Valdai Club to Hold Its Fourth Annual Central Asian Conference

On May 14–15, 2024, the Valdai Club will hold its fourth annual Central Asian conference, titled “Russia and Central Asia: Development and Security in a Changing World” This time, the conference will be held in Ufa (Sheraton Plaza Hotel, Tsyurupa St., 7).

Experts from Russia, India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are invited to participate in the conference. Radiy Khabirov, Head of the Republic of Bashkortostan, which is hosting the international forum, and Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, are expected to speak at the opening of the event.

The Central Asian conference of the Valdai Club is traditional and the most representative intellectual platform for assessing bilateral and multilateral relations and challenges in Central Asia.

The importance of a common political, economic and defence space with the Central Asian countries is emphasized by the Russia-Central Asia format, which was continued by the summit that included the leaders of the five Central Asian states and Russia. “As for the priorities of our interaction with the “six-party cooperation”, they presently involve strengthening political dialogue, as well as cooperating in security, economy and trade, agriculture and food supply, energy, environment, healthcare, sanitary and epidemiological well-being, humanitarian relations, migration, information technologies and mass communications,” President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin emphasized.

Traditionally, the Central Asian conference takes place in Russia, while the Valdai Club consistently implements a strategy to expand expert connections in Russian regions, and this year, the venue has moved from Siberia (Tomsk) to Bashkortostan (Ufa).

The choice of Bashkortostan as the host for the conference is due to the fact that the republic is one of the regions closest to Central Asia, both geographically, culturally and economically. Central Asian countries are among the top ten trading partners of the region and, despite the sanctions, continue to increase their trade turnover with Bashkortostan.

The Central Asian conference will last two days. The conference programme includes an opening, four sessions and an open discussion. As part of the agenda, experts will discuss the following issues:

• Russia and Central Asia in the overall system of the region: bilateral and multilateral aspects;
• Security and extremism: challenges to stability and development in Central Eurasia;
• Trade and migration: seeking win-win solutions;
• Environment, climate and water: the shared living space in Central Eurasia.

Russia is implementing a project aimed at assisting in addressing the environmental challenges in the Aral Sea area, through increased investments and trade volumes in the Central Asian region. Countries in Central Asia are emerging as promising investment destinations, despite the backdrop of anti-Russian sanctions. 

The following international guests will be attending the conference: 

Sanzhar Valiev, Director of Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan; Luiza Makhmutkhodzhaeva, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Head of the Department of International Economics and Business, Tashkent Branch of the Russian G. V. Plekhanov University of Economics; Feng Shaolei, Director of the Center for Russian Studies, Director of the Center for Co-Development with Neighboring Countries at East China Normal University (China); Pravesh Gupta, Research Fellow at the International Vivekananda Foundation (India); Bulat Sultanov, Director of the Research Institute of International and Regional Cooperation at the Kazakh-German University (Kazakhstan); Sanzhar Mukanbetov, Director of the National Strategic Studies Institute under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyzstan); Olzhas Baidildinov, former Advisor to the Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan, Leading Author of the “Baidildinov. Oil” Program (Kazakhstan); Guzel Majtdinova, Director of the Center for Geopolitical Studies of the Russian-Tajik (Slavic) University (Tajikistan); Adil Kaukenov, Chief Expert of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan); Rakhim Oshakbaev, Director of the TALAP Center for Applied Research (Kazakhstan); Kubatbek Rakhimov, Executive Director of the Applicata — Center for Strategic Solutions Public Foundation (Kyrgyzstan); Rashid Alimov, Director General of the SCO (2016-2018) (Tajikistan); Akbole Abylkasimova, Political Scientist, Member of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, Author of the Telegram Channel “About Everything, Tough, but Honestly” (Kazakhstan); Rustam Khaydarov, Director of the Institute for the Study of Asian and European Countries of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan; Yuri Chernogaev, Political Scientist, Author of the Channel “In the East, not Everything is as it Seems”, Expert of the Eurasia Heritage Foundation (Uzbekistan) and others.

From the Russian side, the following participants take part in the conference: Artem Dankov, Research Fellow at the MGIMO University, Associate Professor at Tomsk State University; Shamil Yenikeyeff, Professor of the Department of International Relations, Faculty of World Economy and International Politics, National Research University Higher School of Economics; Vasily Kashin, Director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics; Yelena Kuzmina, Head of the Sector of the Center for Post-Soviet Studies, IMEMO RAS; Anastasia Likhacheva, Dean of the Faculty of World Economy and International Politics at the National Research University Higher School of Economics; Grigory Mikhailov, Editor-in-Chief of the Logistan Telegram channel; Stanislav Tkachenko, Professor of the Department of European Studies, Head of the “Diplomacy” Master’s Program at the St. Petersburg State University; Viktor Shakhmatov, Director of the Directorate of Digital Initiatives of the Eurasian Development Bank; Sergey Yun, Head of the Department of World Politics, Faculty of Historical and Political Sciences, TSU; Andrey Bystritskiy, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club; Fyodor Lukyanov, Research Director of the Valdai Discussion Club; Timofei Bordachev, Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club, Scientific Director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics and others.

Working languages: English, Russian.

The Valdai Discussion Club was established in 2004. It is named after Lake Valdai, which is located close to Veliky Novgorod, where the Club’s first meeting took place.