Leading specialists in the fields of international relations and economics, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, diplomatic missions from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Belorussia in the Kyrgyz Republic, political scientists and independent experts participated in the round-table.

The meeting was dedicated to discussing the draft of the concept of creating a Union of Central Asian states (UCAS). The first time the idea of creating UCAS was proposed, in February 2005, was by President Nursultan Nazarbaev of Kazakhstan.

In the opening speech Muratbek Imanaliev, IPP president emphasized the importance of the meeting. "Globalization processes in the modern world have created an contingent tendency - regionalization. There are completely different integration schemes being offered in the post-Soviet space. It has to be recognized that Kazakhstan is one of the active promoters of any integration processes in Central Asia. Efforts to create something like this were undertaken in the 90s. The idea of integration per se persists since it is brought about and justified historically, economically and geographically," - said Muratbek Imanaliev.

The IPP president also pointed out that this topic is vitally important for the region. "The Central Asian region has to unite, since it will lead to the advancement of all component countries as well as to the improvement of the legal nature of each country in international politics," - said Muratbek Imanaliev.

Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary of Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan, Umarzak Uzbekov, during his speech at the round-table stressed the existence of close historical relations among Central Asian states. In his words, the realization of the UCAS may become an important factor for sustainable development, the improvement of national economies' competitiveness and the successful integration of regional countries into the international community. "The idea of a Union of Central Asian states is embryonic, and in the future it could be a real integration structure that could lead the region into the ranks of major world players," - said Umarzak Uzbekov.

The position of Kyrgyzstan was represented by the Director of CIS department of MFA of KR Aseyin Isaev. As emphasized in his speech during the official visit of President of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan in April of this year, both states have recognized the importance of this idea through adopting a common statement of the two presidents, and Kyrgyzstan is supposed to play one of key roles in this process. At the moment, the point is to realize the idea of creating UCAS. Aseyin Isaev noted that the meeting at the IPP is the first effort to discuss this concept in public, and in his view, the significance of the event is great.

The Director of CIS Department of MFA, KR added "perhaps, in the beginning this union will take the shape of two states, and then the rest may join consequently."

Replying to the experts' question regarding the positions of neighboring states towards the creation of UCAS, Umarzak Uzbekov added that there are discussions on this project at the diplomatic level, and among the presidents and governments in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. "There is a common understanding that presently Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are ready to sign such a document, the rest are yet thinking," - he said.

In this view, the round-table participants paid attention to the matter of defining the borders of the Central Asian region and its complexity.

In the course of the meeting participants of the round-table expressed their opinions on the draft of Conception of UCAS. While making his speech, the chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Foundation "Project of the Future" Ishenbay Abdurazakov noted that despite a number of efforts to integrate, the idea that remains from the first days of sovereignty has not been advanced. At the same time, in his words, the Central Asian region with its population of 60 million is automatically becoming attractive from a geostrategic viewpoint. "Theoretically the benefits from integration are clear, - he said. - However, since their independence, regional countries have moved away from each other in respect to their development."

According to the view of economic expert Sultan Mederov, the degree of economic liberalization at the moment among regional states is extremely different, that reaching a common ground is problematic. The expert expressed his skepticism regarding the UCAS, arguing that today one can talk only about joint agreements. "To move into the joint monetary-credit policy is difficult," - thinks Sultan Mederov.

"Real integration is possible based on the principle of balancing the interests of sectors. Otherwise, we will never come to any agreement and it has to be realized by the larger states with stronger economies," - added Muratbek Imanaliev. In his turn, Ishenbay Abdurazakov is certain that integration is possible if there is a certainty also among the authorities and the population of the regional states in advancement of this idea.

Experts think that in general the document needs corrections and consultations on certain issues. For example, Salamat Alamanov, Head of Regional Problems Department of the Kyrgyz government thinks that the draft concept does not pay sufficient attention to the matter of water-energy policy which plays a great role for the whole Central Asian region.

During the discussion of the draft concept the round-table participants proposed various ideas. One of experts advanced the idea that it would be better to change the abbreviation of UCAS into a more presentable one like the Central Asian Union (CAU). The main proposal on making changes and amendments to the draft was to strengthen the conceptual element of the document.

Experts proposed their recommendations that as a basis for Central Asian integration, one needs to consider economic cooperation rather than security issues. The round-table participants pointed out that it is necessary to consider geographical resources of the region as a basis for integration. In particular, as emphasized by experts, water as one of the important resources of the region and must play an integrative role instead of being a source of conflicts. Moreover, according to experts, it is necessary to search for preferential relations between states. In other words, to create a Union regional countries must compromise. Experts emphasized the importance of engaging Turkmenistan into the process of Central Asian integration.

"States of the Central Asian region must unite in order not to fall apart. We have a chance to integrate. We need to look together for solutions to many integration questions," - concluded the IPP president, Muratbek Imanaliev.