. Martin is specialized in sustainability projects management, banking and finance; he has expertise in climate mitigation, renewable energy and energy efficient technologies implementation, development and financing of the climate, energy efficient and renewable energy projects, DSM programs, ESCOs & EPC, local and regional energy planning as well as popularization of energy efficiency and clean energy. Martin is certified Energy Auditor, he has MBA degree from CVUT-Sheffield Hallam University, UK.

Dr Patrick Martin is an environmental law and finance specialist. Patrick has over two decades of professional experience in the Asia Pacific region, including legal practice, international development, and investment banking, with a sound knowledge of the challenges pertinent to the region's climate policies, mechanisms, and markets. Patrick's well-rounded understanding of the issues allows him to advise from a broad perspective and deliver practical outcomes for his clients. 

Patrick has post-graduate qualifications in finance and environmental law and completed his PhD at UNSW, examining the implementation of climate law in developing countries. Currently, Patrick is working with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) on climate finance issues in the region.

Michiko Enomoto is the Deputy Head of the Subregional Office for North and Central Asia, UN ESCAP. She previously served as Head of the Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technologies (APCTT) in New Delhi, India. Before joining ESCAP in 2016, Michiko served in UNECE and UNCTAD in Geneva. She has extensive experience in the fields of technology transfer, foreign direct investment, innovation policies with focus on environmentally sound technologies.

Witada Anukoonwattaka is an Economic Affairs Officer with the Trade, Investment, and Innovation Division, UN ESCAP. Prior to joining UN ESCAP, she served in the private sector and academia, focusing on economics-related topics. Witada holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Melbourne.

Vanika Sharma is a consultant with the Trade, Investment, and Innovation Division, UN ESCAP. She is an economist with an interest in international economics and development. She has worked on a variety of trade and investment related projects with organizations such as UNCTAD, European Centre for International Political Economy, UNDP China, and Centre for Policy Research, India. She has a Master’s degree from Sciences Po, Paris in International Economic Policy and holds an undergraduate degree in Economics (Honors) from the University of Delhi.

Natalia Mochu is the Regional Director for the International Telecommunication Union Regional Office for CIS. She has previously worked as Senior Manager for Global Stakeholder Engagement for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. She has extensive experiences in the area of telecommunications in different capacities – from government to research institutes and international organizations. She holds a master’s degree in information technology from the State University of Moldova and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and informatics.

Sayed Yaya Akhlaqi is the Deputy Secretary General in charge of Transport and Communications, Human Resources and Sustainable Development Directorate at the Economic Cooperation Organization. He previously served as the Director General of Transit and Trade Facilitation of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Sayed also worked for several multilateral and bilateral donors, including USAID and GIZ. He holds a doctoral degree in Business Administration.

Leonid Efimov, Head of the International Cooperation Division of the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB). He works in EDB since 2012. During these years Leonid elaborated the mechanism cooperation of the EDB with UN specialized agencies on the principle of complementarity. Several joint projects of EDB and UN agencies were initiated by him and implemented. Leonid coordinate cooperation of the EDB with international organizations in the member-states. Participated as a speaker and expert in econferences and forums, as well as organized them. Earlier he worked in the departments of international cooperation in JSC “ROSNANO” , JSC “Unified Energy System of Russia (RAO UES)” as well as scientific researcher in Economic Insitute. In 1995 Leonid was the first UN-UNDP Project manager in the Russian Federation with the project RUS 95/001 “Conversion for Sustainable Development”. He graduated from the Faculty of International Economics of the All-Russian Academy for Foreign Trade.

More than 10 years of experience of working in education sector, developing strategy for forming the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Georgia, engaging stakeholders in innovations and technology agenda of the country. Since 2016, involved in the process of launching Silicon Valley Tbilisi, successfully implemented innovative projects in Georgia, involving academia, international partners, private sector, startups. Launched Global Startup Foundation to operate at Silicon Valley Tbilisi in collaboration with Israel’s Silicon Wadi. Founder of Coding School for Women in partnership with UN Women’s Organization. Founding member of AI Georgia Business Association, initiating and working on the strategic plan for the research, development, use, governance and long term planning of AI in Georgia. Holds PhD degree in Business Administration. 

Ms. Xinglan Hu works as Principal Regional Cooperation Specialist in ADB. Ms. Hu supports the implementation of the CAREC 2030 strategy through thematic research on selected operational areas and sectors, engagement with CAREC countries and development partners. She also works on facilitating CWRD’s regional cooperation and integration (RCI) operations in line with the Operational Priority 7 of Strategy 2030. Prior to joining ADB, Ms. Hu has had long working experiences for the PRC government on a series of regional economic cooperation issues.

Kuat Zholdybekov is the Head of Investment Promotion Department at Kazakh Invest. He has extensive experiences in international cooperation, export promotion and regional development. Before joining Kazakh Invest, he was the Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Export Insurance Company Kazakh Export. Kuat also has experience in the Office of the Prime Minister and in government agencies, was a member of the Board of Directors of the Agrarian Credit Corporation. He has a Master of Public Policy in Economic Development.

Kairat Akhmetov is the founder of the smart city system “Sergek” - which emphasizes security, transportation and environment. He is also co-founder of parking company Parqour and router for travellers Nommi. Kairat is also engaged in the export of hardware, software and telecommunication technologies. He is a graduate of Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and won various international physics olympiads.

Sabina Abbasova is a young and inspiring leader from Kyrgyzstan and the youngest CEO in the history of the ProKG Public Association, which consists of 120 professionals. As the CEO, she brings government, public and private sectors together to develop education and youth in the country. For 12 years, ProKG has influenced more than 15,000 people in all regions of the country, without receiving any grants or assistance from international organizations and embassies.

CEO/ Founder of group of IT companies Codify. Advisor to the Prime minister of Kyrgyz republic. Previously worked as a Project Development Director at Zensoft. With an MBA from the University of Lincoln, California, USA, and a Bachelor's degree in Management Information Systems, she has gained extensive experience and exceptional ability to connect clients with their development teams. Prior to joining Zensoft, Dina was a senior analyst who simultaneously managed several projects in the Technical Operations group at Wells Fargo, USA. Currently working on B2B, SaaS product for education centers. 

Although her career background mostly has been in the field of construction, but after completion TechWomen program she, as a person passionate about a positive impact on the local community decided to launch a volunteering project Google Developer Group and Women Techmakers Ashgabat with a mission to develop the young generation in terms of technology growth and innovation. Passionate about Green/Clean Technologies, inclusive development, gender equity and human rights.

Dilfuza is a human rights lawyer and professional mediator. In 2021, Dilfuza was admitted as top-10 female leaders in Uzbekistan changing the country. She has extended experience in human rights law and social development. She is a part of the Social Development Team of the World Bank on citizen engagement. Previously, she was a legal consultant/focal point at the International Commission of Jurists in Uzbekistan (Swiss NGO) for 3 years, worked at the Third-Party-Monitoring project of the ILO in Uzbekistan covering labour rights and feedback mechanisms during cotton harvest 206-2020. Dilfuza is an active promoter of human rights, particularly social rights. Thus, she was a consultant at Child Protection Section of UNICEF Uzbekistan CO in 2018 covering protection policy of children left behind migrating parents; drafted papers and researches on civil society development in Uzbekistan for the NGO Center of the ADB, Peace Nexus Foundation (Swiss NGO), Global Partners Governance (the UK non-profit) and others. Dilfuza is a part of contact group on women, peace and security, established in 2020. She used to work for the government organization on digital governance and local NGO on healthcare. She taught international law at Tashkent state university of law (2015-2016) and human rights at Webster university in Tashkent (2020). Apart from her work, she provides free legal consultations via online platforms since 2019.

Mr. Jens Radschinski has taken on the role of the Lead of UNFCCC’s Regional Collaboration Centre (RCC) for Asia Pacific, situated in Bangkok in the beginning of 2017.  Prior to his current stint in Thailand, Jens was working with the UNFCCC Secretariat in Bonn, Germany for over five years. At RCC Bangkok, he leads activities the Centre is undertaking, namely in the fields of climate finance, carbon markets and carbon pricing, support to project participants and Designated National Authorities (DNAs) on the implementation of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects, MRV/Transparency, Capacity building, NDC support and Global Climate Action (under the Marrakesh Partnership).  ​Before joining UNFCCC, Jens has had extensive professional experience in Asia-Pacific where he was active as a university research assistant for a Thai-German technical cooperation project and later as consultant and CDM project developer in the region. It was during this time that he built expertise in waste and wastewater management, renewable energy, climate policies and carbon markets. Jens holds a degree in Geology/Hydrogeology from the Free University of Berlin, Germany. 

Ms. Asel Nurakhmetova is serving as an Advisor at the AIFC Green Finance Centre. She has 12 years of work experience in trade, economy and finance, including 5 years of experience in public service, 7 years in leadership position, and 5 years in green finance. Asel also worked as a Division head at the central bank of Kazakhstan, responsible for international cooperation. Previously she worked at the Trade Committee of the Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning of Kazakhstan, responsible for the successful bid of Astana to host EXPO-2017 International specialised exhibition. Asel was awarded with “Bolashak” national scholarship in 2005 and graduated from Lancaster University in 2009.

Dr. Denise Sumpf is a professional in the field of international development cooperation and diplomacy. She joined the United Nations in 2005 and has served in different capacities (political and economic affairs) across UN offices in Asia, Africa, the Middle East as well as at UN headquarters. She is currently the Head of the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office (UN RCO) in Yerevan, Armenia. Prior to joining the UN RCO in March 2020, Dr. Sumpf managed the economic governance and national development planning portfolio at the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in Lebanon, and pioneered the organization’s work on competition policy, political economy.

Ms. Ekaterina Sidorova has 15 years of experience in the financial services industry. She joined SberCIB Investment Research in June 2006, where she has spent ten years covering corporate debt. She has also spent two years in the Debt Capital Markets department and two years in Corporate Lending at Sberbank. In these roles, she was responsible for credit analysis, structuring, pricing and execution of public and private corporate finance transactions. As part of Fixed Income sell-side Research, Ekaterina was awarded Institutional Investor’s Research Team survey awards both as part of the team and individually. Ekaterina graduated from Moscow State University with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, and holds a master of arts in economics from the New Economic School. She is a CFA charterholder.

Ms. Natia Tsikaradze currently works as an Acting Head of Strategic Planning Unit of Policy Planning and Coordination Department at the Administration of the Government of Georgia. She also serves as a SDGs National Coordinator and coordinates nationalization, implementation and monitoring process of Sustainable Development Goals in Georgia. She is in charge of coordinating all the issues related to nationalization and implementation of SDGs and as well as responsible for development and implementation of various projects related to SDGs. Prior to her current role, she served on various positions in both private and public sector. Herewith, Natia holds Masters’ degree in European Political Sociology.

Dr. Suren Poghosyan is a Ph.D. economist with over twenty-four years of experience in transition and developing countries on Public Financial Management reforms and bridging policies with budgets. From 2014 Suren has been part of the UNDP team supporting countries in Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia to improve their governance and budget systems to address Climate Change and the Sustainable Development Goals. Currently Suren is the SDG Finance Advisor at UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub covering Europe and CIS region. Suren is the principal author of UNDP Guidebook on Budgeting for SDGs. Prior to joining UNDP he has worked with DFID, ADB, WB, OECD, GIZ and UN family organizations supporting programme-based budgeting and other PFM reforms in Europe and CIS region.

Atajan Atayev is the Head of the Strategic and Sustainable Development Department of the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan. He began his career in 2004 in this Ministry. He worked in the Treasury Department, Methodology Department, Foreign Economic Relations Department, Economic Sectors Development Department, Price Policy Department. Atajan graduated from the Turkmen State University’s Faculty of International Management.

Ms. Gohar Barseghyan is a Director of Integration Development Department at Eurasian Economic Commission. From 2017 to 2020, she served as deputy director of the Integration Development Department of the Eurasian Economic Commission. Gohar Barseghyan graduated from of the Yerevan State University’s International Relations Department and the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna (Austria). She held various positions in the Department of External Relations of the Office of the Government of Armenia and the Department of External Relations of the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman in Armenia.
 

Dr. Janusz-Pawletta is Vice-Rector on International Cooperation and Public Relations at Kazakh-German University where she is enhancing positive water diplomacy in the region. Since 2011, Dr. Barbara Janusz-Pawletta on behalf of DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) is building up and supervising the regional MA Program on Integrated Water Management in Central Asia at the German-Kazakh University in Almaty. Since 2016, she is a UNESCO Chairholder for water management in Central Asia. Her teaching and research fields cover legal framework and institutional interstate cooperation including water and energy nexus. She has been dealing with worldwide and best regional practices facilitating sustainable interstate related to production and maintenance of renewable energies by using water potential. Since 2004, she has on her account more than 35 research publications in various sources, including foreign ones.

Juliet Braslow is an Economic Affairs Officer in the Section for Countries in Special Situations at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). She coordinates publications, partnerships, and activities in support of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Asia and the Pacific. Within ESCAP, she also worked in the Space Applications Section to support the implementation of the Asia-Pacific Plan of Action on Space Applications for Sustainable Development. Prior to joining ESCAP, Juliet worked in Latin America and the Caribbean with UNECLAC as well as in Sub-Saharan Africa with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture. She has over 10 years of experience in research for development, project management and sustainable international development in the fields of environmental management, urban development, and innovative technology applications. She holds a Master of Science in Agronomy and Horticulture and a Master of Science in International Agricultural Development.

Rovshen currently holds the position of the Assistant Resident Representative in charge of the country office programme. Prior to this post, Rovshen worked as the Programme Specialist for Resilience, Climate & Energy at UNDP Turkmenistan (2006-2020). Before that he worked as Environment Focal Point with UNDP Turkmenistan (2005-2006), Communications Consultant with UNICEF Turkmenistan (2005), Programme Assistant with UNDP Turkmenistan (2002-2003) and Assistant to UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan (1998-2002). Rovshen holds Master of Science degree in sustainable environmental management from the Middlesex University of London, UK (2004) and Bachelor’s degree in English philology from the Magtymguly Turkmen State University (1999).

Ms. Seyitliyeva was appointed as Head of Office for UNFPA in May 2019. She brings 20 years of extensive and diversified experience in leadership, programme management and communication. Prior to joining UNFPA, she worked 12 years for UNICEF Turkmenistan as Cross-Sectoral Programme Specialist leading the social development, communication and youth programmes, and covering the Partnerships and Resource Leveraging portfolio. In her earlier UN career (2001-2006), she coordinated an advocacy and communication component with UNFPA Turkmenistan. Seyitliyeva graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK (2006-2007). She holds a Master of Science in Media and Communication with a focus on Behavioral and Social Science. She is the UK Chevening Scholarship Programme Alumna. She also holds a university degree from the Turkmen State University with a Diploma in World Economy and International Relations.