Summary of the conference

A scholarly conference entitled “Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia today”, dated for the 70th anniversary of Ishenbai Abdurazakov, a prominent statesman, public figure and diplomat, was held at the Institute for Public Policy on June 9, 2007.

Foreign policy problems in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia were discussed during the conference. Speakers raised such issues as the future activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), problems in Kyrgyzstan’s relations with major powers, the situation in Afghanistan and its impact on the states of Central Asia, and other issues.
The role of the major powers in relation to Kyrgyzstan’s foreign policy was discussed by the panel. In his presentation Valentin Bogatyrev, Coordinator of the Analytical Consortium “Perspektiva”, stated that Kyrgyzstan’s foreign policy is hung up on a Russia-U.S.-China triangle, which generates confrontation.

“We are constantly being torn: who are you with? – forcing upon even petty issues a difficult choice,” noted Bogatyrev. According to him, Kyrgyzstan’s sovereignty turned into a relative notion since it hosts troops of the two out of the three mentioned powers.

The creation of a new vector, a new “troika”, consisting of Germany, Japan and India could be one of the solutions of the problem. According to Bogatyrev, these states are not overwhelmed with the missionary “itch”; government and social organization in these states are much closer to the mentality of Central Asian states than the standards of the United States, Russia or China.

During the ensuing discussion this argument found both supporters and skeptics. Noting the need for changes in the country’s foreign policy, participants of the conference agreed that the problem would not be resolved through the replacement of one ‘troika’ by another. “It is necessary for us to determine who we are, what we are and what we want, and based on the answers we should formulate our foreign policy,” noted a number of conference participants.

Further participants of the conference discussed issues of regional scale. In his presentation on certain aspects of the SCO, Erlan Abdyldaev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kyrgyz Republic, pointed out several problems that this organization will have to resolve in the future.

The first problem lies in cooperation with external players. The SCO has been declared as an open organization, but it does not have any contact with external players, for instance with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), noted Abdyldaev. The United States and NATO have assumed responsibility over Afghanistan and are actually present in this region, but the SCO as an organization ignores this fact, said the speaker.

The issue of relations between Russia and China within the framework of the SCO remains ambiguous. The atmosphere of competition between the two main members of the organization has faded into the background only with the deployment of U.S. military bases in the region, but what happens when the American bases leave Central Asia remains a big issue.

Unbalanced participation of the members of the organization in its work remains an important issue. “The states of Central Asia provide only 2% of the SCO’s budget, whereas the remaining 98% are provided by China and Russia,” noted Erlan Abdyldaev. To optimize cooperation with the Organization, especially in economic issues, various schemes could be employed, like “2+4”, “2+2+2” and so on, but they contradict the principle of equality of the SCO member-states.

The situation in Afghanistan is of critical importance to the destinies of Central Asian states. In his presentation Aleksandr Knyazev, professor of the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University, stated that despite various interpretations, the situation in Afghanistan is far from improving and is in fact deteriorating.

“Today the Taliban controls five out of 31 provinces in the country; on average five terrorist acts occur every day, and the tension is gradually extending towards the north,” noted Knyazev. According to him the NATO forces are only playing the role of a deterrent, maintaining balance.

The situation in Afghanistan poses three main threats to its neighbors: drugs, refugees and using Afghanistan’s territory for training militants, etc. But according to Knyazev, the states of Central Asia cannot directly influence the situation in Afghanistan. “One of the real mechanisms for improving the situation is in stirring up economic relations, particularly trade in transborder areas,” noted the speaker.

The President of the Institute for Public Policy Muratbek Imanaliev spoke about strategic visions of external players and processes in Central Asia. Two Europeans gave two concepts that assumed understanding by the international community of the historical development of Central Asia: the Great Silk Road and the “Great Game.” While analyzing current views of the world towards Central Asia, it is important for the countries of the region to understand to which of these definitions those views relate.

“Central Asia adopted the rules of the “Great Game” based on the struggle for hydrocarbons and against terrorism. In both senses, further escalation of the “Great Game” may turn the region into a source of both,” noted Imanaliev. According to him, the states of Central Asia should form a new process based on the philosophy of creation and cooperation – the Great Silk Road model - and not construct new divisions along oil and gas pipelines.

Conference participants also discussed problems of water cooperation in Central Asia, the economic processes in the region and other issues.