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Centre for Euro-Asian Studies marks 10 years of transition in the Euro-Asian States – University of Reading

An international conference on the first decade of transition in the Euro-Asian states will be hosted by the University's Centre for Euro-Asian Studies on 9 November 2001.

It will be opened by Sir Donald Hawley, Chairman of the Royal Society of Asian Affairs. Those addressing the conference include senator Mr Mikhail Margelov, member of the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation; Simon Lovett, Head of Central Asia and Transcaucasus Section, of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; HE Adil Akhmetov, Kazakhstan Ambassador to Britain; members of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and other academics and specialists with Euro-Asia associations.

Conference topics include Russian foreign policy, British policy towards towards Central Asia and South Caucusus , economic development, oil and gas and education.

The conference also celebrates the fifth anniversary of the interdisciplinary Centre. It was established in 1996 to study the process of the post-communist tradition. During these five years the Centre has gained recognition throughout the world for its research, contacts and unique expertise in the area of research into Euro-Asian countries. The Director of the Centre, Dr Yelena Kalyuzhnova, said "The members of the Centre are active participants and contributors to the international conferences organised by such bodies as the United Nations, International Monetary Fund and The World Bank, which lends great credibility to the Centre and incentives to teach the subjects related to economics, politics and diplomacy in transition."

Dr Kalyuhnova was previously economic advisor to the President of Kazakhstan and came to the University from there in 1995 as a visiting scholar. The Centre for Eurasian Studies has 17 representatives in 14 countries throughout the world, a number which is expanding. It unites more than 30 Professors and prominent academics, working in both English and Russian, in the areas of politics, economics and security of the countries of transition.

The conference will end with the official opening of a photo exhibition "Kazakhstan: 10 years of Independence".

The Euro-Asian World – the First Decade of Transition will be held in Room 44, Faculty of Letters and Social Sciences at the University's Whiteknights campus, Friday 9 November 2001, beginning at 10am.

For further details, please contact Sue Rayner or Carol Derham on 0118 378 8004/5 Fax 0118 378 8924.