Dear colleagues and friends,

I am truly delighted to welcome you to the inaugural Central Asia – Nordics Think Tank Forum here at the International Institute for Central Asia. I want to express my sincere gratitude to all of you, especially our friends from the Nordic region, for making the long journey to be with us today.

I believe it is high time for our two regions to further develop cooperation, and there is strong political will to make it happen.

Recently, our Institute had the honor of hosting President Alexander Stubb of Finland. He participated in a roundtable with leading Uzbek think tank leaders and experts and expressed his support for the idea of a C5+Nordics initiative. Presidents Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan also back this idea, and I am confident that other Nordic and Central Asian leaders share this vision.

So, with political will on our side, it is now our job to turn this vision into reality—that is precisely why we have gathered here today

There is also something special I would like to highlight as our event comes at a unique time for our region. Just a couple of days ago here in Tashkent, we hosted the region’s largest annual event—the Seventh C5 Summit. During the summit, it was announced that Azerbaijan has now become a full-fledged member of the format.

Dear guests,

Today is not just a regular day. Here in Uzbekistan, we are celebrating our National Flag Day—a day that reminds us of identity, unity, and aspiration. And I find it fitting that on this very day, we gather with our Nordic colleagues to explore new forms of cooperation. After all, our flags may be different, but the values and ambitions they represent bring us together here.

Dear colleagues,

Today, we are honored to be joined by H.E. Tomas Danestad, Ambassador of Sweden to Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan; H.E. Ilkka Räisänen, Ambassador of Finland to Central Asia; H.E. Rahmatulla Nurimbetov, Uzbekistan’s Ambassador to Sweden; as well as diplomats from Denmark and Norway, who will share their perspectives in the special ambassadorial session tomorrow.

We are also joined by leaders and experts from prominent think tanks across the Nordic region and Central Asia, as well as representatives from the private sector, business communities, and independent research institutions.

Dear participants,

We have a very important task today—to lay the foundation stone for a new format of cooperation. We have never before brought together all the Nordic states in this way, so in many ways, we are making history.

Let’s make sure that the journey we begin today remains purposeful, dynamic, and truly worthy of the trust and ambition our regions place in this partnership.

Over the next two days, our discussions will focus on several promising areas of cooperation between our regions, including trade, investment, business development, green energy, critical minerals, education, human capital, and digitalization.

I won’t take up much of your time by going into the details, as you already have the brochures in front of you, and our moderators will introduce each session before we begin.

And last but not least, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Svante Cornell, Director of the Institute for Security and Development Policy and my longtime friend, for his invaluable support in organizing this important event. His commitment and guidance have played a crucial role in bringing this forum to life.

Dear all, thank you and I wish everyone fruitful discussions today.