April–September 2025
“Central Asia Facing the Challenges of Global Economic Transformation: Assessment and Forecasting”
Uzbekistan
University of World Economy and Diplomacy (UWED)
University of World Economy and Diplomacy (UWED)
Central Asia Facing the Challenges of Global Economic Transformation: Assessment and Forecasting is currently being implemented by the University of World Economy and Diplomacy in partnership with the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation's Representative Office in Central Asia.
The aims of the project are as follows:
- Analysis of current processes in the world economy, assessment of the probability of increasing deglobalisation, economic and financial fragmentation, trade and currency wars, caused by the activation of protectionist trends at the global and regional levels, with their projection to the countries of Central Asia;
- Analysis of future prospects of the global green transition and the strategies of the Central Asian countries in the field of renewable energy and the fight against environmental and climate change against the background of the U.S. turn towards conventional energy;
- Assessment of political dimensions of the ongoing economic and energy transformations in order to forecast the probability of forming new ad hoc political-economic and monetary unions of regional, trans-regional and trans-continental character, as well as the future fate of ‘old’ global institutions such as the WTO and others. Analysing their impact on the security system in Central Asia.
The main activities of the project are:
- On August 26, 2025, an international conference of the same name will be held in Tashkent at the UMED, with the participation of leading experts from Central Asian countries and other countries;
- On August 27, two master classes will be held for UMED students, master's and doctoral students on the topic of economic security and long-term development in Central Asia with the participation of leading foreign and Uzbek experts.
- In the fall of 2025, the conference materials will be published and distributed among the regional expert community.
Relevance:
Central Asia is one of the regions of the world that could be hit by a wave of trade and currency wars, reformatting of established economic, investment, and technological ties, and cargo flows. For Central Asia, this means, on the one hand, increasing risks for exports due to the possible contraction of its traditional export markets and threats to established supply chains and added value, which may affect social policy, and, on the other hand, new opportunities for attracting foreign investment.
Taking into account the fundamental nature of the changes taking place in the global economy, politics, and the climate agenda, the planned conference aims to analyze, through expert dialogue, the current global situation with its key long-term trends and their impact on the security, development, and social dimensions of Central Asian countries, with a view to making recommendations and forecasts.
