Spring 2023 CAMCA Fellow Presentation: Ripples from Russia's War in Ukraine in the CAMCA Region
Join the spring 2023 Rumsfeld Foundation's Central Asia, Mongolia, the Caucasus and Afghanistan (CAMCA) fellows for a presentation on the regional economic and political implications of Russia's war in Ukraine. Speakers will examine various strategies to better protect their sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and improve conditions for further economic development. Register for this in-person event to discuss these issues and learn why the U.S. should support the CAMCA countries in this challenging international environment.
Moderator: S. Frederick Starr, Chairman, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at theAmerican Foreign Policy Council
When: Tuesday April 25, 2023 - 3:00-4:30 PM EST
Where: American Foreign Policy Council, 509 C Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002
In-Person Meeting: CAMCA: A New Era
In-Person Meeting
Co-organized by the CAMCA Forum founders:
The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at AFPC
The CAMCA Network
The Rumsfeld Foundation
Forum on CAMCA: A New Era
Join the fall 2022 Rumsfled Foundation Central Asia, Mongolia, the Caucasus and Afghanistan (CAMCA) fellows for a presentation on the region's next chapter. From it's geostrategic location to its large and viable workforce, CAMCA countries have the potential to create a shared economic system supporting regional trade investments, labor and peacekeeping, Join the Fellows to learn how the U.S. can better interact with, and invest in, this rapidly developing region.
When: Wednesday November 9, 3:00 - 4:30 PM EST
Where: American Foreign Policy Council, 509 C Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002
Moderator: Svante Cornell, Director, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at American Foreign Policy Council
Register for the June 15-16, 2022 CAMCA Forum!
Join us June 15-16 for the 2022 CAMCA Regional Forum!
THEME: "New Geopolitics and Geoeconomics in CAMCA"
SESSION TOPICS
- CAMCA Geopolitics after Ukraine: What’s Desirable? What’s Possible?
- How to Deal with Echo-sanctions in CAMCA
- Building Modern Skills in CAMCA Countries
- Securing CAMCA’s Digital Future in an Era of U.S.-China Geo-Tech Rivalry
- Trade and Transport in CAMCA: Regional and Global Connectivity
- What’s Next in Afghanistan?
- Prospects of Regional Financial Structures in CAMCA
- Women Taking Power in CAMCA: Prospects and Barriers
- Food Security and Building Agritech in CAMCA
- Meet the New Entrepreneurs of CAMCA
- Accelerating Regional Cooperation in Policy Analysis: A Roadmap
- Investing in CAMCA: How to Seize Opportunities
Forum speakers represent a wide variety of sectors and expertise across the CAMCA region and beyond...
Below is a sample of the international and U.S.-based organizations and businesses that confirmed speakers
- Central Asia-Caucasus Institute
- American University of Afghanistan
- National Development Agency of Mongolia
- Chemonics International Inc.
- Cintana Education
- Education Committee of the Georgian Parliament
- Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction
- UNDP Kyrgyzstan
- Hudson Institute
- Batumi Multimodal Terminal
- Free Democrats Party of Georgia
- T-Cell Tajikistan
- White & Case LLP
- CJSC Bank of Asia
- Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE)
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Avesta Investment Group
- Atlantic Council
- Alif Capital
- And many more...
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The CAMCA (Central Asia-Mongolia-Caucasus-
Confronting Global Challenges in the CAMCA Region
CAMCA (Central Asia, Mongolia, the Caucasus and Afghanistan) is a vulnerable region grappling with a range of issues including low connectivity, economic dependency, food security, poor governance, corruption, and terrorism - all exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Not fully recovered from the pandemic's negative impacts, the war in Ukraine poses a new set of political and economic challenges. In addition, the reemergence of the Taliban and terrorist syndicate in Afghanistan has created a new phase of security challenges for the entire region. The presentation by the spring 2022 Rumsfeld Fellows examined the challenges posed to the CAMCA region by the pandemic, Taliban, and Ukrainian conflict, and suggest possible solutions.
When: Tuesday, May 3, 2022, 3:00-4:30 PM EST
Where: Middle East Institute, 1763 N St NW, Washington, DC 20036
Co-organizers: The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at AFPC, The CAMCA Network and The Rumsfeld Foundation
CAMCA Conversations - The Mongolian Economy: Post-pandemic Strategy
Co-organized by the CAMCA Forum founders:
The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at AFPC, The CAMCA Network The Rumsfeld Foundation
Lessons from Kyrgyzstan's Experiment with Parliamentarism
Mongolia, heavily reliant on trade with China, faced continuous challenges throughout the pandemic to maintain steady functioning of its economy. China’s ongoing closure of its border, as well as budget constraints, negatively affected the Mongolian economy. As a response to these challenges, the Government of Mongolia has proposed the economic 'New Revival Policy', which is aiming to not only solve the immediate challenges, but address the fundamental economic obstacles.
Speakers:
Tuvshinzaya Gantulga – Visiting Fellow, National Institute for Strategic Studies
Dulguun Baasandavaa – Advisor, Ministry of Economy and Development of Mongolia
Irmuun Demberel – Advisor, Prime Minister of Mongolia
Khulan Davaadorj – Founder and CEO, Lhamour
Moderator:
Svante Cornell – Director, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at American Foreign Policy Council
When: Wednesday, March 23, 2022,
9:00 AM EST (9:00 PM Ulaanbaatar time)
The event will also be live-streamed on the CACI Facebook page and the Silk Road Studies website.
CAMCA Conversations feature unique and fresh insights from members of the CAMCA Network − rising leaders committed to cultivating intraregional cooperation. Tune in to hear the latest on current events and topics of importance to the CAMCA region directly from some of the region’s top talent and influencers across all sectors.
Click here to sign up for CACI Forum mailing list
News
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Central Asia Diplomats Call for Closer Ties With US
REPRINTED with permission from Voice of America News
By Navbahor Imamova
WASHINGTON -- U.S.-based diplomats from Central Asia, a region long dominated by Russia and more recently China, say they are eager for more engagement with the United States.Many American foreign policy experts agree that a more robust relationship would be mutually beneficial, though U.S.-based nongovernmental organizations express deep concerns about human rights and authoritarian rule in the five countries: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Michael Delaney, a former U.S. trade official, argued in favor of greater engagement this week at a webinar organized by the American-Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce.
He noted that three of the five republics are World Trade Organization members and the other two are in the accession process — a goal actively encouraged by the U.S. government.
"I've always believed that this is a geographically disadvantaged area. There are relatively small national economies," he said. But, he said, collectively the region represents a potentially more connected market, about 80 million people.
Key issues
In this virtual gathering, all five Central Asian ambassadors to Washington expressed eagerness to work on issues the U.S. has long pushed for, such as water and energy sustainability, security cooperation, environmental protection and climate, and connectivity.
Kazakhstan's Ambassador Yerzhan Ashikbayev said that despite all factors, the United States does not want to leave the field to China, its global competitor, which actively invests in the region.
"Recent visit by 20 companies to Kazakhstan as a part of certified U.S. trade mission, including technology giants like Apple, Microsoft, Google, but also other partners like Boeing, have shown a growing interest," Ashikbayev said.
The Kazakh diplomat described a "synergy" of economies and diplomatic efforts. All Central Asian states are committed to dialogue, trade and multilateralism, he said. "As we are witnessing the return of the divisive bloc mentalities almost unseen for 30 years, it's in our best interest to prevent Central Asia from turning into another battleground of global powers."
During his first tour of Central Asia earlier this year, Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, meeting separately with the foreign ministers of all five countries.
That was deeply appreciated, said Meret Orazov, Turkmenistan's longtime ambassador, who also praised the regular bilateral consultations the U.S. holds with these countries.
Uzbek Ambassador Furqat Sidiqov sees the U.S. as an important partner, with "long-standing friendship and cooperation which have only grown stronger over the years."
"The U.S. has played a significant role in promoting dialogue and cooperation among the Central Asian nations through initiatives such as the C5+1," he said, referring to a diplomatic platform comprising Washington and the region's five governments.
"This is where we address common concerns and enhance integration," said Sidiqov. "We encourage the U.S. to bolster this mechanism."
Tashkent regards Afghanistan as key to Central Asia's development, potentially linking the landlocked region to the markets and seaports of South Asia. Sidiqov said his country counts on American assistance.
'Possibility of positive change'
Fred Starr, chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute in Washington, ardently advocates for the U.S. to adopt closer political, economic and people-to-people ties with the region.
In a recent paper, he wrote that among dozens of officials, diplomats, entrepreneurs, experts, journalists and civil society leaders interviewed in Central Asia, "even those most critical of American positions saw the possibility of positive change and … all acknowledged that the need for change is on both sides, theirs as well as ours."
This is the only region that doesn't have its own organization, said Starr, arguing that the U.S. could support this effort. "We have not done so, probably because we think that this is somehow going to interfere with their relations with their other big neighbors, the north and east, but it's not going to. It's not against anyone."
"Easy to do, low cost, very big outcome," he added, also underscoring that "there is a feeling the U.S. should be much more attentive to security."
"Japan, the European Union, Russia, China, their top leaders have visited. … No U.S. president has ever set foot in Central Asia," he said. He added that regional officials are left to wonder, "Are we so insignificant that they can't take the time to visit?"
Starr urges U.S. President Joe Biden to convene the C5+1 in New York during the 78th session of the U.N. General Assembly in September. "This would not be a big drain on the president's time, but it would be symbolically extremely important," he said. "All of them want this to happen."
Read at VOA News -
Read CACI Chairman S. Frederick Starr's recent interview on the resurgence of Imperial Russia with The American Purpose
Why Russians Support the War: Jeffrey Gedmin interviews S. Frederick Starr on the resurgence of Imperial Russia.
The American Purpose, May 23, 2023
Jeffrey Gedmin: Do we have a Putin problem or a Russia problem today?
S. Frederick Starr: We have a Putin problem because we have a Russia problem. Bluntly, the mass of Russians are passive and easily manipulated—down to the moment they aren’t. Two decades ago they made a deal with Vladimir Putin, as they have done with many of his predecessors: You give us a basic income, prospects for a better future, and a country we can take pride in, and we will give you a free hand. This is the same formula for autocracy that prevailed in Soviet times, and, before that, under the czars. The difference is that this time Russia’s leader—Putin—and his entourage have adopted a bizarre and dangerous ideology, “Eurasianism,” that empowers them to expand Russian power at will over the entire former territory of the USSR and even beyond. It is a grand and awful vision that puffs up ruler and ruled alike.
What do most Russians think of this deal? It leaves them bereft of the normal rights of citizenship but free from its day-to-day responsibilities. So instead of debating, voting, and demonstrating, Russians store up their frustrations and then release them in elemental, often destructive, and usually futile acts of rebellion. This “Russia problem” leaves the prospect of change in Russia today in the hands of alienated members of Putin’s immediate entourage, many of whom share his vision of Russia’s destiny and are anyway subject to Putin’s ample levers for control. Thus, our “Putin problem” arises from our “Russia problem.”
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CACI director Svante Cornell's interviewed on the 'John Batchelor Show' podcast regarding Turkey's 2023 presidential election
Listen to CACI director Svante Cornell's recent interview on the 'John Batchelor Show' podcast regarding Turkey's 2023 presidential election. Click here!
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New Article Series on Changing Geopolitics of Central Asia and the Caucasus
