Third Russia-Kazakhstan Expert Forum
Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
Programme
List of speakers

On May 14-15, Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan, is to host the third Russia-Kazakhstan Expert Forum under the auspices of the Valdai Club and the Kazakhstan Council on International Relations.

In 2019, the Valdai Club is focusing its activities on Asia and the upcoming forum will serve as a logical continuation of this shift. The Club has already held a Middle East conference as well as bilateral Russian-Vietnamese and Russian-Indian conferences. This event features Russia’s closest neighbour, Kazakhstan.

Russia and Kazakhstan are strategic allies, the leading powers of the Eurasian Economic Union, whose collaboration, along with other member-states, largely defines the form and nature of interstate cooperation in Greater Eurasia.

The development of the Eurasian Economic Union, a topic that will take centre stage at the Kazakhstani-Russian forum, is now taking on particular importance, especially in the context of recent discussions of the “integration of integrations” or alignment of integration processes across Greater Eurasia, including interaction between SCO and EAEU at the international Belt and Road Forum in Beijing.

This is essentially continuation of discussions about creation of a new geopolitical reality, building on the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin to establish a Greater Eurasian space.

In addition, it is beyond doubt that post-Soviet states are playing a crucial role in shaping a system of regional security, and Russia needs to strengthen its positions in the region, including via communication at the expert level.

This year, the sessions of the two-day conference will be dedicated to the following topics:

  • Kazakhstani-Russian media dialogue;
  • What awaits the region in an era of global geopolitical transformation?
  • Economic cooperation in Eurasia: trends and forecasts;
  • The rise of China: prospects and challenges;
  • The new social contract: values, identity, and the transformation of public conscience.

The Valdai Club traditionally organises the event in tandem with its partners at the Kazakhstan Council on International Relations, which brings together the leading Kazakhstani experts on international relations, in order to discuss and develop recommendations on the most pressing issues on the global agenda.

The forum will feature top Kazakhstani dignitaries and policymakers such as Yerlan Karin, Adviser to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Chairman of the Kazakhstan Council on Foreign Relations; Botagoz Rakisheva, Director of the Public Opinion Research Institute, and others. The Russian participants in the forum include; Ilya Doronov, Managing Director of RBC-TV; Leonid Bliakher, Head of the Department of Philosophy at Pacific National University; Ivan Safranchuk, Associate Professor at MGIMO University; Stanislav Tkachenko, Professor at the St. Petersburg State University Department of International Relations, and others.

In 2017 and 2018, the forum was also held in the capital of Kazakhstan, formerly known as Astana.

Information for the media! To attend, please fill out the accreditation form or call +7 926 930 77 63.