CLDP Attorney Michael Cofield participated in the U.S.-Central Asia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement annual meetings on October 15-16, 2018 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. On Monday, October 15, CLDP briefed the TIFA-level Working Groups on the work and results of the CLDP-facilitated Expert Level Working Groups on customs issues, standards, and sanitary/phytosanitary measures. The briefing focused on the Groups' ongoing implementation of the recommendations received at the 2017 annual meetings. On Tuesday, October 16, 2018, CLDP joined the TIFA Council, consisting of officials from the United States, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, with Afghanistan and Pakistan as observers, in formally launching a Regional Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights and an Entrepreneurial Level Working Group on Women's Economic Empowerment. Strengthening intellectual property protections in Central Asia will significantly improve the business climate in the region decreasing risks for foreign investors and trading partners and encouraging and safeguarding domestic innovation. As it has in other regions of the world, CLDP's experience in facilitating women's economic empowerment will lead to greater prosperity, broader market access, and economic diversification.