UZBEKISTAN: PRESIDENTIAL ENTREPRENEURIAL SUMMIT -- INITIAL

UNCLAS TASHKENT 002008 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EAID PREL SOCI UZ SUBJECT: UZBEKISTAN: PRESIDENTIAL ENTREPRENEURIAL SUMMIT -- INITIAL STEPS REF: 09 STATE 112468; 09 TASHKENT 1960 ¶1. (SBU) Embassy Tashkent staff met on November 4 to discuss steps needed to implement reftel actions. USAID Country Director will chair Post's interagency working group on expanding economic opportunity and will coordinate activities associated with the Embassy-sponsored roundtable on entrepreneurship and selection of nominees to participate in the Presidential Summit in Washington. ¶2. (SBU) We have sent a diplomatic note informing the Uzbek MFA of the Embassy's intent to organize a roundtable in December. We informed the MFA of our intention to reach out to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan (CCIU) with the request that the Chamber co-sponsor the December roundtable as we seek appropriate participants for the summit. We believe that it is ultimately more useful to conduct the roundtable before identifying participants, as this can be a useful step to be sure we have candidates who are not only qualified but who will also enjoy the requisite GOU support to enable them to attend the Summit. For that reason, we do not expect to have a final list of nominees for the Presidential Summit until after the December roundtable. ¶3. (SBU) We noted from reftel that participants in the Presidential Summit will be responsible for their own expenses. Given the economic and business climate in Uzbekistan, we believe most Uzbek nominees will not have sufficient means of their own to participate in the Washington summit. This will be true in particular for nominees from small and medium enterprises, which are playing an increasingly important role in Uzbekistan's economy (ref. B). Post therefore requests guidance regarding those funds that may be available to help finance needy participants. ¶4. (SBU) We also request further information on what language interpretation services will provided during the Presidential Summit. In addition to Uzbek, most nominees from Uzbekistan can be expected to be reasonably fluent in Russian. We do not expect English fluency from representatives of small and medium enterprises. ¶5. (U) Proposed public diplomacy activities: The Public Affairs Section (PAS) will prominently highlight information about the Presidential Summit on the Embassy's website in Uzbek, Russian, and English. These stories will be published in the Embassy's quarterly newsletter and sent to local journalists for reposting on local websites. Post plans to host an informational event to view President Obama's Presidential Summit remarks at the Embassy's weekly English Language "Chai Chat" Club which draws over 100 young people. After the Presidential Summit, Uzbek participants will be featured speakers at public outreach events with former USG exchange program participants and the local media. PAS will also encourage the participants from Uzbekistan to develop project proposals for small Embassy grants in support of follow-on activities to enhance business development in the country. NORLAND