Central Asia after NATO Troop Withdrawal from Afghanistan

Central Asia after NATO Troop Withdrawal from Afghanistan

Roundtable of the NATO Defense College
in cooperation with
the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation, Tashkent

ROME, 9 July 2012

at NATO Defense College, Via G. Pelosi 1, 00143 Rome

Agenda

8 July

19:30-21:00 Welcome Reception (Hotel Imperiale – Via Veneto 24 - Rome)

9 July

8:15 Departure from the Hotel Imperiale to NDC

9:15 Welcome remarks

Arne B. Dalhaug, Commandant, NATO Defense College, Rome

Introduction

Thomas Kunze, Director, Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation, Tashkent

Heidi Reisinger, Research Advisor, Research Division, NATO Defense College, Rome

9:30-11:00 NATO and the Partners in Central Asia

What are the political ambitions of NATO in a changing strategic context? Which role does NATO want to play in Central Asia? Will there be military cooperation after 2014?Expectations of CA states: Which kind of partnership do they want? Where can NATO offer added value? And what about the promotion of common values

Chair: Heidi Reisinger, Research Advisor, Research Division, NATO Defense College, Rome

NATO’S ROLE IN CENTRAL ASIA
Alberto Bin, Director, PASP, Integration, Partnerships and Cooperation, NATO HQ, Brussels

A CENTRAL ASIAN VIEW
Farkhod Tolipov, Director, Education and Research Institution “Knowledge Caravan”, Tashkent

CENTRAL ASIA – AN INDISPENSIBLE MILITARY PARTNER FOR NATO?
Scott Horten, Editor, Harper’s Magazine, New York

11:00-11:15 Coffee break

11:15-12:30 The New Great Game – who is keeping the score?

Are Central Asian states expecting waves of destabilization coming from Afghanistan after 2014? What exactly do they expect? How are they getting ready for 2014? Is Central Asia mainly about transit routes? Should NATO cooperate with CSTO and SCO?

Chair: Karl-Heinz Kamp, Director Research Division, NATO Defense College, Rome

SECURITY CHALLENGES AND REGIONAL COOPERATION
Marat Abdiraev, Dept. Director Exec. Cmt Counter-Terrorist-Center, SCO, Tashkent

Kairat Osmonaliyev, Dept. Dean, College of the Kyrgyz Foreign Service, and Chairman, Council of Advisors of the Kyrgyz National Security Committee, Bishkek

FIGHT AGAINST RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM
Khaidarhon Yuldashkhodjayev, President Tashkent Islamic University, Uzbekistan

Comments: Tuygun Gafurov, Dean, Tashkent Islamic University, Uzbekistan

12:30-14:00 Hosted Lunch

14:00-15:30 Afghan Issues

Is state fragility and Islamic rule in AFPAK an enduring threat? Alliance cohesion: Together in and together out? Transition into Afghan lead – views from Russia and Central Asia?

Chair: Ann-Sofie Dahl, Professor, CSIS, Washington

AFGHAN LED PEACE PROCESS
NN NATO
Richard Hooker, Dean, NATO Defense College, Rome

A DIFFICULT NEIGHBORHOOD: COOPERATION WITH AFGHANISTAN
Ivan Safranchuk, Professor, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Moscow
Marina Pikulina, ResearcherCoordinator, S-Monitor Analytical Center, Tashkent
15:30-16:00 Coffee break

16:00-17:30 Way Ahead

How stabile are the regimes? Is the Islamic movement a serious threat, a social and welfare service, or the only way of political opposition? Cooperation with the West: Is there an expectations/capability gap? What are the perspectives of the Partnership after 2014? Is a “wider” Central Asian regional cooperation possible?

Chair: Andreas Heinemann-Grueder, Senior Research Fellow, BICC

ENDURING PARTNERSHIP: A STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE

Faredun Hodi-Zoda, Director, Academy of Dialogue, Dushanbe

WIDER CENTRAL ASIA - REGIONAL COOPERATION WITH RUSSIA, CHINA AND INDIA
Marlène Laruelle, Research Professor at the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, George Washington University

17:30 Departure from NDC to Hotel Imperiale

19:30 Dinner (Restaurant Il Piccolo Mondo, Via Aurora 39, Rome)