Several joint activities took place in Berlin in June to strengthen research cooperation with institutions in Central Asia: DFG President Professor Dr. Katja Becker welcomed the Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic, the DFG and the German-Kazakh Society jointly hosted an evening event, and DFG representatives took part in a high-level meeting at the Embassy of Uzbekistan.

For some time now, the DFG has been committed to strengthening academic relations between Germany and Central Asia and has intensified its engagement in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in particular, increasingly also in Kyrgyzstan. Alongside visits to the region, these activities include participation in research policy events concerning and involving the countries of Central Asia held in Germany. Three events held in Berlin in June this year proved particularly successful.

The first was a meeting at the DFG’s Berlin Office between DFG President Katja Becker and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kyrgyz Republic, Omurbek Tekebaev. The Ambassador emphasised the increasingly important role of science and research in the country’s development, particularly in the fields of climate protection, ecosystems and water management, and highlighted the importance of academic links with Germany and especially with the DFG. The DFG expressed its interest in deepening academic exchange and reported on its participation in delegation visits to Kyrgyzstan and in the Kyrgyz-German Science Days, for example. In addition, there are already numerous DFG-funded projects involving Kyrgyz research institutions and researchers. At the close of the meeting, both sides agreed to intensify contacts, with particular emphasis on strengthening links with the newly established Kyrgyz Ministry of Science, Education and Innovation and the National Academy of Sciences.

A more subject-specific event followed the next day at Wissenschaftsforum Berlin, organised by the German–Kazakh Society, hosted by the DFG and focusing on the study of the ancient world. In his evening lecture entitled „Zentralasien: Antike Kulturräume zwischen Ost und West“ (Central Asia: Ancient Cultural Regions between East and West), Dr. Manfred Nawroth, Senior Curator at the Museum of Prehistory and Early History of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, highlighted the importance of the region as a location for academic research. In his lecture, he presented important archaeological discoveries from Central Asia and spoke about the long-standing and highly successful cooperation between German and Central Asian archaeologists. Among the more than 40 participants were numerous students from the German-Kazakh University in Almaty who are spending their exchange semester at TH Wildau.

The Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan hosted a high-level round-table discussion the following day on the subject of dual-study programmes at German universities and universities of applied sciences. The Uzbek Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Kongratbay Sharipov, and the Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Education Reform, Ilkhom Sirojev, were accompanied by a delegation of presidents of the country’s leading higher education institutions. The event provided the DFG with an opportunity to find out more about current and planned cooperation initiatives through direct discussions and to exchange views with representatives of German and Uzbek higher education institutions.

Professor Dr. Jörg Bagdahn, President of Anhalt University of Applied Sciences and Vice-President of the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK), who signed an agreement establishing a German-Uzbek higher education partnership, also spoke in his speech about the DFG’s current networking initiative in Central Asia. In his capacity as spokesperson for the universities of applied sciences member group within the German Rectors’ Conference, he joined DFG Vice President Professor Dr. Karin Jacobs in supporting the DFG initiative Networking for Research – German Universities of Applied Sciences and Researchers Worldwide (UDIF-HAW), which supports the internationalisation of research at universities of applied sciences seeking to establish or expand research cooperation with Central Asia. With the aim of exploring the region’s overall potential for cooperation, this initiative focuses not only on Uzbekistan but also on Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.