On May 17-18, Nizhny Novgorod hosted the 2nd Central Asian Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club. This year’s theme is “Russia – Central Asia: Cooperation and Development Amid Instability”. The opening and the first session titled “Geopolitical Challenges and Joint Development” were broadcasted live on our site on May 17.
Opening of the conference:
10:00 – 10:15
Session I. Geopolitical Challenges and Joint Development:
10:15 – 11:45
The main content of world politics today is a radical revision of existing practices of international interaction. The end of globalization, tensions and conflict in relations between Russia and China, on the one hand, and the United States and Europe, on the other, require an update of approaches and practical solutions to issues that were until recently seen through the lens of the accepted norms and rules of interaction between states and the functioning of existing institutions. The role of such institutions as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization or the Eurasian Economic Union, where Russia and the countries of Central Asia are members or observers, deserves special attention. The task of the session is to assess the overall impact of new turbulence, the possibility of a joint response to existential challenges and concrete solutions to those problems that already affect negatively the ability of states to achieve their main development goals.