Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The Address to the People of Kazakhstan by President

of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev

Unity of the people and systemic reforms are a solid foundation for the nation’s prosperity

Our course is immutable, the goal is clear. We know what must be done to achieve it

In December 21, 2020, on the initiative of the Chinese side, the 8th round table of the CICA analytical centers on the topic: "Asian cooperation in the field of regional security in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic: state and response" was held online. Organizer - Shanghai Institute of International Studies (SIIS).

The event was attended by: SCO Secretary General Vladimir Norov, representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the CICA member states, as well as prominent scientists and experts from foreign research institutes. KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan was represented by Councellor to the Director Dastan Eleukenov, Senior Research fellow Anastasia Reshetnyak and Research fellow Alisher Abdreshev.

Opening the Forum, Director of the SIIS Center for Research in Russia and Central Asia Qiang Xiaoyun noted that the Covid-19 pandemic, which has spread to all corners of the planet, has become the worst public health crisis in the past 100 years. The current crisis has not only radically changed the international security agenda, but also significantly influenced the level of security in Asia.

The participants agreed that the pandemic affected all spheres of state development - from domestic politics to economic development, which entered a stagnation regime. The usual way of life of every citizen has changed, and it is already clear that in the new reality the world will not be the same.

According to experts, in the current conditions, CICA needs to actively respond to the current state of affairs and play a coordinating role. First of all, this concerns the building of closer cooperation between the CICA member states in the field of countering the pandemic and further plan for economic recovery and development. Secondly, the coronavirus pandemic should enable the CICA countries to make a new leap forward in their development and take leading positions in the new post-image reality.

In addition to the main topic of the conference, experts also discussed issues related to the threat of international terrorism, the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the current situation in Afghanistan and Nagorno-Karabakh.