On 16 May SIPRI held an expert seminar in Brussels on stabilizing Afghanistan and its neighbourhood and the challenge for Europe.
The event was attended by approximately 35 participants from the local policy making community, who were informed about the outcomes of the Wider Central Asia Initiative, a SIPRI project aimed at promoting and facilitating dialogue among the main stakeholders in Afghanistan's future.
The seminar was opened by Ambassador Anna-Karin Eneström, Sweden’s Representative to the EU's Political and Security Committee, and Göran Lennmaker, Chairman of SIPRI’s Governing Board.
Presentations were given by Neil Melvin, Director of SIPRI's Armed Conflict and Conflict Management Programme, who commented on the views of the Central Asian states, SIPRI Senior Researcher Bruce Koepke, who reviewed Iran's engagement, and Moeed Yusuf, Senior Pakistan Expert at the United States Institute of Peace, who offered the perspective of Pakistan.
Two analytical papers in the Wider Central Asia Initiative series were also launched at this seminar: Moeed Yusuf's 'Decoding Pakistan's "Strategic Shift" in Afghanistan' and Erik Brattberg's 'Europe, Afghanistan and the Transatlantic Relationship after 2014'.
For further information about this event contact Theresa Höghammer.