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