Photo by AXP Photography on Unsplash
The international Tax and Investment Centre in Washington and EU Political Report in Brussels are pleased to sponsor an international conference entitled “Central Asia and the EU’s Historic Chance”.
The meeting will be held at 10.00 am on Thursday 7th December at the Brussels Press Club at Rue Froissart 95, 1040 Brussels, Belgium.
The debate will be held in two panel discussions, to reflect the views from the West and from the East, and the speakers will include:-
Panel 1 Europe’s Historic Chance in Central Asia: The View from the West
Dr. Ariel Cohen (Moderator) – Managing Director of the Energy, Growth, and Security Programme at the International Tax and Investment Centre and nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Centre.
Dr. Tatiana Mitrova (remotely) – Research Fellow at the Centre on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University
John M. Roberts – Non-resident senior fellow at Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Centre and a senior partner with Methinks Ltd.
Dr. Vladislav Inozemtsev – Director of the Center for Post-Industrial Studies and a Senior Research Fellow with the Polish Institute of Advanced Studies.
Dr. Antonia Colibasanu – Senior Geopolitical Analyst at Geopolitical Futures and Senior Fellow for Eurasia Programme at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
Panel 2 Europe’s Historic Chance in Central Asia: The View from the East
Dr. Antonia Colibasanu (Moderator) – Senior Geopolitical Analyst at Geopolitical Futures and Senior Fellow for Eurasia Programme at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
Dr. Vladislav Inozemtsev – Director of the Centre for Post-Industrial Studies and a Senior Research Fellow with the Polish Institute of Advanced Studies.
Wesley Alexander Hill (remotely) – Lead Analyst and International Programs Manager for the Energy, Growth, and Security Program at the International Tax and Investment Centre.
His Excellency Kairat Abusseitov – Head of International Programmes at the Nazarbayev Foundation, former Kazakh Ambassador to the UK.
The background
Central Asia is currently in strategic flux to a degree not seen since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Decades of economic reforms, diplomacy, and local state-building have collided with challenging geopolitical circumstances to present the European Union members and the West at large with an unprecedented opportunity, not just in the region, but for the independent exercise of a unified foreign policy.
Central Asia has consciously had to balance the dangers and demands of its immediate neighbours – China, Russia, Iran, and Afghanistan – with its desires to attract Western investment, technical expertise, political support and engagement.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s Belt and Road 2.0 relaunch in Beijing, and the American withdrawal from Afghanistan have occurred right as the European Union has signed multiple transformative agreements with local actors throughout 2022 and 2023.
The conference will explore how these agreements could potentially solidify the European Union as an independent pole of power, isolate Russia, balance China, and advance the EU’s many economic and environmental initiatives. Simultaneously, coordination with the U.S., Japan, Korea, and Australia may provide a necessary balance for the region.
These agreements are not panaceas to the EU’s problems of foreign policy and security coherence. Should the EU miss its historic chance to strategically engage in the heart of Eurasia, it could very well embolden Russia and China in the region, ensuring that the authoritarian adversaries direct the coming global power rebalancing and energy transition.
Please join us on December 7th, 2023, at 10:00 AM CET at the Brussels Press Club for what promises to be a timely and informative meeting on this important region. Further updates for the conference will be published on this website, and on the events page of the Brussels Press Club website from where it will also be live-streamed.
The event will be followed by an informal buffet networking lunch. We are experiencing high levels of interest in the conference and we recommend to secure your place early by registering on our dedicated registration email address stating your name, job title and organisation. Please register on our dedicated registration email here .
