A plenary meeting of the international forum on problems of sustainability and security of the regions of Central Asia and the Greater Altai was held at Altai State University
Altai State University became the platform for the plenary session of the International Scientific and Practical Forum “Modern World: Sustainability and Security in the Regions of Central Asia and the Greater Altai” (“Central Asia.The Greater Altai”). The event was organized by the government of Altai Krai and the Vladimir Shamanov Foundation “Defenders of the Fatherland”.
Scientists and experts, young researchers, representatives of public organizations from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and other countries gathered in the concert hall of Altai State University.
The relevance of the forum is determined by the need for an in-depth study of the widest range of issues of ensuring peace, stability and security in the strategically important regions of Central Asia and the Greater Altai. As well as the current state and prospects for the transformation of international interaction in a global context.
“At this forum you can hear reports from experts of the highest level, not only from researchers of Central Asia, but also from many strategic, considering the geopolitical situation, regions. The speakers at the forum were Director of the Institute of African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Irina Abramova, Director of the Institute of Asia and Africa at Moscow State University Alexey Maslov, and many others. Altai Krai as a border region and Altai State University as a large university, where one in five students are foreigners, are certainly interested in discussing current topics of the forum. I am sure that this event will contribute to the development of international cooperation at the university,” noted Sergei Bocharov, Rector of AltSU, at the opening ceremony.
The forum participants were welcomed by Chairman of the Government of Altai Krai Igor Stepanenko:
“The geographical location of Altai Krai allows us to successfully interact with neighboring countries, primarily Kazakhstan, China, and Mongolia. We understand the importance and necessity of further joint economic and humanitarian development. Our region strives to ensure that the countries of Central Asia know our territory better. We see great prospects for both scientific cooperation and socio-economic cooperation.”
The initiator of the forum, Deputy Chairman of State Duma Committee for the Development of Civil Society, Issues of Public and Religious Associations of the Russian Federation, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Hero of Russia Vladimir Shamanov made a welcoming speech:
“Our forum raises extremely pressing issues – the security of the regions of Central Asia and the Greater Altai. The day before, President Biden held a meeting in New York with the presidents of the Central Asian republics. It is no coincidence that Americans pay attention to this region. But Russia’s position in today’s conditions is becoming even stronger. Neighbors should look for ways of peaceful existence, developing cultural, economic, military-technical and other issues in order to avoid cataclysms and prevent the issues of turbulence that we have seen in recent decades. The situation is changing. For example, in Uzbekistan there is great interest in the Russian language. Construction of Russian schools is being resumed. In Russia, teaching staff are being trained and the Russian language, as a language of interethnic communication, is being revived at a new level. Secondary schools have been built in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.”
The forum received the support of relevant ministries of Russia and Central Asian countries. Deputy Minister of Education of the Russian Federation Denis Gribov addressed the participants with a video greeting:
“Today we are eyewitnesses of the formation of a new geopolitical system of relations, the formation of new regional centers of political and economic leadership in the international space. Here, in the center of Eurasia, the political and economic interests of many countries are taking shape: Russia, China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Continental transport arteries converge here, areas of cultures and religions intersect. There are rich natural and ecological resources here. I express my gratitude to Deputy Vladimir Shamanov for putting forward the idea of holding the forum and bringing it to life. The idea found support from the government of Altai Krai. This subject of Russia has a primary involvement, due to its cross-border position, in integration processes with the countries of Central Asia and the Greater Altai on economic, political issues, and aspects of interregional security. To ensure interregional integration processes, appropriate scientific and educational support is required. First of all, through the cooperation of higher schools in the countries of Central Asia and Greater Altai.”
Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Konstantin Mogilevsky sent a video greeting to the participants and guests of the forum:
“Central Asia is a truly unique region, located at the crossroads of the civilizations of Russia, China and the Muslim world. Today, during the formation of a new multipolar world order, the potential of Central Asia as a space of international cooperation is obviously increasing. The countries of the Central Asian region are increasing interaction with Russia both in a bilateral format and participating in multilateral formats of the CIS, EAEU, SCO, BRICS and SCTO. Most Central Asian countries rightly consider among their priorities the development of national higher education systems, the reproduction of scientific and professional personnel, and meeting the needs of their economies. In this regard, our scientific and educational cooperation is becoming increasingly relevant. In the countries of Central Asia. And today branches of many Russian universities have been opened, with more than 40% in Uzbekistan. About 14.5 thousand students study in the branches, and more than 200 thousand students from Central Asia study in Russia. Network universities and university associations are actively developing, introducing joint training programs for national economies. I am convinced that the forum will become a recognized international platform for a comprehensive study of the problems of regional sustainability and security, will contribute to the consolidation of leading experts and researchers, the development of new integration projects, and the strengthening of peace and good neighborly relations between our countries.”
Viktor Barsukov, an attache of the representative office of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Barnaul, delivered a welcoming speech on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation:
“Issues of stability and security are fundamental conditions for the development of any sovereign state. Over the past few years, the world has changed dramatically, this is obvious to everyone. In these conditions, it is necessary to take into account new realities and set new goals to address issues related to the overall growth of challenges and threats around Central Asia, which occupies a strategic position in the heart of Eurasia and plays an important role in ensuring the security of the entire continent. The common and main task of Russia and the Central Asian states remains unchanged – the reliable protection of stability, sovereignty and peaceful development of our countries, the promotion of multidimensional integration processes on the Eurasian continent. The forum program provides for the discussion of many important issues that will lay the foundation for the study of modern problems of sustainability and security, as well as develop practical solutions that will help strengthen relations between the countries of Central Asia and the Greater Altai.”
The substantive part of the plenary session included reports on cross-border economic and humanitarian cooperation, issues of interethnic and interfaith relations, international migration and security in the regions of Central Asia and the Greater Altai. The problems of Russia's interaction with the countries of Africa and Southeast Asia were touched upon, the contribution of scientific and educational organizations and public institutions to the development of international integration, the role of government and public figures, representatives of culture, and ensuring sustainable development were considered.
“The Russian Historical Society traditionally pays great attention to international cooperation and interaction. The forum, which is dedicated to Altai and Central Asia, is very important. The issues that are being discussed today are not only humanitarian, they have far-reaching significance and affect the future prospects of our cooperation with different countries. Literally on Monday, a Youth History School will open in Novosibirsk, conducted by the Russian Historical Society together with the Ministry of Education and Science. About 150 foreign students will come there, including from Altai State University. On different educational tracks they will carry out tasks, based on the results of which the best teams will be selected within a few days and will receive scholarships. These are all links in one chain,” noted in his report Ruslan Gagkuev, Chairman of the Board of the Russian Historical Society, Executive Director of the History of the Fatherland Foundation.
Director of the Institute of Asian and African Studies at Moscow State University Alexey Maslov made a report via video conference. He spoke about new formats of interaction between Russia and its closest neighbors in Asia. Scientists noted several aspects, in particular, the system of studying interaction with Asian countries.
“The reorientation of Russia and Russian knowledge to the East and, in general, to our closest Asian partners required us to have a much deeper and more multilateral system of studying interaction with Asian countries. Many Orientalist schools are focused on a rather narrow range of issues that have traditionally been covered since the 19th century – language, literature, history, and religious traditions. This is an important and necessary basis, but today much broader professional expertise is required while maintaining these basic elements. This is the study of economic processes in Asian countries, this is the study of various kinds of financial, political, power elites, the system of work and interaction with authorities. These are, of course, legal issues, the study of ethnic, religious conflicts, potential risks for Russia’s work in these regions. Orientalist knowledge, which has always been classical, is today expanding to its maximum extent. Russia’s pivot to Asia and Africa is happening faster than the accumulation of our expert and professional knowledge about these regions. We need to reformat many training systems not only for orientalists, but also for those people who are preparing to work with the regions of Asia,” Alexey Maslov noted in his report.
Focusing on the problems of Central Asia, one cannot ignore the issues of transformation of international interaction in a global context, and Africa, of course, belongs to the most interesting regions of the world from this point of view. Director of the Institute of African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Irina Abramova took part in the forum with a report “Russia-Africa: cooperation in the interests of global security and development for the benefit of people”:
“I would like to note that this is one of those conferences that meets the highest ratings. First of all, I want to debunk such myths about Africa as conflicts, poverty, and stability. The African continent today is interesting both for old powers and for new players in geopolitics, primarily Asian ones. This is due to its unique geographical position: it divides the West and the East. These are 25 UN votes, 2 new BRICS members and so on. In addition, like the Russian Federation, Africa has 30% of the world's resources and, what is especially important, it is these resources – chromium, manganese, gold, platinum, cobalt, lithium – that are important for the development of high-tech industries, including defense. We are also talking about Africa as a continent where 20 of the most dangerous diseases are located, where American scientists have been studying the African genome for more than 20 years, and where biological weapons have long been developed. Unfortunately, our Central Asian partners have no idea what colonialism is in the real sense. However, this is well understood by Africans who found out colonialism the hard way – let’s remember the Congo. Therefore, the study of African experience is very important for Russia, especially for Altai, and our cooperation can take place in four key areas: academic exchange and training of specialists in the history and culture of Africa, development of the agro-industrial complex, ecotourism and traditional medicine,” said Irina Abramova.
Sergei Yun, Head of the Center for Eurasian Studies of the National Research Tomsk State University made the report “Russia, Siberia and Central Asia: priorities of scientific and educational interaction.”
“There are many students here today. I would like to address them. There is a huge shortage of young personnel who could ensure interaction between Russia and Asian countries in a variety of areas – business, social projects, science, education, politics, security, and so on. I am asking you to pay attention to this, this is a long-term trend, demand is growing, take this into account within the framework of those educational programs and additional skills that you plan to acquire for yourself. I am interested in participating in this forum. I am myself Head the Department of World Politics, where one of the scientific profiles is the countries of Central Asia. Besiades, I supervise the work of the research project group for the development of cooperation between TSU and the countries of Central Asia. This is no coincidence; Tomsk and Siberia in general have always been a source of personnel for the republics of Central Asia and Kazakhstan. It is still relevant today. And this is not a one-way process. A lot of people from Central Asian countries, of different nationalities, work in Siberia. In various fields, including in high positions. Indeed, the international political situation is very complex. On the one hand, the policy of Western countries to “squeeze” Russia out of different regions, reduce its presence, connections, and so on is obvious. On the other hand, there is a Russian policy towards further strengthening ties throughout the complex with Asian countries, and a readiness to invest in these relations. The sphere of science, education, academic cooperation is the sphere that can soften tension and stop the formation of conflict thinking in our heads.”
On September 22, the forum will continue with four thematic tracks. The meetings will be held on the basis of leading Altai universities: Altai State University, Altai State Pedagogical University, Altai State Technical University and the Altai branch of RANEPA.