2009

SEMINAR “CENTRAL ASIA AND GLOBAL CHALLENGES”

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan

10-11 March 2009

An international seminar «Central Asia and Global Challenges», organized  by the United Nations Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), took place in Ashgabat on 10-11 March 2009.

Senior staff of the foreign ministries of the regional countries, heads of national institutes of strategic research, international experts and famous political scientists from 15 countries, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, as well as Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Germany, Iran, China, Turkey, Russia, France, Slovakia and the USA participated in the forum.

The aim of the seminar is to ensure a profound exchange of views on what impact the global processes may have on the development of the situation in Central Asia, to forecast its dynamics, and to look for ways to address current and potential threats and challenges.

"This is a good opportunity to thoroughly discuss possible effects of the global processes on the situation in Central Asia, as well as to identify and analyze current problems with a view to finding solutions to them.," the UN Secretary General Special Assistant and Head of the UN Regional Center, Miroslav Jenca, said in his opening remarks.

The situation in Afghanistan was one of the main topics on the forum's agenda owing to a special responsibility that the regional countries bear towards their neighbor. This includes assistance to stabilize the situation and ensure social-economic development in this country. The forum stressed the need to establish a political dialogue and to join efforts with major international and regional organizations, namely OSCE, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Economic Cooperation Organization, CIS and other organizations.

The seminar gave an opportunity to representatives from regional institutes for strategic studies, academic and expert circles of Central Asia as well as international experts and political scientists to discuss such topical issues as regional security, impact of global financial and economic crisis on political and socio-economic processes in the region as well as existing problems of energy and environmental security.

Click here to view the publication developed after the seminar.