The theme of this year’s event is Russia and Central Asia: Cooperation in a Multipolar World.'
More than 50 experts and political figures from 10 countries, including India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, will participate in discussions aimed at exploring the evolving global order and its impact on regional cooperation.
The conference will cover key topics such as multipolarity, Eurasian security, climate change, and international trade. Notably, it will discuss the potential for a Eurasian security architecture and the development of transport corridors linking Central Asia and Russia.
The venue has moved from Ufa, Bashkortostan, to Irkutsk in Eastern Siberia, reflecting the growing trade and economic ties between Siberia and Central Asia.
Russia and Central Asia share historical, cultural, and geopolitical ties, making them natural partners in security, economic development, and humanitarian cooperation. Both regions are also united in facing the negative aspects of globalisation, including unilateral sanctions and trade exclusions imposed by developed countries, the organisators of the event say.
The event will include a series of sessions, with discussions on real multipolarity, Eurasian security, climate and water challenges, and trade and transport in Greater Eurasia. The conference will conclude with an open discussion, moderated by Timofey Bordachev, Programme Director of Valdai’s Central Asia Programme.
Notable participants include political scientists, economists, and experts such as Gozel Maytdinova, director of the Centre for Geopolitical Research at the Russian-Tajik University, and Rakesh Bhadauria, General Director at the Centre for Land Warfare Research in New Delhi. Key Russian speakers include Anastasia Likhacheva, Dean at the Higher School of Economics, and Aza Migranyan, senior researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences.