Founding meeting of the BEK
May 02.05.2012nd, XNUMX - “Berlin Eurasian Club” aims to strengthen contacts with Central Asia
Politicians and experts from Germany and the EU should offer the Berlin Eurasian Club (BEK) an exclusive platform for dialogue with the states of the Eurasian Economic Area, the Eurasian Economic Community and Central Asian states. The discussants of the first meeting of the BEK agreed: one should not act alongside the EU.
At the founding meeting of the new “Berlin Eurasian Club (BEK)” on April 23, 2012, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan, SE Dr. Nurlan Onzhanov and Alexander Rahr, heads of the “Berthold-Beitz-Center” in the DGAP invited to the Berlin embassy of Kazakhstan. The BEK was launched on February 07th, 2012 during the state visit of the Kazakh President HE Nursultan Nazarbayev. It is intended to offer interested politicians and experts from Germany and the EU an exclusive platform for dialogue with countries in the Eurasian Economic Area, the Eurasian Economic Community and Central Asian countries.
And so did the first session of the BEK. It was a round of diplomats who had once served as ambassadors in the Caucasus region, such as Drs. Patricia Flor, who helped 1993 build the first German embassy in Kazakhstan, was invited by DAAD experts such as Dr. med. Gisela Zimmermann, represented by Dr. med. Martin Hoffmann from the East Committee of German Business to members of the Bundestag who deal with the region. Alexander Rahr moderated the circle to some 50 connoisseurs of the region. The most important question in the first session of the BEK was of course: What do we want, what do we do?
All the discussants agreed: we must not act alongside the EU, we must intervene as mediators and amplifiers. Above all, the question of raw materials will play a major role for the German economy. And also the question: where does the whole Eurasian space go? To the west or to the east, to China for example? How great is our interest, and conversely, how do we continue to spark greater interest from states in this region to Europe?
The raw material question
According to the raw materials strategy of the European Union and the Federal Republic of Germany, the importance of this region will continue to grow, so the role of the Eurasian area as a bridge between Europe and Asia is being redefined. Alexander Rahr said in a nutshell: "The BEK will deepen this issue and make recommendations to the governments of both sides."
When it was founded in Berlin in February, President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan very self-confidently pointed out the importance Kazakhstan has acquired in the last 20 years since its independence from Moscow. “We are a coming economic power. Kazakhstan fell into poverty twenty years ago. Today the GDP has increased fifteenfold, 80 percent of direct investments in Central Asia are made in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan has now risen to become the world's fifth largest oil exporter and has the coveted rare earths. The biggest challenge facing the country, which is responsible for 85 percent of EU-Central Asia trade, is diversifying its economy. We want to import more high technology. Germany should now supply this technology so that Kazakhstan exports more manufactured goods and not just ores. "
Eurasian Union
Kazakhstan has also received special weight through the establishment of the "Eurasian Union". The economic alliance with Russia and Belarus is the only chance to appear as a creative actor in times of globalization, said the Kazakh head of state in Berlin in February 2012. In doing so, “we are striving for the free movement of goods, capital and people based on the European model.” In this context, the Kazakh President announced the establishment of the “Eurasian Club” in Berlin. Discussions about raw material partnerships, but also about the interaction between Christianity and Islam, could be held there.
Nazarbayev said at the opening in February: “The Eurasian Club of Berlin can become a kind of think tank, a science center in which experts will work on strengthening relations between Europe and Asia. The customs union that we have created with Belarus and Russia and the single economic area can work together with the European Union in the future. The Eurasian Club Berlin and the Institute for Politics at the First President's Foundation will also work together. That will enrich us, it will generate new ideas in the field of political, social and economic cooperation. We are ready to support these activities on all sides. "
And Chancellor Angela Merkel added: “I believe that this club can become an instrument for closer cooperation and also for getting to know each other better. In this respect, it is certainly very good if, in addition to government consultations or government contacts, we also have institutions in which questions of mutual interest can be discussed. It is also very good that the President attended. "
The BEK will meet three times a year, in Berlin, Brussels and Astana. At the first session on the 23. In April, Kazakhstan's role as a dynamically growing country in Eurasia and Germany as an economic engine of the EU was discussed.
(EurActiv / Peter Brinkmann)
