In March 2026, researchers from Germany and Central Asia came together in Tashkent for a workshop entitled “Promoting Vibrant Agroecosystems in Central Asia – A One Health Approach to Organic Contaminants”. The approximately 80 attendees at the opening event were welcomed by Academy President Professor Dr. Shavkat Ayupov, DFG Vice President Professor Dr. Karin Jacobs, and the Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy, among others. The in-depth expert discussions during the workshop were led by DFG Senate member Professor Dr. Georg Guggenberger, and this dialogue continued during a visit to Urgench State University and visits to field research sites.

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The aim of the workshop was to bring together leading researchers from Germany and Central Asia for a focused thematic exchange in order to stimulate the development of new research cooperations and project ideas between Germany and Central Asia at a high level. In terms of content, the workshop focused on basic research into physicochemical, biological and hydrological processes in soils. By looking at the close interconnections between the health of the environment, plants, animals and humans (One Health), it sought to lay the groundwork for strategies to reduce environmental and health risks and promote sustainable agricultural practices.

The idea for the workshop arose in 2025 in the course of a DFG delegation visit to the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences in Tashkent for talks on cooperation. Reducing soil degradation and promoting vibrant agroecosystems is not only an issue that is relevant to the research communities concerned, it is also a high political priority for the governments of the Central Asian countries. As such, the DFG’s workshop was able to address a topic that is particularly well suited to highlighting the growing importance of cross-border cooperation with Germany and within the Central Asian region.

Around 80 interested researchers gathered in the main building of the Academy in Tashkent for the opening of the event by DFG Vice President Jacobs (Saarland University) and Shavkat Ayupov, President of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan. Following further welcome addresses by Professor Dr. Shakhlokhon Turdikulova, Vice President of the Uzbek Academy of Sciences, and Clemens Schwanhold, Permanent Representative of the German Embassy in Tashkent, expert presentations were given in an open session by Georg Guggenberger and Professor Dr. Egamberdiyeva (National Research University, Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers Institute, Ministry of Agriculture). This was followed by an evening reception that provided opportunities for further exchange and networking. 

The internal scientific part of the workshop brought together a group of just under 30 researchers from Germany and Central Asia – mainly from Uzbekistan, but also from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan – representing a broad range of expertise and complementary research focuses. This enabled participants to move quickly into in-depth discussion and begin developing concrete ideas for joint research projects. Visits arranged by Urgench State University were particularly helpful for the participants from Germany since these gave the DFG delegation insights into local agricultural practices and systems. In addition, the university presented its relevant research activities to the delegation at an introductory session with the Vice Rector for Research and Innovation, Dr. Zafar Ibragimov, making a convincing case for its potential future role as a research partner. 

Alongside the workshop, DFG Vice President Jacobs held talks with Uktam Salomov, Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and representatives of the Agency for Innovative Development, as well as with Shakhlokhon Turdikulova, Vice President of the National Academy of Sciences, and the leadership of Tashkent State Technical University. The aim was to encourage support for emerging research projects in view of the significant mutual interest in cooperation and explore possible cooperative funding models. In this context, the latest results of the Excellence Strategy were presented, together with the DFG's UDIF-HAW initiative in the region. The broader framework conditions for cooperation with the region were also addressed at a meeting with the German Embassy.

The DFG has been working on cooperation with Central Asia for many years and is able to look back on a longstanding tradition in this area. As early as 1928, the DFG’s predecessor organisation funded the attendance of a researcher from the University of Göttingen at a geology conference in Tashkent and, together with the Soviet Academy of Sciences, participation in an expedition to the Pamir Mountains. The workshop in 2026 was the first bilateral activity with the National Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan to be organised by the DFG – a result of its increased engagement in Central Asia in recent years. Alongside the initiative to connect German universities of applied sciences with researchers from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the workshop was a concrete measure aimed at initiating new research cooperations and strengthening institutional cooperation. Since 2025, the DFG has been supported in these activities by the Central Asia Sustainable Innovation Bureau (CASIB) in Kazakhstan, whose head, Dr. Peter Liebelt (Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg), serves as the DFG’s Liaison Scientist for Central Asia.