On March 4–5, 2025, the Valdai Discussion Club will hold the 5th Central Asian Conference. Its theme is “Russia and Central Asia: Cooperation in a Multipolar World”. The conference will be held in Irkutsk.
The conference will be attended by over 50 experts and political figures from 10 countries, including India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Irkutsk Region Governor Igor Kobzev and Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club Andrey Bystritsky are expected to open the event.
The Central Asian Valdai Club conference is being held for the fifth time in Russia. This year, the venue is moving from Ufa, Bashkiria to Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia (Irkutsk), one of the most recognizable symbols of Siberia and Russia. The goal of the conference is to expand intellectual discussion among the expert community of Russia and the Central Asian countries in the context of fundamental changes in the world order.
A shared history, linguistic and cultural heritage, and geographical and geopolitical space make Russia and the Central Asian countries natural partners with regards to security, economic development and social and humanitarian ties. Today, they are also brought together by the negative aspects of globalisation, caused by the desire of developed countries to impose their rules of the game through unilateral restrictive measures and exclusion from world trade.
Russia's comprehensive approach to the challenges the countries face is reflected in its initiative to form a Eurasian security architecture, announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 14, 2024. Maintaining a dialogue with partners in the region, primarily from the Central Asian states, is important for its implementation.
The Central Asian conference will last two days. Its programme includes an opening, four thematic sessions and an open discussion. The opening of the conference and the first session (March 4), as well as the final open discussion (March 5) will be available to the media and the general public and will be broadcast on the Club's website.
During the sessions, experts will discuss the following topics:
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Real multipolarity: opportunities and challenges;
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Eurasian security and state sovereignty;
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Fair solutions to common challenges: climate, water, demography;
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Russia and Central Asia in Greater Eurasia: international trade and transport.
Outstanding political scientists, economists and thinkers from the Central Asian region will participate in the discussions, including:
Guzel Majtdinova, Director of the Centre for Geopolitical Studies of the Russian-Tajik (Slavic) University; Kubatbek Rakhimov, Executive Director of the Public Foundation ‘Applicata - Centre for Strategic Solutions’, Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic (2019-2020); Murad Uzakov, Head of the Centre for Regional Studies of the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan; Rakhim Oshakbaev, Director of the ‘TALAP’ Centre for Applied Research and others.
The invited participants from outside the region include Ali Eghbali Zarch, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Political and International Studies (Iran); Rakesh Bhadauria, Major General ret., Director of the Centre for Land Warfare Studies in New Delhi, India; Yang Cheng, Distinguished Professor and Executive Director of the Shanghai Academy of Global Governance and Regional Studies of the Shanghai International Studies University (China) and others.
The Russian side will be represented by: Anastasia Likhacheva, Dean of the Faculty of World Economy and World Politics at the National Research University Higher School of Economics; Aza Migranyan, Leading Researcher at the Centre for Post-Soviet Studies at the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Stanislav Pritchin, Head of the Central Asia Sector at IMEMO RAS; Viktor Shakhmatov, Director of the Digital Initiatives Directorate at the Eurasian Development Bank; Fyodor Lukyanov, Research Director of the Valdai Discussion Club; Timofei Bordachev, Professor at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club and others.
Working languages: Russian, English.
Information for the media: In order to get accredited for the event, please fill out the form on our web site. Accreditation closes on February 28 at 12:00 Moscow Time. If you have any questions about the event, please call +79269307763.
Links to the live broadcast of the open sessions will be posted on all online platforms of the Valdai Club: on the website, X (formerly Twitter), VK, Telegram and Dzen.
