The meeting focused on peacebuilding efforts in Central Asia, issues related to regional consolidation, and prospects for establishing cooperation between the two think tanks.

Javlon Vakhabov noted that today Central Asia represents an example of a region that has gone through a complex path – from acute disputes and disagreements over borders and water resources to the formation of a sustainable architecture of trust, good-neighborliness, peace, and security.

The parties also emphasized that the ongoing peacebuilding processes in Central Asia are largely in line with Norway’s foreign policy priorities, which traditionally place strong emphasis on mediation, conflict prevention, confidence-building among states, and the promotion of sustainable development.

In this context, the importance of establishing partnership between IICA and NOREF was highlighted, including through joint research projects, co-authored publications, as well as the organization of thematic events and expert exchanges.