Strong and Unique: Three Decades of U.S.-Kazakhstan Partnership
By S. Frederick Starr and Svante E. Cornell
Prefaces by Amb. Erzhan Kazykhan and Richard Hoagland
Illustrations
Preface by Ambassador Erzhan Kazykhan
Preface by Ambassador Richard Hoagland
Chapter One: Dramatic Beginnings
Chapter Two: Accelerating Engagement
Chapter Three: Changing Priorities
Chapter Four: Embracing New Variables
Chapter Five: New Focus, New Grounding
Chapter Six: Kazakhstan and the United States: Achievements and Challenges
Appendices
Meet the talented speakers for each of our Forum panels below!
We are honored to have 30 distinguished panelists and moderators joining us next week from across the CAMCA region and beyond. Our panels are comprised of CEOs, CFOs, Chairmen, Directors, Senior Fellows, Acting Presidents, Deputy Ministers, Director Generals, Founders and more. We look forward to hearing their important insights surrounding this year's theme: "Economic Prospects of the CAMCA Region."
Learn more about the members of the CAMCA Network featured throughout our panels here.
(All times EST)
MONDAY, JUNE 21st
9:45-10:00 AM
“New Opportunities Across CAMCA” - Welcome & Remarks by Dr. Svante Cornell Director, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, American Foreign Policy Council
10:00-11:00 AM
Panel Discussion - “New Regionalism in Central Asia and Its Challenges”
Moderator:
Dr. S. Frederick Starr, Chairman, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, AFPC
Speakers:
Dennis de Tray, Board Member and Adviser to the President, Nazarbayev University
Dr. Subir Lall, Deputy Director, Middle East and Central Asia Department, IMF
Dr. Eldor Aripov, Director, Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Dr. Taleh Ziyadov, Director General, Baku International Sea Trade Port, Azerbaijan
Aziza Umarova, Co-Founder, SmartGov Consulting; CAMCA Network Member, Uzbekistan
TUESDAY, JUNE 22nd
9:00-9:45 AM
Keynote Interview with Dr. Sergei Guriev, Professor of Economics & Scientific Director of the Master and PhD programmes in Economics, Sciences Po
Interviewer:
Rakhim Oshakbayev, Director, Center of Applied Research “TALAP”; CAMCA Network Member, Kazakhstan
10:00-11:00 AM
Panel Discussion - “U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan: What Does it Mean for Political and Economic Alignments in the Region?”
Moderator:
Michael Doran, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
Speakers:
Dr. Omar Sharifi, Country Director, American Institute of Afghanistan Studies; Assistant Professor of Social Sciences, American University of Afghanistan; CAMCA Network Member
Ikram Sehgal, Chairman, Pathfinder Group; Chairman, Karachi Council on Foreign Relations
Amb. Gautam Mukhopadhaya, Senior Visiting Fellow, Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi; former Ambassador of India to Afghanistan (2010-2013)
Alex Vatanka, Director of Iran Program and Senior Fellow, Frontier Europe Initiative, Middle East Institute
Iskander Akylbayev, Executive Director, Kazakhstan Council on International Relations; CAMCA Network Member
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23rd
9:00-9:45 AM
Keynote Interview with Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, Chairman & CEO, EmPath; Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce
Interviewer:
Samiullah Mahdi, Award-winning journalist and lecturer at Kabul University; CAMCA Network Member, Afghanistan
10:00-11:00 AM
Panel Discussion - “Impediments to Foreign Investments in CAMCA: Real or Imaginary?”
Moderator:
Gaukhar Nurgalieva, Senior Advisor, FMA; CAMCA Network Member, Kazakhstan
Speakers:
Yernar Zharkeshov, Principal and Head of Eurasia, Whiteshield Partners; CAMCA Network Member, Kazakhstan
Yusif Abdullayev, Acting President of Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO)
Dulguun Baasandavaa, Deputy Chairman, National Development Agency of Mongolia; CAMCA Network Member
Baurzhan Kankin, Chairman, Social Entrepreneurship Corporation “Shymkent”
THURSDAY, JUNE 24th
9:00-9:45 AM
Keynote Interview with Saad Mohseni, Chairman & CEO, MOBY Group, Afghanistan
Interviewer:
Ali Aslan, International TV Presenter & Journalist Zoom
10:00-11:00 AM
Panel Discussion - “Will a New Entrepreneurial Class Drive CAMCA Economies?”
Moderator:
Zabihullah Ziarmal, Director General, Afghanistan National Standard Authority; Chairman, World Trade Centre Kabul Afghanistan; CAMCA Network Member
Speakers:
Valeri Chekheria, Serial entrepreneur and hotelier; Founder and CEO of Hospitality Projects; Adviser to the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia
Abdullo Kurbanov, Co-founder and CEO, Alif Bank; CAMCA Network Member, Tajikistan
Khulan Davaadorj, Founder, Director and Chief Technologist, LHAMOUR LLC; CAMCA Network Member, Mongolia
Aziz Soltobaev, Founder, KG Labs Public Foundation; CAMCA Network Member, Kyrgyzstan
Abdulahad Badghisi, General Manager, Samarkand Bukhara Silk Carpet JV
FRIDAY, JUNE 25th
9:00-9:45 AM
Keynote Interview with Douglas Becker, Founder & Chairman, CINTANA Education; Board Chair, International Youth Foundation
Interviewer:
Dr. Mamuka Tsereteli, Senior Fellow, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, AFPC
10:00-11:00 AM
Panel Discussion - “Can Education Systems of CAMCA Countries Adjust to New Labor Market Demands?”
Moderator:
Yernar Zharkeshov, Principal and Head of Eurasia, Whiteshield Partners; CAMCA Network Member, Kazakhstan
Speakers:
Dr. Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, University of Central Asia
Fariz Ismailzade, Executive Vice Rector, ADA University, Azerbaijan
Hikmat Abdurahmanov, Co-founder and CEO, TEAM University; Co-founder, HMPARTNERS; CAMCA Network Member, Uzbekistan
Talant Sultanov, Co-founder and Chair, Kyrgyz Chapter of the Internet Society; CAMCA Network Member, Kyrgyzstan
Dr. Irakli Laitadze, Chief Financial Officer, GMT Mtatsminda; Lecturer at Ilya State University in Tbilisi; CAMCA Network Member, Georgia
For several years, the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program has focused its attention on the process of reform across Central Asia and the Caucasus. This online forum marks the publication of a study of human rights reforms in Kazakhstan. The country’s high ambitions for its place in the world demanded a serious re-consideration of the country's human rights record, something President Tokayev has embarked upon in recent years. Dr. Svante Cornell will present his research on the matter, documenting Kazakhstan's progress in this regard as well as challenges in the implementation of reforms.
Speakers:
Svante E. Cornell, Director, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program
Amb. George Krol, Associate, Harvard University Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Former United States Ambassador to Kazakhstan
Moderator:
S. Frederick Starr, Chairman, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program
When: Thursday, June 17, 2021
The event was also live-streamed on the CACI YouTube page.
Originally scheduled for 2020, the Review Conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty is now tentatively planned for August 2021. Ahead of this Conference, a group of 16 states from different regions and security contexts joined in 2019 to form the Stockholm Initiative on Nuclear Disarmament, in order to advance nuclear disarmament in a time of a deteriorating international security environment. At this webinar, representatives from Sweden, Kazakhstan, and Germany will discuss the Stockholm Initiative as well as the most pressing issues facing the agenda of nuclear disarmament. This includes the denuclearization of the DPRK, the fate of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran, and arms control dialogue among nuclear powers.
Speakers:
Amb. Ann-Sofie Nilsson, Ambassador for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Amb. Dastan Yeleukenov, Advisor to the Director, Kazakhstan Institute of Strategic Studies and former Head of the Department for International Security, Kazakhstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Commentator:
Olaf Poeschke, Deputy Head of Division, Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, Federal Foreign office, Berlin
Moderators:
Svante E. Cornell, Director, Institute for Security and Development Policy
When: April 7, 2021
The event is now available on YouTube.
Amid continued conflict in Afghanistan, Central Asian states have continued to intensify their engagement with their southern neighbor. Led by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Central Asians are no longer seeking to contain Afghanistan but are instead actively contributing to the country’s development. Kazakhstan’s commitment to peace and development in Afghanistan is long-standing, and its contributions manifold. In this event organized in cooperation with the Embassy of Kazakhstan, Ambassador Kaliyev discussed the situation in Afghanistan, the role of foreign players and actors, Afghanistan’s impact on regional security, as well as the role of Europe and America and avenues for cooperation with Kazakhstan.
This online forum was the first of a series of events marking the 30th anniversary of the independence of Kazakhstan.
Speakers:
H.E. Talgat Kaliyev, Special Representative of the President of Kazakhstan for Afghanistan.
S. Frederick Starr, Chairman, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program
Moderators:
Svante E. Cornell, Director, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program
Aida Yermekkalieva, Chargé d’Affaires a.i., Embassy of Kazakhstan, Stockholm
When: March 3, 2021, 9:30 AM EST / 3:30 PM CET
The event is now available on YouTube.