T20 Argentina associated event.

Infrastructure development is important for achieving sustainable economic growth and provides for a steady rise in social wellbeing in the long run. Emerging economies are interested in sustainable infrastructure development but do not have the resources needed to support vital infrastructure projects. In these circumstances, the emergence of new kinds of cross-institutional and cross-border regional development-focused entities can foster better cooperation within and across borders.

“Only with the support of developed countries and multilateral financial institutions and only through multilateral cooperation is it possible to create the necessary conditions for the development of emerging regions, which don’t have the technological and financial capabilities for sustainable infrastructure development” says Dr. Vladimir Yakunin, the chairman of the DOC Research Institute board.

The T20 roundtable on Capacity building for infrastructure development in emerging economies is an T20 Argentina associated event in partnership with the Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute. Since the Beijing T20 Summit in 2016, DOC Research experts have been participating in international think tank community events. In 2018, the DOC developed three policy briefs within the framework of the T20 Argentina task force: (1) on climate action and infrastructure for development; (2) on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; and (3) on social cohesion and global governance and the future of politics.

The T20 roundtable on infrastructure development will discuss the following topics:

1. A multilateral approach to the improvement of the investment environment in developing countries: Practical steps for international financial entities;
2. Enhancing knowledge and data collection: Providing opportunities for institutions to share experiences from different countries.
3. Ways to stimulate public private partnerships and investment in infrastructure;
4. Fostering people-to-people cooperation for common sustainable action to prevent economic disruption and terrorist threats;
5. Cross-institutional policy coordination for effective resource development and the prevention of challenges to the environment;

The outcomes of the roundtable will enable expanded research in cross-border and cross-institutional cooperation for sustainable infrastructure development, which is important for regional and international cooperation. The results will be discussed at the T20 summit, which will be held in Buenos Aires on 16–18 September. Specific recommendations will be made after the summit to the Argentine G20 presidency.

Programme

Moderator: Dr Vladimir Yakunin, the chairman of the DOC Research Institute’s supervisory board

Speakers:

• Gabriel Lanfranchi, the co-chair of T20 Task force on climate change and infrastructure development; and the director of the CIPPEC Cities Programme; 

• Dr Pablo Ava, the co-chair for policy and research, T20 Argentina; a professor at Universidad de Buenos Aires; the head of policy and research at the Argentine Council for Foreign Relations 

• José Siaba Serrate, chair of T20 task force on Finance (CARI) 

• Gustavo Martínez, the managing director of Consejo Argentino para las Relaciones Internacionales (CARI) 

• Dr Valentine Udoh James, the editor-in-chief at the Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa (JSDA). Presenting on Improving the prevailing conditions for infrastructure development in Africa through capacity-building 

• Dr Thorsten Jelinek, the Europe director of the Taihe Institute. Presenting on strategic infrastructure and Belt and Road initiative 

• Martino Tran, the director of the Urban Predictive Analytics Lab; the co-director of the Master of Engineering Leadership in Urban Systems; and an assistant professor in the School of Community and Regional Planning at UBC. Presenting on smart cities and infrastructure development 

• Augusto Soto, a member of United Nations Global Experts; a lecturer at ESADE; and a director at the Dialogue with China project. Presenting on OBOR: A peculiar case of PPP for China and the West 

• Dr Sebastien Goulard, the founder of Cooperans and the founder and coordinator of OBOReurope. Presenting on financing Belt and Road infrastructures 

• Gaukhar Nurgalieva, the head of the Eurasian Studies Lab, SKOLKOVO institute for Emerging Market Studies (IEMS). Presenting on public-private partnership in emerging markets with a focus on Central Asia 

• Dimitris Psarrakis, an economic and monetary policy advisor at the European Parliament. Presenting on cross-border infrastructure development