Central Asia

The increasing global terrorist threat makes special services around the world always remain on guard and cooperate including participating in international organisations. The security agencies of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member states tested the efficiency of their cooperation by holding the joint manoeuvres titled Issyk-Kul-Antiterror 2018 in August – September 2018.

It is well known that the US was the last of the great Western powers to establish diplomatic relations with Mongolia, it happened only in 1987. However, already in the early 1990s, the US became one of the main sources of inspiration and support for the democratic reforms in Mongolia and the country’s transition to democracy and market economy.

As you might know, the 4th Eastern Economic Forum was held in Vladivostok on September 13, 2018, led by the Russian President Vladimir Putin. It saw the participation of the Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, the South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon, the Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga and other officials.

In early September 2018, Kyrgyzstan hosted the Third World Nomad Games. This is a unique international cultural and sports event that becomes increasingly popular every year and draws guests from around the world.

Three-party cooperation in action
As readers will remember, in their third meeting, which took place during the 16th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in 2016, the presidents of Russia, China and Mongolia signed an official inter-governmental agreement on the creation of the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor.

The Caspian region hasn’t been receiving much attention lately in comparison with attention the Middle East typically gets. However, there’s every chance that Russia, the United States, the EU and China will soon focus attention on this inner part of Eurasia, as this region begins to play an increasingly important role in international affairs, especially against the backdrop of the signing of the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea.

In 2013 Tom Engelhardt wrote, referring to the United States presence in Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen, where at eight United States air strikes had killed almost 300 wedding guests: “we have become a nation of wedding crashers, the uninvited guests who arrived under false pretenses, tore up the place, offered nary and apology, and refused to go home.”