The event was organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry East Thuringia at Gera (Germany), the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, and the Center for Economic Research.

The head of the Department of Economy and High-Tech at Gera, Ms. Almut Weinert familiarized participants with the methods of conducting market analysis using IT tools. During the second session, Mr. Bjorn Grubel, Head of the Department on Quality of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry at Gera, made a presentation on the “Analysis of the market conditions using standardization processes,” on an example of the German experience.

Referring to Uzbekistan case, workshop participants reviewed the results of the Business Climate Index (BCI) and Business Environment Index (BEI) of Uzbekistan in 4th Quarter of 2012, as well as forecasts for the 1st Quarter of 2013. They had an opportunity to discuss the role of entrepreneurs in the assessment of business activity and environment, and the possibility of using these Indices while making investments or Government decisions.

In the 4th Quarter of 2012, the Business Climate (24,8) and Business Environment Indices (19.1) were positive, that points on the increased business activity and favorable business environment.

BCI and BEI project is a joint initiative of Center for Economic Research and Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan aimed at elaborating a toolkit for assessment and short-term forecasting of business activity and environment. The BC Index is calculated on the quarterly basis starting from July 2009. The calculations base on the survey of 700 enterprises’ managers from all 14 regions of Uzbekistan, and cover 6 main sectors of economy – 1) industry, 2) agriculture, 3) construction, 4) transport and communications, 5) trade and catering and 6) service sector. The Business Environment Index was launched from April 2011.

The present workshop is the first in the series of the trainings in 2013. The main goal of the workshop is to increase analytical capacity of the Chamber of Commerce and the Expert group in the field of reviewing and monitoring business legislation, analyzing the business climate and environment, as well as improve skills and knowledge of participants in methodology and practical calculation the Business Climate Index and Business Environment Index of Uzbekistan.