Leading World Economists Converge On Astana Economic Forum

Timely Summit As Storm Clouds Gather Around Global Economy

ASTANA, Kazakhstan, May 17, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Some of the world's top economic thinkers are slated to exchange views, predictions and offer prescriptions for cures to international economic ills during a meeting in the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan from May 22-24.

The occasion is the Fifth Astana Economic Forum, an annual fete of economists, academics, business leaders and government ministers from various nations to this fast-growing country that is strategically positioned between Russia and China.

Eleven Nobel Prize winners – most of them laureates in economics -- are speaking at this year's event, and the turbulence surrounding currencies such as the Euro, international trade, austerity measures and debt, and government efforts to grapple with those problems, are focal points on the agenda.

Other notables expected to attend include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan, plus top executives from multinationals such as Conoco Phillips, JP Morgan Chase, Barclays, Exxon Mobil, Total, Lukoil, General Electric, Rio Tinto and ArcelorMittal.

The Astana forum is heavy with participation from developing nations. Kazakhstan is making great efforts to diversify its economy away from commodities such as oil and gold and into more advanced industrial and technological pursuits.

John Nash Jr., the Nobel laureate from Princeton who is among the speakers, said, "In terms of significance, the Astana Economic Forum is perhaps comparable to the meetings in Davos," making reference to the World Economic Forum held annually in Davos, Switzerland.

Nouriel Roubini, the American economist dubbed "Doctor Doom" and a "permabear" by the media, who famously forecast the implosion of the U.S. housing market, will star in a solo panel at the event, which is expected to draw 5,000 participants from more than 80 countries around the world.

Two other Nobel laureates, Edward Prescott and Finn Kydland, will discuss their expectations for the world economy 2012-2013, and growth limits for developing nations.

Astana officials will be at the forum to tout their city as an investment venue. The capital, much of it new, has been an engine of Kazakhstan's recent growth. The country has plans to privatize a number of its most prominent national companies via IPOs, attracting continued keen interest from global investment bankers. Deal-making is very much a part of the unofficial agenda at Astana.

SOURCE Astana Economic Forum