Afghanistan-Central Asia Dialogue - (ACAD-III)

3rd Afghanistan-Central Asia Dialogue (ACAD-III)
17-18 December 2015-Mazar Sharif, Afghanistan

Afghanistan and five Central Asian Republics of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan share common security, economic and cultural space and system. Since 2001, there has been noticeable improvement and increase in interaction, exchange, connectivity and cooperation between Afghanistan and its northern neighbors. However, despite the recent gains and geographical proximity, there remains significant gap between Afghanistan and the Central Asian Republics’ potential for cooperation and the current state of affairs.

The Dialogue aims to identify the reason(s) for the gap between the potential and actual state of cooperation and to recommend effective ways and policies for strengthening cooperation and connectivity between Afghanistan and the Central Asia. It will bring together prominent experts from Afghanistan, the Central Asian Republics and a selected number of prominent regional and international experts to share their views on the issues of mutual concerns and interests.

The relevant representatives from the Afghan Government, the Central Asian Republics’ ambassadors to Kabul and a selected representative from the concerned regional and international organizations and governments will also be invited to observe the deliberations.

The Dialogue will cover “Mapping Mutual Perception of Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics”, “Economic Opportunities”, “Physical Connectivity; Trans-regional projects”, “Political Connectivity; Shared Security Threat”, “Cultural Connectivity; Geo-cultural mapping” and “Geopolitics; Geo-Economic”.

It is envisioned to disseminate the report of the Dialogue to broader audiences in the region and beyond in order to enable policymakers to devise appropriate measures to enable and strengthen the process of regional cooperation and integration.

The Dialogue aims to become a regular forum between the expert and policymaking communities of Afghanistan and the Central Asia Republics to pave the foundation for establishing a Cooperative Security, Economic and Cultural community between Afghanistan and the Central Asia. 

The “Afghanistan-Central Asia Dialogue – I” International Conference was hosted by Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) on 19-20 December 2013 in Kabul, followed by the second dialogue on 13-14 December 2014 in Kabul, Afghanistan. The conference was attended by 130 delegates from 20 countries and international organizations.

Afghanistan: (Government, Parliament, Political Parties, Civil Society, High Peace Council, Private Sector, Media, Academia)

Central Asian Countries: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan

Extended Neighbors: Russia, Turkey, China, India, Iran

Wider Partners: USA, Germany, France, UK, Australia, Norway, Sweden

International Organizations: Various International Organizations and Representatives

The AISS has already approached a number of national and international media organizations for exploring their interest to sponsor and/or for special coverage of the ACAD-II meetings.