Tag: Economic policy

A great pleasure to have co-moderated the Union for Mediterranean’s trade and investment forum today for the third time. I had the pleasure of two excellent panels – on trade facilitation and sustainable investment – brimming with expertise. Among the many gems, the things that struck me were: 1. Progress on trade facilitation in the region […]

I am just returning from running three half-day foresight to strategy workshops in North Africa, which followed hard on the heels of five virtual and hybrid (real & digital) workshops/trainings in the last two weeks. Striking is the difference in energy levels. As a moderator you can generate much more energy and excitement in a […]

Baku is a place where you see what happens if architects don’t have budget restrictions. The buildings are impressive, yet elegant and not disturbing the historic substance of the city. Still, challenges remain for the country between the Caucasus and Iran to tackle unemployment, economic and financial development and investment climate. Both, the actual and […]

I feared cold when headed to Minsk, Belarus, but it was surprisingly warm for December. The workshop’s participants engaged quickly and were not disturbed by a rather unconventional workshop-concept: Instead of presenting and discussing in plenary all the time, the client opted for an interactive format where we focused the discussions in small diverse groups. […]

Super weather in both Yerevan and Kiev: October and sweating after a 20-minute walk from the hotel to the workshop location! And just as the climate is “improving”, so the opportunities for the “investment climate” are also getting better. In both countries, following the changes in government, reform plans that were previously off the agenda, […]

Excellent to have spent the last couple of days with colleagues from the South Caucuses, accompanying them on a learning journey through Germany to discover different opportunities in the green economy. The week lived from the excellent inputs received by a number of speakers, both at the seminar centre we used as a base, and […]