Opening and welcome remarks
Kairat Torebayev
Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Vice-Minister
Mr. Torebayev is a graduate of the Kazakh State Academy of Management with a major in international economics. He received his master’s degree in international law and economics from the World Trade Institute of the University of Bern. In prior years Mr. Torebayev held the positions of Deputy Director and later Director of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning of the Republic of Kazakhstan, he also served as Director of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of National Economy and Director of the Department of International Cooperation of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Ms. Laura Cizmo
USAID/Central Asia, Economic Development Office, Director
Laura Cizmo joined USAID/Central Asia in August 2022 as the Director of the Regional Economic Growth Office. Across the past 14 years, Ms. Cizmo has implemented U.S. government policies and strategies, coordinating foreign development assistance and private sector investment. Most recently, she served in USAID/Cambodia where she led a portfolio focused on leveraging private sector investments to achieve sustainable economic growth and improved natural resources management. She previously served Tajikistan, Washington, D.C., and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Prior to joining USAID in 2008, Laura worked as an antitrust paralegal and began her international development career as a Small Business Development Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay. She holds an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management and a BA in International Studies from American University.
SESSION 1
Customs Digital Reform Agenda: Latest Innovations and the Role of ‘Digital’ Enforcement
Mr. Yermek Kozhabergenov
Head of International Cooperation Division of the State Revenue Committee, Kazakhstan
Mr. Kozhabergenov is the Head of the International Cooperation Department of the State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In the past, he served as the Head of the Department of Organization of Customs Control in the Customs Control Department of the West Kazakhstan Region and as the Deputy Head of the Customs Control Department of the City of Almaty. Mr. Kozhabergenov has graduated from the Kazakh State University of Economics and the Almaty Academy of Law.
Mr. Zhanat Shaimov
Head of Customs Operations Division of the Department of Control, State Revenue Committee (Republic of Kazakhstan)
Shaimov Zhanat Ablayevich has been working in the Customs Service since 2004 (over 18 years), he is the Chief of the Customs Operations Department of the State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and also the Project Manager for the implementation and development of the “Single Window” mechanism for export-import operations in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The primary objectives of the assigned unit include the improvement of customs legislation of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Republic of Kazakhstan, enforcement of customs legislation, coordination of activities of territorial subdivisions on the issues of compliance with non-tariff regulation requirements, prohibitions and restrictions, intellectual property rights protection, monitoring of entities engaged in activities in the field of customs and authorized economic operators.
Mr. Shaimov actively contributed to the development of normative legal acts and international agreements in the sphere of customs affairs, including participation in the development of the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Customs Regulation in the Republic of Kazakhstan” as a member of the working group. He takes part in the creation of the legal framework of the Eurasian Economic Union, and as a member of the expert group from the Republic of Kazakhstan he participated in the development of the Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union.
Mr. Nursultan Salmorbekov
Senior Inspector of the State Customs Service (Kyrgyz Republic)
In 2015, Mr. Salmoorbekov has graduated from the Russian Customs Academy, Department of Customs Affairs, with a degree in customs clearance and control. On March 1, 2017, he joined the Central Customs Service, now Northeast Customs, the Department of Accounting of Payments and Statistics as an inspector. In 2018, Mr. Salmoorbekov was transferred to the Head Office of the State Customs Service, to the Customs Payments Department, where he served until 2020. In June 2020, Mr. Salmoorbekov was assigned to the Division of Customs Procedures of the Department of Customs Control Organization in the position of Inspector. In July 2021, he was promoted to the newly formed Division of Prospective Programs of the Directorate of Customs Control Organization as a senior inspector. In June 2022, the Division of Prospective Programs was reorganized into an independent Office of Project Implementation and Trade Facilitation.
Mr. Shuhrat Maksudov
Senior Specilalist of the Digital Economy Division of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, (Republic of Tajikistan)
Shukhrat Makhsudov is Chief Specialist of the Digital Economy Development Department of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Tajikistan. Since 2016, he has served as a leading specialist, chief specialist and national consultant of the Coordinating Committee for Trade Facilitation of the same ministry. Mr. Makhsudov is a graduate of the Institute of Entrepreneurship and Service of Tajikistan, where he majored in economics and enterprise management.
Mr. Juan Diego Chavarria Valverde
WCO Compliance and Facilitation Directorate
Juan Diego Chavarría is a Technical Officer in the Compliance and Facilitation Directorate of the World Customs Organization (WCO). He is mainly involved in subject matters including the WCO Data Model, Single Window, Coordinated Border Management and Advance Passenger Information. Prior to joining the WCO, he worked for seven years for both Cost Rica´s Single Window (VUCE) and the Foreign Trade Promotion Agency of Costa Rica (PROCOMER). Here he managed creating and reengineering processes and LPCOs undertaken with the application of the Single Window approach, and oversaw agriculture, phytosanitary, flora and fauna processes and their interoperability within Central, South and North America, and Europe.
Mr. Sung Sig KIM
WCO Capacity Building Directorate
Mr. Sungsig KIM is Technical attache/CCF-Korea Fund manager at Capacity Building Directorate at WCO. He is accredited expert for Data model and joined the WCO in 2019, currently in charge of BACUDA Project and VR Training. Since 1992, he has been working for Korea Customs and spent most of his career at headquarter for IT planning, international relations.
Zurab Sitchinava
Head of Customs Department of Georgia’s State Revenue Service
Zurab Sitchinava has been Head of the Customs Department of the Revenue Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia since April 2021. Before filling this key role, he served as Deputy Chairman of the Security Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Deputy Head of the Revenue Service’s Service Monitoring Department, Head of the Tbilisi Main Division of the Investigation Department of the Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance, and Deputy Head of different divisions of the same department. Before assuming these leadership roles, Mr. Sitchinava filled inspector-investigator roles at the Division of Combating Customs Rules Violations of the Investigation Department of the Investigation Service, and at the Investigation Department of the Kvemo Kartli Division of the Revenue Service, both at the Ministry of Finance of Georgia.
Mr. Samson Uridia
Head of International Relations Department of Georgia’s State Revenue Service Georgia
Samson Uridia is the Head of the Department for International Relations of the Georgian Revenue Service, while also serving as a subject matter expert at the international development company Policy and Management Consulting Group (PMCG). In his role at the revenue service, Mr. Uridia has overseen the management of relations with international tax, customs and SPS communities, while also managing international institutional and capacity building projects. Before this he was the Head of Division for Customs Procedures and Technological Schemes for the revenue service’s methodology department. Additionally, Mr. Uridia has been team leader and advisor for several projects. In this capacity he has been project leader of the project ‘Supporting the Accession of Georgia to the Conventions on Transit Area and Launching of the New Computerized Transit System (NCTS)’ run from 2018 to 2020, and of the project ‘Strengthening Administrative Capacity of the Georgian Revenue Service in Taxation’ completed in 2016. He has been the resident collaboration adviser for the project ‘Strengthening the National Customs and Sanitary-Phyto-sanitary Border Control System in Georgia’ run from 2012 to 2013.
Session II
Accelerating Digitalization for Enhanced Transit and Trade Facilitation
Asset Assavbayev
General Secretary, TRACECA
Asset Assavbayev is Secretary General of the Permanent Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) of Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA). Prior to accepting this post, Mr. Assavbayev was President of the Association of Road Builders of Kazakhstan, and Independent Director of the Board of Directors of the ‘NC KazAvtoZhol’ JSC. From 2014 to 2019 he served as Chairperson of the Transport Committee of the Ministry of Investment and Development of Kazakhstan, where he managed implementing transport policy, ensuring transport safety, developing road, railway and port infrastructure, and other key operations. Previously Mr. Assavbayev served as Vice-Chairperson and later Chairperson of the Transport Control Committee of Kazakhstan. He holds a Master’s Degree in State and Municipal Administration from the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation.
Mr. Bektasov Sapar
Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development of Kazakhstan, Director of the Department of Transit and Transport Logistics Development
Sapar Bektasov is Director of the Department of Transit and Transport Logistics Development of the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development of Kazakhstan. Before serving in these roles, Mr. Bektasov was Deputy Director of the Centre for Transit and Logistics of the ‘Qazindustry’ JSC, Advisor of the Chairperson of the Board of Kazakhstan’s N. Nazabayev International Airport, Director of the Strategic Development Department of the ‘NC Kazakhstan Engineering’ JSC, and Deputy Chairperson of the Board of the ‘Kaztekhnologii’ JSC.
Mr. Mario Apostolov
UNECE Regional Adviser, Economic Cooperation and Trade Division
Mario Apostolov is a Regional Adviser at the Economic Cooperation and Trade Division of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). He has provided advice on trade facilitation and trade development to transitioning economies, including countries of the UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) and in Southeastern and Eastern Europe. Mr. Apostolov has expertise in the operations of national trade facilitation bodies, the ‘Single Window’ approach to export, import and transit clearance, regional trade integration, trade facilitation reforms and the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, as well as digitalization of multimodal transport data and document exchange. He holds a Ph.D. from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies at the University of Geneva, and teaches a course on the Dynamics of Regional Cooperation and Diplomacy at the International University in Geneva. His publications cover such diverse matters as regional integration, trade facilitation, and the geopolitics of Christian-Muslim relations.
Gita Viksne
Latvian Customs, Head of NCTS Help-desk
Ms. Gita Viksne has more then 27 years work experience in Latvian customs. Since 2008 she is working at Latvian National Customs Board at position Head of Transit Maintenance and Processing Unit, Head of NCTS Help-desk. Before she was senior customs expert of Transit control division. Participation in the New Computerized Transit System project as tester of programs.
Gita participated in UNECE working parties concerning TIR procedure electronation. She has experience on dealing with National NCTS Help- desk responsibilities, collaboration with other EU Countries Help-desks, elaboration of national legislation concerning Transit customs procedure. She participates in inside working groups and EU Customs groups meetings.
Ms. Viksne graduated of Latvian Language and Literature with Journalistic speciality at the Latvia University, Riga, Latvia.
She speaks in Latvian, Russian and English.
Ms. Zulfiya Karimova
Asian Development Bank, Portfolio Management Officer
Zulfia Karimova is an international development professional who has supported initiatives undertaken by ADB, IMF, the World Bank, UN agencies, the private sector and international NGOs, think tanks and academia. She currently manages sub-regional cooperation and integration (RCI) projects in the People’s Republic of China, Mongolia, and also subregional trade initiatives of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) program, and in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). Ms. Karimova has had extensive experience in managing policy dialogue with senior government officials, and directing complex programs in the RCI, corporate finance and social sectors, as well as in the strategic coordination and implementation of ADB-wide strategies and policies. She has led and coordinated multi-stakeholder and cross-sectoral efforts in the conceptualization and design of related innovative development initiatives
Ms. Zhumagul Kudyarova
National Company KTZ (Kazakhstan), Head of the Project “Single Digital Window”
Ms. Kudyarova is the Leader of the Project “Single Digital Window” launched by NC KTZ JSC with the aim of creating a single digital information space for customers, which integrates commercial functions of all affiliated companies at a single point. Ms. Kudyarova is a Bolashak International Fellowship graduate – she has a master’s degree in International Management of Logistic Systems at the Moscow State University of Railway Engineering.
Mr. Max Ee
USAID Trade Central Asia, International Consultant
Max Ee is a transport and logistics consultant based in Singapore. He has 23 years of experience in the domain of supply chain management, international trade facilitation and cross-border logistics. Max holds a Master of Science in Logistics, Graduate Diploma in Systems Analysis and a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) 2nd Upper Honours, awarded from National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University, both ranked 11th and 13th in QS World University Rankings 2021. His clientele included World Bank, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Asian Development Bank and International Trade Center. Max is a Certified Blockchain Consultant.
His career started at Agility Logistics where he worked in all operations levels for integrated logistics for Multi-National Clients. After approximately 8 years in the private sector, he was invited by Asian Development Bank to advise on international logistics development for Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC), a multilateral platform for supporting economic integration and growth of the Central Asia region. During his many years of consulting work, Max spent much time in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on trade logistics and development strategies. In 2009, Max was in the founding team that pioneered the Corridor Performance Measurement and Monitoring (CPMM) tool that collects empirical data on transport time and cost for freight movements on road and rail across Central Asia. The results are presented in the annual Ministerial Meeting.
Mr. Nurlan Kulbatyrov
JSC “Center for Trade Policy development “QazTrade”, Deputy Сhairman
He started his career in 2009 as a Senior Expert of the Center for Economic Development Planning at the “Institute of Economic Research” JSC under the Ministry of National Economy. In 2010-2016, Mr. Kulbatyr served as a Senior Expert of the Department of Analysis of Investment Processes, Head of the Division of Analysis of Investment Processes, and Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship Development of the” Institute of Economic Research” JSC under the Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Since May 3, 2016, he was appointed Deputy General Director of the joint-stock company “Center for Trade Policy Development “QazTrade” under the Ministry of Trade and Integration.
Mr. Samson Uridia
Head of International Relations Department of Georgia’s State Revenue Service Georgia
Samson Uridia is the Head of the Department for International Relations of the Georgian Revenue Service, while also serving as a subject matter expert at the international development company Policy and Management Consulting Group (PMCG). In his role at the revenue service, Mr. Uridia has overseen the management of relations with international tax, customs and SPS communities, while also managing international institutional and capacity building projects. Before this he was the Head of Division for Customs Procedures and Technological Schemes for the revenue service’s methodology department. Additionally, Mr. Uridia has been team leader and advisor for several projects. In this capacity he has been project leader of the project ‘Supporting the Accession of Georgia to the Conventions on Transit Area and Launching of the New Computerized Transit System (NCTS)’ run from 2018 to 2020, and of the project ‘Strengthening Administrative Capacity of the Georgian Revenue Service in Taxation’ completed in 2016. He has been the resident collaboration adviser for the project ‘Strengthening the National Customs and Sanitary-Phyto-sanitary Border Control System in Georgia’ run from 2012 to 2013.
Mr. Bondo Bolkvadze
USAID’s Trade Central Asia Activity, International Consultant
Bondo Bolkvadze is a senior consultant at Deloitte specializing in the field of customs administration and audit, cross-border trade-related business process optimization, and risk mitigation plans. He has worked as a Trade Facilitation Adviser for the USAID Competitiveness, Jobs and Trade Activity, in which role he developed plans for a Customs Trusted Trader Program, and Agricultural Green Channels to enhance interregional trade and transport services between Central Asian countries. He also facilitated joint workshops and public-private dialogue for the Georgian and Azerbaijani transport sectors. From 2012 to 2016 he assisted the Georgian government, particularly supporting the Georgian Revenue Service in running a customs Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) program, and the Ministry of Economic and Sustainable Development in strengthening public-private discussion of reforms related to the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Georgia (DCFTA). Mr. Bolkvadze has led seminars for Turkmenistan’s customs, trade and transport officials, with the objective of facilitating national trade and transport connectivity with international trade routes.
