PROSPECTS FOR ADVANCING CENTRAL ASIAN COOPERATION DISCUSSED AT THE SEVENTH CENTRAL ASIAN EXPERT FORUM

ASTANA, Kazakhstan

On 14 June 2024, SRSG for Central Asia and Head of UNRCCA Kaha Imnadze took part in the Seventh Central Asian Expert Forum (CAEF) which was organized by the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies (KazISS) under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan in partnership with the UNRCCA and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The Forum titled “The Gravity of Trust” gathered directors and leading experts of the Institutes of Strategic Studies from Central Asian states as well as national experts from various institutions in Kazakhstan. The Expert Forum, launched in 2018 in cooperation with the UNRCCA, serves as a platform for leading Central Asian think-tanks to discuss the most outstanding issues of the regional agenda, and to consider possible recommendations for the decision-makers in the region.

The Forum provided a platform for Heads of Institutes to exchange views on underlying factors promoting closer regional cooperation amidst existing and emerging risks and challenges in Central Asia. At the opening of the Forum, SRSG Kaha Imnadze noted that “maintaining the current pace of interaction between countries could gradually transform the region into a unified political entity representing regional interests on the international stage, particularly since issues such as climate change, transnational challenges and threats, and ensuring food, water, transport, and cyber security equally affect all of Central Asia.”

Discussions at the Forum focused on institutionalizing regional cooperation, enhancing transport infrastructure, and integration and developing a regional identity. The Forum also delved into the significance of human development and fostering a regional identity through better understanding youth perspective for regional cooperation. Additionally, the Forum supported activities of the Regional Centre in such areas as, countering terrorism and extremism, transboundary water management and climate change, and advancing the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda.

On the sidelines of the CAEF, SRSG Imnadze also held a number of meetings with state officials and representatives of partner organizations in Kazakhstan.