CONFERENCES

Transparency of the Budget Process in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan
The Soros Foundation Kyrgyzstan held a convention on transparency September 3-5, 2004.
     • Read the agenda
       

Conception of the National Fund: Strategic Issues
On July 26, 2004 the Public Policy Research Center, a grantee of the Revenue Watch program, held a roundtable, "A concept for the National Fund". In the summer of 2004, President Nazarbayev called on his government to develop a strategy for the country's oil fund, and the present roundtable gathered public officials and civil society groups to present their ideas. Speakers included Bimaljit Hundal, managing director at Goldman Sachs in London; Pedro Rodriguez, senior economist at the World Bank in Kazakhstan, S. Drobishevsky of the Institute for the Economy in Transition, and Oras Jandosov, co-chairman of the Ak Zhol party. The event received broad coverage in Kazakhstan's print and broadcast media.
     • Public Policy Research Center press release
     • Roundtable agenda
       

CASPIAN REVENUE WATCH: INTERNATIONAL LAUNCH CONFERENCES
In an effort to raise awareness about and stimulate discussion about the challenges of managing windfall revenues in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, and other extractive sector countries, the Caspian Revenue Watch was launched at conferences in Washington, London, Brussels, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Presentations made at these conferences appear below in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

Washington DC: May 12, 2003
A conference sponsored by the Center for Strategic International Studies and the Open Society Institute.
   • Agenda
     Transcript of Meetings:
   • Introduction and Welcome
   • Findings and Recommendations of the Caspian Revenue Watch
   • Keynote Address by George Soros
   • Petroleum, Governance, and Development Beyond the Caspian
   • Government Plans and Challenges in Managing Petroleum Wealth
   • CSIS Newsletter May/June 2003

Baku: May 29, 2003
A conference sponsored by the Entrepreneurship Development Foundation and the Open Society Institute.
   • Azerbaijan: Managing Oil Revenues
       Michael Mered, IMF Resident Representative, Azerbaijan
   • Sustainable Development in Azerbaijan & the World Bank's Perspective
       Saida Bagirova, External Affairs Officer & NGO Liaison, World Bank, Azerbaijan
   • Reflections on Alaska's Experience with Petroleum Development
       Richard A. Fineberg, Independent Consultant
   • The Norwegian Government Petroleum Fund: Background and Challenges
       Carl J. Vogt, Vice President, Norges Bank Investment Management
   • Presentation to the Baku Conference
       Svetlana Tsalik, Director, Caspian Revenue Watch, OSI
   • Management of Oil Revenues as a Pre-condition for Institutional Reform
       Ingilab Akhmedov, dirTrend Information Agency
   • Contributing to Wealth Management
       Andrew McAuslan, Commercial Manager, BTC Project, BP Azerbaijan

Almaty: June 2, 2003
A conference sponsored by the Public Policy Resource Center and the Open Society Institute.
   • Agenda
   • List of Participants
   • Presentation by Svetlana Tsalik, Director, Caspian Revenue Watch, OSI
   • The Functioning of the National Fund of the Republic of Kazakhstan
       Daniyar Akishev, Deputy Director of the Department, The National Bank of Kazakhstan
   • Selected Issues on Oil Revenue Management and Use
       Dennis de Tray, Central Asia Regional Director, World Bank
   • PPRC Newsletter
       (In Russian)

"Can the Caspian Avoid the Oil Curse?"
London: June 11, 2003
A conference sponsored by the Foreign Policy Center and the Open Society Institute.
   • Presentation by Svetlana Tsalik, Director, Caspian Revenue Watch, OSI
   • Management of Oil Revenues as a Pre-condition for Institutional Reform
       Ingilab Akhmedov
       Public Finance Policy Center
       Director, IAA Trend
   • The Norwegian Experience: Lessons for the Caspian Region?
       Leiv Lunde, ECON Analysis

"Caspian Oil: EU Interests and Concerns"
Brussels: June 13, 2003
A conference sponsored by the European Policy Center and the Open Society Institute.
   • Presentation by Svetlana Tsalik, Director, Caspian Revenue Watch, OSI
   • Management of Oil Revenues as a Pre-condition for Institutional Reform
       Ingilab Akhmedov
       Director, IAA Trend
       Presentation to Baku Conference
   • Caspian Oil: EU Interests and Concerns
       Communication To Members S35/03
       European Policy Center Dialogue
   • Caspian Oil Windfalls: Will They See the Benefits?
       Powerpoint Presentation by Willy H Olsen, Senior Advisor, Statoil

OSI-RELATED EVENTS

Almaty City Budget Analysis
On September 22, the public association "Tax Standards Formation" presented the results of its project "Achieving Transparency of Almaty City Budget's Expenditures in the Social Sphere," which was funded by the Soros Foundation - Kazakhstan's Local Government program.

The Soros Foundation - Kazakhstan Announces Call for Research Papers
Kazakhstan Revenue Watch announces a call for research papers on the following two topics: 1) Government Strategy for Industrial Innovative Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan; and 2) Effectiveness of State Spending on Education and Public Healthcare in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Parliament's Role in Overseeing Extractive Industry Revenues to Be Discussed at Open Forum
On 10 June 2004 the Kazakhstan Revenue Watch program holds the Soros Open Forum on the role of Parliament in overseeing the revenues from the extractive industry. The Forum participants will learn about the Norwegian model of parliamentary oversight of the oil and gas revenues.

Escaping the Resource Curse: Managing Natural-Resource Revenues in Low-Income Countries
This February 24 event, hosted by the Center on Globalization and Sustainable Development of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, was sponsored by the Open Society Institute.

WORKSHOPS

Kazakhstan Revenue Watch Holds Workshop on Extractive Industries Transparency
On October 26-27 2004, Kazakhstan Revenue Watch held a workshop devoted to "Increasing Transparency of the Extractive Industries in Kazakhstan." Participants included members of the NGO coalition Oil Revenues - Under Public Oversight!, established in June 2004.

Increasing Transparency Through Public Debates
Representatives of 16 non-governmental organizations from Astana, Almaty, Zhezkazgan, Karaganda, Pavlodar, Petropavlovsk, Semipalatinsk, Taraz and Uralsk took part in this workshop, which took place in Almaty between September 9th and 11th, 2004.

Lessons Learned and Future Directions in Budget and Revenue Monitoring
On April 24-25, 2004, Revenue Watch, the International Budget Project and the Center for Policy Studies held this workshop to determine what we can learn from the experiences of budget advocates that can help enhance the policy influence of (existing and potential) natural resource monitoring groups (specializing in oil and gas revenues monitoring).