By Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the Kingdom of Belgium

Today, the volunteer movement is an integral part of the social sphere, which provides gratuitous assistance to people in difficult life situations. Uzbekistan is at the stage of active reforms. Large-scale transformations open new opportunities for solving actual socio-economic, socio-political, cultural, and humanitarian problems. One of the priority directions of development of Uzbekistan, in addition to improving state and social construction, ensuring the rule of law, and reforming the judicial and legal system, developing and liberalizing the economy, ensuring security, interethnic harmony and religious tolerance, implementing a balanced, mutually beneficial and constructive foreign policy, is the development of the social sphere. READ MORE

• October 25, 2021

By Doniyor Turaev, Deputy Director of the Legislation and Parliamentary Research Institute under the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Currently, systematic work is under way in Uzbekistan to implement the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Children, the legal and institutional framework for protecting the rights and interests of children is improving. As the international experience shows, today, more than twenty countries have a specialized and independent institution – the Ombudsman for Children. The first office of Ombudsman for Children was established in Norway in 1981. By the beginning of the 21st century, many countries had significantly intensified their work to protect the rights of the child and create some special authorized institutions in this area, and this was due to the need to better ensure the implementation of obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. READ MORE

• October 25, 2021

By Hayk KOTANJIAN, Lieutenant General (Ret.), D.Sc., Professor of Political Science of the RA, RF, USA (state studies-strategic security studies), Full Member of the Academy of Military Sciences of the RF

In the wake of the 44-day war in 2020, an unprecedented escalation of the process of delimitation and demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani borders has been launched. This was done contrary to the principles and procedure for border delimitation and demarcation recommended by the OSCE Secretariat. The unparalleled pressure on the Armenian population from Karabakh was accompanied by subsequent attempts to undermine the settlement process under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship. Among the arguments substantiating claims to include Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan, Baku authorities refer to the Azerbaijani-language toponymy, which allegedly has a long history. READ MORE

• October 13, 2021

By Fuad Shahbazov, Baku-based independent regional security and defence analyst

In the period immediately after the 44-day Karabakh war, Baku-Tehran relations remained on the level of pragmatic co-operation, until the new conservative political establishment ascended to power in Iran. Since then, Tehran’s rhetoric against Azerbaijan has shifted from that of “partnership” to open threats that explicitly neglect the partnership atmosphere. Relations between Baku and Tehran have always been unstable, particularly at the beginning of the 2000s. However, they rekindled when both countries became engaged in regional infrastructure and transit projects. READ MORE

• October 13, 2021

By Benyamin POGHOSYAN, PhD, Chairman, Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies

For 30 years, Iran has adopted a cautious approach to developments in the South Caucasus, wary of the risk of encirclement. Iran's current military drills on the border with Azerbaijan are meant to send a signal that Tehran has its red lines too.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union 30 years ago, Iran has carefully followed the developments in the South Caucasus. The strategic goal of Iran was not to allow the region to be a launchpad for the US or Israeli-initiated anti-Iranian activities. Due to the constant US pressure, Iran could not significantly increase its influence in the South Caucasus and directly compete with the US. Meanwhile, the US and Israel were not the only sources of concern for Iran. Turkey's intentions to increase its influence in the South Caucasus through the establishment of the Turkey–Georgia–Azerbaijan strategic partnership was another source of concern. READ MORE

• October 11, 2021

by Dr Jack Sharples (Oxford Institute for Energy Studies and EGF Associate Researcher)
Mike Fulwood (Oxford Institute for Energy Studies)

We analyse the drivers behind ongoing price rally and offer an outlook for the coming winter. On the global LNG market, unexpected outages meant that growth in supply simply did not keep pace with the increase in demand. Given its role as the ‘balancing market’, European LNG imports declined. This combined with declines in European production and pipeline imports to open a supply gap that could only be met by withdrawals from storage. We conclude that with gas markets noticeably tighter, the ongoing price rally is driven by fundamentals, with an added ‘fear premium’ that the forthcoming winter could be as cold as that in 2020/21. If that proves to be the case, the current price levels will persist, and even rise, while a milder winter could see the market turn slightly more bearish. READ MORE.

• October 2, 2021

By Benyamin POGHOSYAN, PhD, Chairman, Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on September 19 that Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had requested a meeting, via a message transmitted by the Georgian prime minister. Erdogan said that “Armenia should take positive steps” if it wishes for such a meeting. Erdogan is alluding to the opening of the so-called “Zangezur Corridor”, which he believes is a political issue that will be resolved soon, as will Armenia-Azerbaijan relations. The corridor refers to a ground transportation link that would connect Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhichevan through Armenia’s southern Syunik region. If we try to translate Erdogan’s diplomatic language, the Turkish president clearly states that he is ready to accept Armenian leadership’s proposal for dialogue if Armenia continues to fulfil Turkey’s demands. READ MORE

• October 2, 2021

By Gulnoza ISMAILOVA, Doctor of Law Sciences (Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches),
Vice-rector for Science and Innovation at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy

In modern democratic States, elections are the foundation of the principle of democracy, it is the main form of expression of the will of citizens and the form of realization of people's sovereignty. Participation in elections makes it possible to exercise the right to participate in the management of the affairs of society and the state, as well as control over the formation and activities of both Representative and Executive authorities. READ MORE

• September 30, 2021