WASHINGTON, May 21, 2019  -- The Caspian Policy Center and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will hold the fourth Trans-Caspian Forum on May 23th in Washington, D.C. with the support of the embassies of Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. The forum unites policy and business leaders from the U.S. and six Trans-Caspian corridor countries to discuss opportunities and challenges for enhancing mutually beneficial strategic engagement in business, trade, and investment. The U.S. has been integral in protecting the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the Central Asian countries since their independence. It also played a key role in first-generation policies and projects to develop connectivity throughout the Caspian region, especially by championing the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Southern Gas Corridor. "The time is ripe once again for the United States to play a stronger role to enhance connectivity and cooperation in the region. I am pleased that the Trans-Caspian Forum is bringing together government officials, thinkers, and business leaders to identify new opportunities and define concrete recommendations for next steps the United States can take to enhance its own role and to strengthen the countries in the region," said Ambassador (Ret.) Richard E. Hoagland, Board Member of the Caspian Policy Center. "The economic future of Eurasia depends to a great degree on the capacity of policy makers in the region to envisage a shared future. This can only be done successfully in a dialogue with business, which is why the Chamber is delighted to bring stakeholders together, and jointly push for dynamic growth in the diverse region defined and united by the Caspian and Black Seas," said Gary Litman, Vice President for Global Initiatives at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "With this Trans-Caspian Forum, we are pleased to present a venue to bring together business leaders, foreign-policy experts, and government officials from the United States and the countries of the region to explore new directions and identify new opportunities," said Efgan Nifti, Executive Director of the Caspian Policy Center. For more information, visit transcaspianforum.org. The Caspian Policy Center is an independent, nonprofit research think tank based in Washington, D.C. Economic, political, energy, and security issues of the Caspian region constitute the central research focus of the Center. Contact: Caspian Policy Center Phone: (202) 349 3762 Email: [email protected] Website: www.caspianpolicy.org