Experts discuss Central Asia and Afghanistan
The NATO Public Diplomacy Division sponsored a conference on “Central Asia and Afghanistan: Challenges, Opportunities and Prospects” which took place on 11 – 12 November 2008 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
For two days, experts exchanged views on the Afghan crisis, the role of the international community as well as the importance of neighbouring countries. NATO officials described and discussed Public Diplomacy activities in Tajikistan and also highlighted the Alliance’s operation in Afghanistan, its role, mandate and the ISAF mission.
Topics on the agenda included “ISAF and Afghanistan’s Neighbours”, “The NATO-Russia Council Project on Counter-Narcotics Training for Afghan and Central Asian Personnel”, “NATO’s Afghan Cooperation Programme” and “Key Multilateral Players in Afghanistan”.
The event gathered more than 50 experts and diplomats from Afghanistan, China, France, Germany, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the United Kingdom, the United States and Uzbekistan.
In addition, representatives from the UNODC, the UNHCR, the OSCE, the European Union and NATO took part in the conference, which was organised by the Tajik's President Centre for Strategic Studies and the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS).