ROUNDTABLE "BUILDING KNOWLEDGE NETWORKS IN CENTRAL ASIA"
A round table on "Building Knowledge Networks in Central Asia" was held at Turin Polytechnic University in Tashkent on March 17, 2025. Organized by the Italian Embassy in Uzbekistan under the 5+1 cooperation initiative, the event brought together government and academic representatives, alongside energy, water, and sustainable development experts.
Welcoming speeches were delivered by: Piergabriele Papadia de Bottini, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Italy to Uzbekistan; Envoy Extraordinary Federico Failla, coordinator of 5+1 initiative from Italy; Olimjon Tuychiev, Rector of Turin Polytechnic University in Tashkent; Zhavlon Vakhabov, Director of International Institute of Central Asia; and, Nilufar Doniyorkhodjaeva, Deputy Director of the Center for Strategic Development.
In the course of the round table, the Italian side proposed the following key initiatives for the enhancement of educational and scientific bonds between Italy and Central Asia:
- Summer School in Tashkent on renewable energy (organizer - University of Milano-Bicocca, June 23-28, 2025), aimed at training civil servants and students.
- Summer School at the University of Tuscia, offering additional educational opportunities in the field of sustainable development.
- Conference in Venice on water resources, where key attention will be paid to water-health nexus, with the participation of experts from the Istituto Superiore di Sanita (ISS)/Italian National Institute of Health.
- Online Mentorship Program, aimed at engaging students and faculty of Uzbek universities in international educational projects.
- "Ecological Restoration of the Aral Sea Basin" Project, being prepared with the participation of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and the Sogesid company.
The event became an important platform for dialogue on joint educational and scientific initiatives on sustainable development. Italian and Uzbek partners discussed opportunities for cooperation and identified priority areas of cooperation in renewable energy, water resource management, and food security.
Dinara Ziganshina, Director of SIC ICWC, put an emphasis on the regional dimension of cooperation and the development of dialogue on wider range of issues, including topics such as heritage and culture.
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