Dan Smith, SIPRI Director, attended the fourth annual meeting of the Astana Club (12–13 November 2018) which focused on the theme ‘Towards a Greater Eurasia: how to build a common future?’.
Smith chaired a panel discussion on the topic ‘Critical time for Eurasia: is there a way out of the geopolitical deadlock?’ and a debate session on ‘Will the world be a safer place in XXI century?’.
The meeting of the Astana Club brought together leading experts, politicians and diplomats from all over the world. Among the speakers were former President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2014) Hamid Karzai, former Prime Minister of Pakistan (2004–2007) Shaukat Aziz, former President of Slovenia (2007–2012) Danilo Türk, former Chairman of the European Commission (2004–2014) and former Prime Minister of Portugal (2002–2004) Jose Manuel Barroso.
About the Astana Club
The Astana Club is organized by the Foundation of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan-Elbasy and the Institute of World Economics and Politics (IWEP) under the foundation. Since 2015, the key trends that shape the development of the Eurasian continent have been discussed under the framework of the Astana Club. More information about the Astana Club can be found here.