RUSSIAN

Background
of the Expert Platform

How regional challenges, scientific cooperation, and institutional support led to the launch of the Platform in 2019.

Background

Ongoing demographic, economic, geopolitical, environmental, and climate challenges in Central Asia and globally make strategic interstate cooperation more important than ever. Research is a key ally in this effort, yet its potential is still not fully used.

At the IFAS summit on August 24, 2018, President Sh.M. Mirziyoyev emphasized that current shared resource problems cannot be solved without effective scientific cooperation and called for joint interdisciplinary research, including through the scientific information centers of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination and the Interstate Commission for Sustainable Development.

In response to that call, the Network of Water Management Organizations of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, the Water Partner Foundation, and SIC ICWC advanced the idea of creating an Expert Platform focused on water security, sustainable development, and forward-looking studies.

The idea was first presented at the international conference “Central Asia: One Past, Common Future” in Samarkand in November 2017, and later in revised form at the Central Asian Expert Forum in October 2018, the International Scientific and Practical Conference of the NWO EECCA in November 2018, and the International Conference “The Role of Water Diplomacy in Achieving Sustainable Development in Central Asia” in June 2019. The initiative was positively received and supported at all these events.

Within the NWO EECCA, a lead group headed by Prof. S. Ibatullin was formed to develop a roadmap for the Platform and conduct a survey of the network’s members regarding its focus and thematic areas. Together with partner institutions, the survey results were consolidated and a concept note was prepared, drawing on the experience of successful think tanks and analytical centers.

The organizational structure of the Platform is still evolving: national coordinators have been selected and national teams of experts from various disciplines have been formed. The Expert Platform started its activity in 2019.