Fergana Valley may become the point from where the destruction of the CSTO will begin — expert

The Fergana Valley may become the point from where the destruction of the CSTO will begin. This was stated at a roundtable held in Bishkek on the topic "A world without terrorism, extremism and separatism: the role of the SCO and Central Asian countries in the global security system," the Asian Express reports.

According to political scientist Kuban Taabaldiev, in the modern world, the issues of terrorism, extremism and separatism are becoming more complicated and multifaceted, which indicates an increase in global geopolitical conflicts.

He added that today the difference between the countries has become as large as possible, and the confrontation of the leading world powers actually turns some manifestations of terrorism into means of foreign policy. As examples, the expert cited international crises, such as the situation in Venezuela and Iran, stressing the importance of an open discussion of these processes at the CSTO, SCO and UN platforms.

Taabaldiyev noted that the problems of terrorism, extremism and separatism should be perceived not as local challenges, but as a global threat that requires coordinated actions of the entire Central Asian region and international structures.

He separately expressed support for the idea that the security of Central Asia is closely linked to global geopolitical processes. The political scientist also suggested considering the creation of a regional counteraction center, but not at the level of the whole of Central Asia, but in the format of the Fergana Valley, which, in his opinion, is the most vulnerable zone in terms of potential instability.

In his opinion, this region can become the epicenter of serious destructive events that can affect not only the countries of Central Asia, but also the CIS, CSTO and SCO states.

The expert focused on the problems of education and the influence of foreign ideological factors. He noted that foreign universities operating in Kyrgyzstan have a significant impact on the formation of views of young people, while their activities, in his opinion, are not subject to sufficient control by the state.

Taabaldiyev drew attention to the fact that more than seventy higher educational institutions operate in the republic, but government agencies do not always have complete information about what is happening inside them. He stressed the importance of strengthening state supervision over the education system, in particular, over the content of curricula and their ideological content.

He mentioned Manas University as an example, emphasizing the possible threats of external ideological influence and the importance of a thorough approach to educational policy.

The expert believes that the education system plays an important role in shaping the worldview of young people and therefore deserves special attention from the government.