The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at SAIS, Johns Hopkins University and the International Monetary Fund invite you to a co-sponsored Forum:

 “An IMF View on the Global Economic Crisis in the Caucasus and Central Asia”

Featuring

Dr. Ratna Sahay, Deputy Director, Middle East and Central Asia Department, IMF

Commenting

Dr. Sergei Gretsky, Lecturer, The Catholic University of America

Wednesday, October 21, 2009
5-7 PM
The Rome Auditorium, 1st Floor, Rome Building
SAIS, Johns Hopkins University
1619 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036

The Caucasus and Central Asia region has been severely affected by the global economic crisis, with overall growth expected to drop from 6.6 percent in 2008 to 1.5 percent in 2009. However, this average masks important differences in the impact on energy importing and energy exporting countries. The IMF’s economic data for the region was released early this month at the World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings in Istanbul and is now available online. At this Forum, Dr. Ratna Sahay, Deputy Director in the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Department, will discuss the current economic challenges and outlook for the region. Commenting on her observations will be Dr. Sergei Gretsky, a Central Asia expert whose on-going, in-depth research focuses on the region’s economies and financial sectors.

Link to the IMF report: 

The Forum opens with a reception and refreshments at 5 PM; the program will begin promptly at 5:30 PM and conclude at 7 PM. RSVP for this event is mandatory and will not be accepted after 10 AM on the day of the event. To register, please send an email with your name and affiliation to SAISCACIForums@jhu.edu or call 202-663-7723.

The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute is the primary institution in the United States for the study of the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Caspian Region. The Institute, affiliated with Johns Hopkins University-SAIS, forms part of a Joint Center with the Silk Road Studies Program, affiliated with the Stockholm-based Institute for Security and Development Policy. Additional information about the Joint Center, as well as its several publications series, is available at www.silkroadstudies.org.

“The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 186 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.”