The main topic of the Forum is Inspiring Growth: People, Cities, Economies. The participants will discuss new ways of sustainable growth, human capital development and strengthening the potential of cities as international centers of knowledge and innovation.

The AEF events are traditionally held as panel sessions, round tables, conferences and business dialogues. The most important events of this forum will be sessions with the participation of the country's leadership, a roundtable of ministers of finance and heads of central banks of the Caucasian and Central Asian countries, Mongolia and member states of the Eurasian Economic Union chaired by the IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, Cyber and Digital Security-2019 session, Water as a Factor of Economic Growth and Security in Central Asia session, Global Silk Road-Mayors Forum under the G-Global auspices, OECD country review, etc.

This year about 5,000 people will take part at the AEF. Half of them are foreign delegates from 100 countries of the world. Among the international guests are Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde, President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Armida Alisjahbana, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of Sberbank of Russia Herman Gref, Chair of the Nokia Board of Directors Risto Siilasmaa, line ministers of Russia, Hungary, India, Turkmenistan, Belgium, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Poland, China, Tajikistan, as well as representatives of the UN, IDB, UNIDO and others.

The Astana Economic Forum is an annual central business event in Eurasia. It has been held since 2008 on the initiative of First President of Kazakhstan - Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Over 11 years, the AEF has gained the status of one of the most influential international platforms to discuss issues relating to improving and developing the world economy and financial system. The Forum was visited by about 50,000 delegates from 150 countries of the world; among them were more than 20 Nobel laureates and 30 high-level foreign political figures. As part of the forum, more than 300 memorandums and agreements were concluded for an amount of over $20 billion.