Westminster International University in Tashkent (WIUT) organised its inaugural Central Asian Law Forum as an important platform to bring together academics, working people and practicing lawyers, and present the findings to the global community and students and young scholars interested in the study of Central Asian Law with a focus on International Trade and Foreign Investment Laws.

The Forum was held at the university campus in Tashkent, Uzbekistan between the 15th and 16th March, 2021. This Forum was also conducted in a virtual mode to accommodate several international speakers. The event brought together country and regional stakeholders from research, government, law firms, as well as law students, to exchange knowledge, share ongoing research efforts and introduce new international standards and practices, and identify gaps for improvement and future research. The keynote speakers of the Forum were Catherine Pedamon (University of Westminster, UK), Christopher Hartwell (Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland) and Ioannis Glinavos (University of Westminster, UK).

The Forum discussed pivotal areas of bilateral investment treaties, foreign investment facilitation, accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Public-Private Partnership, Corporate Governance, Foreign Direct Investment and Corporate Social Responsibility, Law and Technology developments, and other contemporary trends from current academic debate and industry interest.

Students, scholars and law practitioners around the world, interested in the Forum output can find the Forum presentations and a recording of the Forum at our website http://conference.wiut.uz/calf2021.