On November 10-11, AFPC's Vice President Ilan Berman and Distinguished Fellow for Eurasia S. Frederick Starr participated in a large international conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, entitled “Central Asia: One Past and a Common Future, Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Mutual Prosperity.”
Organized under the auspices of the United Nations Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, the conference was attended by over 500 participants, including the foreign ministers of all Central Asian states and Afghanistan, as well as other high-level officials from regional and western countries.
The event constituted a major step toward greater regional cooperation in Central Asia, and the efforts of the new leadership of Uzbekistan to engage with the international community.
Also in November, Starr took part for the third consecutive year in the “Astana Forum” convened by President Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan.
