University of Helsinki Delegation Visits the OSCE Academy as Part of Central Asia Study Tour

On 11 April 2025, the OSCE Academy in Bishkek welcomed a delegation of overall 18 students and professors from the Aleksanteri Institute at the University of Helsinki as part of their study tour to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The visit served as an opportunity for academic exchange and dialogue on regional developments in Central Asia.

The programme began with a welcome and a brief historical overview of the OSCE Academy by Dr. Pal Dunay, Director of the OSCE Academy. He explained that the Academy was initially conceived as a Kyrgyz initiative and established as a regional institution. He also noted that the Academy’s diverse student body does not only consist of students from the five Central Asian states but also of Afghanistan, Mongolia, and in smaller numbers from other OSCE participating states, including Belarus, Denmark, Georgia, Germany, Poland, the Russian Federation, Türkiye, the UK, and the U.S.

The visit featured several presentations. The first speaker, Dr. Sebastian Mayer delivered an overview on regionalism and cooperation in Central Asia. This was followed by a session led by Dr. Dunay, who presented comparative data on the basics of the five states that form the region as well as the assessment reflected by western indices. His analysis concluded that the region has slowly and incrementally been moving away from separation and gradually may become an area of limited cooperation that carries the potential of future integration. It presents a major difference that contrary to the past, cooperation has been fostered lately by the states of the region, and not only by external powers.

The final session was conducted by Dr. Emilbek Dzhuraev, Senior Lecturer in the Politics and Security programme, who spoke about the foreign policy orientation of Central Asian countries. His presentation examined the region’s strategic relationships with major global powers, including the United States, China, and Russia. He characterized Central Asia in relation to the European Union as “the neighbours’ neighbour”. The U.S. and the EU remained, understandably, less engaged in Central Asia than the two adjacent great powers. The presentation prompted an engaging discussion among the visiting students on recent developments in border agreements, regional cooperation, and the role of democracy and civil society in shaping the future of the region.

The visit concluded with an open dialogue session, fostering exchange of views between the guests and the panel participants of the OSCE Academy.

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