Alexander Burkov: "Establishing friendly international relations between the youth of our countries is a state–level task"

The purpose of the event is to expand the formats of multilateral youth cooperation, strengthen public support for bilateral and multilateral integration ties between the Russian Federation and the countries of the Central Asian region.

The Second Forum of Young Leaders "Russia – Central Asian Region" is one of the largest events of 2022, planned by the Project Office of International Youth Cooperation in the direction of "Russia – Central Asian region". Omsk has become a meeting center for young leaders from Russia and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for the second time.

More than 200 young people interested in developing cooperation between the countries will communicate, study and create creative projects. Governor Alexander Burkov addressed them at the opening ceremony.

"For hundreds of years, Russia and the countries of Central Asia have been linked by partnership and good-neighborly relations. This is largely due to the history of our states and the joint experience of development within the framework of a single Soviet state. Today we are all witnessing the crisis of the unipolar world, centered on America. The world is becoming multipolar, and it takes time for it to settle, which is a long and complex process. Sanctions against Russia by European countries and the United States have a negative impact on the economies of other countries. And now it is important to expand our cooperation, build new logistics chains and good-neighborly relations that will help the development of our countries. Omsk Region has extensive experience in partnership with many Central Asian countries, especially with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Our foreign trade turnover with them last year amounted to 466 million dollars. This is a third of the total foreign trade turnover of our region. The practice is that official Omsk Region delegations travel to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and business missions come to visit us in return. These relations produce high economic results. But it's not just the numbers of economic relations that are important to us. Cultural interaction is equally important. Our region is one of the most multinational in Russia. I want to tell you young leaders that the future of our countries is in your hands. I wish you to find not only new business partners in Omsk, but also people close in spirit with whom you will communicate and be friends. Omsk region is also a major educational center in Siberia: we have 23 universities and 47 institutions of secondary vocational education, 11,000 students from Central Asian countries study. We are always open to you and ready to cooperate. I hope this forum of young leaders will create conditions for further international friendly relations."

The Federal Agency for Youth Affairs is one of the organizers of the forum, the main directions of the program of which are formed taking into account the opinions of the countries of the Central Asian region. Denis Ashirov, Deputy head of Rosmolodezh, took part in his work via a teleconference. He noted that the 2nd Forum of Young Leaders brought together two hundred representatives of countries interested in constructive dialogue and ready to develop projects together. "Young people from Central Asian countries are actively involved in Rosmolodezh projects, I am sure that this trend will continue, and we will continue to meet and create joint initiatives that are simply necessary against the background of serious geopolitical challenges," Denis Ashirov said.

Within the framework of the Forum, three thematic platforms for international youth cooperation were organized: creative industries in the fields of fashion and nutrition; media with coverage of current events and the problem of information warfare; cultural and historical unity of the region with a discussion of the origins of the interrelationships of peoples, a common path of development and cooperation. Participants will present successful cases in their fields, and discuss the possibility of multiplying positive experiences in their countries.

Youth is the future of our country, Kerim Kozhamberdiev, Consul General of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Omsk region, also stressed. He noted that it is at events such as the Young Leaders Forum that new friends are found, partnerships are created, and wished the participants a good discussion and productive work.

Dmitry Mayevsky, Rector of Omsk State Technical University, noted that his ancestors, like himself, lived in Kazakhstan, so he is familiar with the culture of this country firsthand. "It is gratifying that the forum is taking place during the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Omsk Region and the 80th anniversary of OmSTU. Our university has been developing a program for the Creative Industries track, and I am sure that fruitful work will be carried out on this track," said Dmitry Mayevsky, Rector of OmSTU.

The speakers of each of the three tracks will be experts in their fields from Russia and the countries of the Central Asian region. They will help the participants of the Cultural and Historical Unity of the Region track figure out how to launch successful international projects and initiatives and what are the points of contact between the cultures of our countries. The Media direction, with the help of experts, will master the basics of storytelling and immediately put them into practice, creating videos that VKontakte users can evaluate. The participants of the Creative Industries track will understand the peculiarities of ethnic style and food design, and at the end they will arrange a fashion show and tasting.

All participants of the event will be able to attend the session "Youth of Russia and Central Asian countries in Action" and a lecture on intercultural diplomacy. The latter will be conducted by a representative of the A.M. Gorchakov Foundation for Support of Public Diplomacy.

"The geographical location of our countries is our priority and our dignity, and we must make our Eurasian space the best place on earth," said Gulnabat Tekayeva, head of the Society of Turkmen Culture.

Dilovar Boboeva, Chairman of the Youth Society of Students of Tajikistan in the Russian Federation, also expressed confidence that the Forum of Young Leaders will become a springboard for the development of participants.

A cultural and entertainment program is also provided for the forum participants. Every forum member will be able to attend the KVN festival "In the center of Asia", which runs in parallel with the forum. The participants of the humorous event are top KVN teams from Siberia, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, and its host Dmitry Khrustalyov is a theater and film actor, comedian and TV presenter. Nonresident participants will be introduced to Omsk and the secrets of our Siberian city will be revealed.

The Forum of Young Leaders "Russia – Central Asian Region" is being held in the Omsk region for the 2nd time and is organized as part of the work of the International Youth Cooperation project office of the same name. The event is organized by Rosmolodezh, the Government of the Omsk Region, the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Physical Culture and Sports of the region, Omsk State Technical University.