The conference welcomed more than 100 participants, including faculty from Harvard, MIT, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Duke University, the University of Lausanne, and the University of London. Kazakhstani universities were also represented, including KIMEP and Almaty Management University, as well as institutions from neighboring countries such as Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Representatives of international organizations such as the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, and the National Bank of Kazakhstan also took part as presenters.
The program featured 40 talks organized into 12 sessions, two keynote addresses (by Prof. Rustam Ibragimov, Imperial College, and Prof. Sergey Paltsev, MIT), and a poster session.
The event marked the first step toward launching the Central Asian Economics Association (CAEA), a platform designed to support research coordination, funding, and future academic initiatives. This was formally announced during a roundtable by representatives of Nazarbayev University, New Uzbekistan University, and the American University of Central Asia—the three universities that will cooperate to establish the Association.