Participation in the First Fergana Peace Forum

On 15-16 October 2025, the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan jointly with partners from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, with the support of national and international organizations, held the first Fergana Peace Forum “Fergana Valley: Joining Forces for Peace and Progress” in Fergana, Uzbekistan.

SIC ICWC co-organized the panel session “Water Guardians in the Fergana Valley: Women and Youth led solutions for climate resilient peace.”

Opening the session, Sherzod Muminov, Deputy Director of SIC ICWC mentioned the major water and climate challenges in the region and emphasized the importance and role of women and youth in addressing them. He particularly highlighted that within the framework of the EU–UNEP Climate and Environment Partnership, the SIC ICWC is implementing the project “Facilitating Region-Specific Approaches to Addressing Climate and Environment-Related Risks for Socio-Economic Stability in Central Asia.” The project aims to support regions and local communities in achieving and maintaining sustainable development by mitigating climate and environmental risks, with the active involvement of women and youth.

The speech by Mr. Muminov was followed by a report from the project’s national coordinator, Mr. Asatov. Then, N. Turaboeva, representative of one of the eight grant recipients of the project — the community organization “Youth Environmental Group” (Tajikistan) spoke.

During the session titled “Transboundary Connections: Community Initiatives and Civil Society in the Ferghana Valley,” two more representatives of grant recipient organizations spoke about their ongoing projects: M. Orumbaeva from the Public Association “New Rhythm” (Kyrgyzstan) and G. Yuldasheva from the NGO “Khamroh” (Uzbekistan).

The speeches by all participants generated lively discussion and interest, underscoring the importance of the project actions, particularly from the perspective of integrating community initiatives into environment, climate, and stability spheres, as well as broadly engaging women and youth in these efforts.

On the sidelines of the Forum, Mr. Muminov, Manager of the Project “Facilitating Region-Specific Approaches to Addressing Climate and Environment-Related Risks for Socio-Economic Stability in Central Asia” held work meetings and reported on project progress to Mr. Eduards Stiprais, EU Special Representative for Central Asia, and Ms. Jana Kurpisa, Program Manager at the EU Delegation to Uzbekistan. Participants of the meetings particularly emphasized that the First Ferghana Peace Forum coincided with the Geneva Peace Week in Switzerland, taking place at the same time. Within the Geneva event, project grant recipients from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan also contributed to the session “Locally led action on climate, peace, and stability: experiences from Latin America, the Middle East, Central and South Asia.”