Security and Economic Development: Silk Road and the Caspian

Event Global Politics
Event Global Politics

July 10, 2017 Security and Economic Development: Silk Road and the Caspian

Co-hosted by the Caspian Policy Center and the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security

Monday, Jul 10, 2017

10:00 am - 12:30 pm

The Heritage Foundation

214 Massachusetts Ave NE
Washington, DC
20002

Agenda

Welcoming Remarks

James J. Carafano, Ph.D., Vice President, Kathryn and Shellby Cullom Davis Institute for Foreign Policy

and National Security, and the E. W. Richardson Fellow, The Heritage Foundation
 

Introductory Remarks

David “Chip” Gamble, Director for Central Asia, National Security Council

 

Session 1:  Security Across the Region

His Excellency Elin Suleymanov, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to the United States 

His Excellency Erzhan Kazykhanov, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United States

His Excellency Bakhtyor Ibragimov, Ambassador of Uzbekistan to the United Nations

Luke Coffey, Director, Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy, The Heritage Foundation (Moderator)


Session 2Economic Development and Energy

Ambassador Richard Norland, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff and former U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan and Georgia

Dr. Timur Shaimergenov, Deputy Director of the Library of the First President of Kazakhstan (Nazarbayev Center)

Joshua Walker, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and President at USA Pavilion Astana World EXPO 2017

Ariel Cohen, Ph.D., Director, Center for Energy, Natural Resources and Geopolitics, and Senior Fellow, Institute for the Analysis of Global Security

Efgan Niftiyev, Ph.D., Director, Caspian Policy Center (Moderator)

Description

The Central Asia and Caspian Sea basin is an important, if often overlooked, region in regard to many of the challenges the U.S. faces around the world, such as a resurgent Russia, an emboldened Iran, wavering allies, growing China, and the rise of Islamic extremism. The region is at the heart of the Eurasian continent, and anything that is at the heart of something is, by definition, important. The region is a crucial geographical and cultural crossroads linking Europe and Asia and has proven strategically important for military and economic reasons for centuries. There are many opportunities for the U.S. to engage more in the region in a way that advances America's national interests. However, there are many challenges that stand in the way, too. What role should America have in the region under the new Trump Administration? How can the U.S. better engage with partners in the region on issues like energy security, counterterrorism or even Afghanistan? Join us for discussion of these questions and more.