ASTANA – New global challenges were discussed by foreign experts March 2 at the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies (KAZISS). Growing strains in relations between world powers and strengthening terrorist organisations were debated by leading experts from the United States, Russia and Turkey.
Representatives from the Ministry of Defence and the Academy of National Security Committee discusses the current situation in Syria, Afghanistan and the Middle East and its impact on the security in Central Asia.
“Today, international terrorism is in close coordination with religious extremism and has a very well-organised form. So, we have to name them as terrorist quasi-states and networks operating all over the world. And we have to accept that these terrorist states have an ugly, but their own ideology,” said Kazakh Security Council Secretary and Assistant to the President Nurlan Yermekbayev.
The international conference, New Global Reality: Challenges, Risks of Regional Stability, aimed to analyse worldwide trends of terrorism and fighter recruitment problems to the flash points of conflict and find ways to prevent radicalisation.
“Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev is the author of many world initiatives. Twenty-five years ago, thanks to his political will Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site was closed, which started the fight for a nuclear weapons free world. Today, the Kazakh President announced a new initiative which is supported by many politicians and experts,” said The Jamestown Foundation analyst Jacob Zenn.
He highlighted Nazarbayev’s speech at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly about creating an international anti-terroristic network.
Russian Academy of Sciences expert Irina Zvyagelskaya spoke about Kazakh and Russian bilateral relations.
“We have the highest level of confidence. We help each other. We count on each other. And this greatly affects the stability and organisation of the security system. The current challenge is very serious, because it is realised not only in the military and political sphere, but also in ideology. The fight for ideology is always very complicated,” she said.
Bilkent University safety and terrorism analyst Metin Gurcan emphasised the Kazakh President is one of leaders working to strengthen global security and stability.
“We see how world leaders often consider his opinion and we appreciate the important role of Kazakhstan in securing of the region’s safety,” he said.
