[10/30/24] The Future of Regionalism: Afghanistan, South, and Central Asia

Can regional cooperation effectively address the traditional and non-traditional security challenges facing Afghanistan and its neighboring countries? Leading experts, scholars, and practitioners will examine these challenges and analyze regional frameworks for addressing critical issues such as climate change, education, drug trafficking, and terrorism. This discussion will also identify obstacles and explore potential strategies for advancing and enhancing collaboration in the region.

Agenda:

Registration (1:00-1:45 PM)

Welcome and Opening Remarks (1:45-2:00 PM)

Panel 1: Afghanistan’s Regional Complexities: Historical Context, Present-day Rivalries, and Key Transnational Challenges (2:00-4:00 PM)

Objectives: The objective of this panel is to examine overarching issues faced by Afghanistan and the surrounding region. The panel will analyze the historical context for current rivalries, the challenges facing each nation’s prospects for stability and prosperity, and the impact of regional powers’ interests and geopolitical strategies on Afghanistan’s internal dynamics. Specific transnational challenges will be explored, including water resource management, drug trafficking, refugees, climate change, and overall security dynamics. The audience will be invited to participate in a robust question-and answer session aimed at separating fact from assumptions and long-held beliefs about this dynamic region.

Panel 2: Search for Solutions: Security Cooperation, Economic Cooperation and Regional Mechanisms for Conflict Prevention (4:00-5:50 PM)

Objectives: The objective of this panel is to identify political challenges that hinder regional cooperation. It will discuss existing regional platforms aimed at enhancing security and economic cooperation in the region, along with the associated challenges. The panel aims to explore effective security cooperation measures to address common threats such as terrorism and transnational crime, thereby fostering stability and mutual trust. Discussions will also focus on promoting economic cooperation through trade facilitation, infrastructure development, and investment initiatives to stimulate regional growth and prosperity. Additionally, the panel will examine potential regional mechanisms for conflict prevention and resolution, aiming to enhance regional resilience against geopolitical tensions and internal conflicts.

Closing Remarks (5:50-6:00 PM)

Refreshments 

Panel One Speakers

Mr. Nader Nadery is a seasoned leader with 22 years’ experience. His background spans civil society, private sector, institutional building,  government and research. He is an internationally known advocate for human rights and justice, and has firsthand experience in peacebuilding, having participated in UN peace talks for Afghanistan in 2001, track 1.5 peace processes for number of years and the 2020/21 peace talks between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban. Nadery has served as a commissioner of the Independent Human Rights Commission, Chairman of Civil Service Commission, senior advisor to the Afghan president on strategic affairs and human rights. He also served as chief of party to the work of NPWJ in Libya to promote rule of law and justice in 2012. He is an associate fellow with Asser Institute, center for international and European law and fellow with Hoover Institution of Stanford University. Nadery’s views and writings regularly appears in major media outlets including New York Times, WSJ, Washington Post, BBC, CNN and others. He has received numerous accolades, including being named an “Asian Hero” by Time magazine, a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and received the Reebok Human Rights Award. Nadery holds a LLB from Kabul University, a MA in international relations from George Washington University and has studied leadership at the Kennedy School of Government. He speaks English, Pashtu, Dari/ Persian, Baluchi, Urdu and basic Dutch.

Dr. Asfandyar Mir is a Senior Expert in the Asia Center at the United States Institute of Peace. Previously, Dr. Mir held various fellowships at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. His research interests include the international relations of South Asia, U.S. counterterrorism policy and political violence — with a regional focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan. Dr. Mir’s research has appeared in peer-reviewed journals, such as International Security, International Studies Quarterly and Security Studies. He received his doctorate in political science from the University of Chicago and a master’s and bachelor’s from Stanford University.

Fatemeh Aman is a non-resident senior fellow at the Middle East Institute. She has written on Iranian, Afghan, and broader Middle Eastern affairs for over 25 years. She has worked and published as a journalist, analyst, and previously as an Atlantic Council non-resident senior fellow. Her writings have appeared in numerous publications including Jane’s Islamic Affairs Analyst, Jane’s Intelligence Review. Fatemeh has advised the US government and non-governmental organizations on Iranian regional policies. Fatemeh was a TV writer, producer, and anchor at Voice of America (VOA), and prior to that a correspondent with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty since 1999.

Ambassador Mohammed Ashraf Haidari is the Director-General of the South Asia Cooperative Environment Program (SACEP), and concurrently serves as the Ambassador of Afghanistan to Sri Lanka. He was the Director-General of Policy and Strategy of the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan from 2015-2018. Prior to this, he served as Afghanistan’s Deputy Chief of Mission (Minister Counselor) to India for three years, before which he was Afghanistan’s Deputy Assistant National Security Advisor for Policy and Oversight. Haidari also served more than two terms at the Embassy of Afghanistan in the United States in various capacities including: Chargé d’Affaires, Deputy Chief of Mission, Political Counselor, and Acting Defense Attaché. Moreover, he formerly worked with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Program (WFP) in Afghanistan and Switzerland.

Haidari is a writer and TV and radio commentator on Afghanistan, regional, and international affairs. He has held senior research and visiting fellowship-positions at the New America (NA) in Washington-DC; the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) in Kabul; the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and Delhi Policy Group (DPG) in New Delhi, as well as the Institute of National Security Studies of Sri Lanka (INSSSL) in Colombo. He is a member of the editorial board of the Diplomatist Magazine in New Delhi and a blog-contributor at the Center for Public Diplomacy, University of Southern California.

Haidari holds a Master of Arts in security studies (international security and development) from the Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service in Washington D.C., and a Bachelor of Arts in political science and international relations from Wabash College in Indiana. In both of his degree programs, focusing on international security and development, he extensively studied, researched, and wrote on environmental security and the adverse impact of climate change on sustainable development at the regional and global levels. During 2002-2003, Haidari was a Fellow in Foreign Service at the Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.

Haidari is the recipient of many public and academic awards, including: The Fredrick J. Urbaska Civic Service Award, National Association of Wabash Men (NAWM), Indiana, 2011; The Fellowship in Foreign Service Award; Georgetown University, Washington DC, 2002; and The F. Michael Cassel Award; Wabash College Political Science Department, Indiana, 1999. The life and achievements of Haidari have been publicly recognized and featured in numerous international publications.

Alongside Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Haidari serves on the board of the Louis and Nancy Hatch Dupree Foundation. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Biruni Institute, and previously served on the board of the Roots of Peace. In addition, he formerly served as a trustee of the Afghan Education Peace Foundation.

 Panel Two Speakers

Ambassador Said T Jawad is a senior diplomat and corporate/nonprofit executive. He has served as Chief of Staff to the President of Afghanistan (2001-2003), Ambassador to the USA, Mexico, Brazil, Columbia & Argentina (2003-2010), Ambassador to the UK & Ireland (2017-2020), Ambassador to Russia (2020-2022), the CEO of Capitalize LLC, a US strategic advisory firm (2010-2017), Chairman of the Foundation for Afghanistan, a non-profit organisation (2004-2014); and Global Political Strategist & Senior Counselor at APCO Worldwide (2010-2017).

He has served as Diplomat-in-Residence at Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (2010-2015), & Senior Fellow at Harvard University’s Future of Diplomacy Project at the John F. Kennedy School of Government (2010-2011). 

Dr. Sebastien Peyrouse, PhD, is the Director of the Central Asia Program and a Research Professor at the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies at George Washington University. He is also a Researcher at EUCAM (Europe-Central Asia Monitoring) in Brussels. His expertise spans political systems in Central Asia, economic and social issues, Islam and religious minorities, as well as Central Asia’s geopolitical relations with China, India, and South Asia. He has authored, co-authored, and edited several books on the region, and his work has been published in Europe-Asia Studies, Nationalities Papers, Problems of Post-Communism, Eurasian Geography and Economics, China Perspectives, Religion, State & Society, and the Journal of Church and State.

Naheed Sarabi is a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Center for Sustainable Development, housed within the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution, Washington D.C. She is also a director and co-founder of the Institute for Development and Economic Affairs (IDEA), a U.S.-based think-tank for the Afghan diaspora. Sarabi is a development practitioner with over 15 years of experience in development policy and planning. She served as the deputy minister for policy at the Ministry of Finance, Afghanistan from 2017 to 2020, the highest-ranking professional woman at the Ministry in the pre-Taliban administration. She has also worked as senior coordination and partnership advisor for Afghanistan’s Independent Directorate of Local Governance, the agency responsible for subnational governance, giving her hands-on experience with governance issues at all levels of public administration. Sarabi has a strong background in core issues of development strategy and the challenges of turning conceptual frameworks into operational policy, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected states where core systems are contested or underdeveloped and levels of aid dependency tend to be very high. Her experience is not limited to the government. She is an advisory board member of Rawadari, an Afghan human rights organization. She served as a board member of Open Society Afghanistan before the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul. After leaving the government, Sarabi served as assistant resident representative for the United Nations Development Program in Kabul.

Sarabi holds a bachelor’s in political science from the Indraprastha College for Women, Delhi University, India and a master’s degree in development management from Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany. Sarabi is a recipient of the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) scholarship and the Fulbright scholarship. She received her second master’s, in applied economics, from Western Michigan University, U.S.

Dr. Ahmad Farid Tookhy holds a PhD in politics from Georgetown University and has taught at the universities of Georgetown and Ottawa. Dr. Tookhy’s research and intellectual interests include modern political formations, international relations, politics and religion, political sociology, and Middle Eastern history and politics. Previously, he served with the United Nations in Afghanistan, Sudan and South Sudan on electoral and political affairs.

Cecile Fruman is Director, Regional Integration and Engagement in the South Asia Region (SAR) at the World Bank Group. She is responsible for fostering  collaborative activities amongst SAR countries and managing partnerships and engagements with SAR and global development partners. Previously, Cecile was Senior Manager for Financial Intermediary Funds (FIFs) and Partner Relations in the Development Finance Vice-Presidency (DFi) where she oversaw a portfolio of FIFs that  disbursed in the order of $6 billion a year in grants for key global development  priorities to multiple implementation agencies and coordinated the World Bank’s  strategic engagement with development partners. 

Cecile has dedicated her career to international development with a focus on private  sector solutions. She was a Director in the World Bank Group’s Trade &  Competitiveness (T&C) Global Practice, a joint practice of IFC and World Bank, leading a  $5 billion lending portfolio and a vibrant portfolio of analytical and advisory work and  trust funds. She was also a manager in the World Bank Group Investment Climate  Department for several years, leading new business in the areas of climate change,  infrastructure, PPPs, health and education, e-Government solutions, and competition.  She has deep experience in strategy development, knowledge management, results  measurement, portfolio management, partnerships and donor relations. Cecile served  as Manager of the World Bank Change Team in 2013.  

A French national, Cecile started her career in microfinance and SME development,  spending four years in Mali managing a rural microfinance institution and several years  working on a World Bank global research program (Sustainable Banking with the Poor).  She has also worked on higher education, community driven development, and poverty  reduction programs. Cecile holds an MBA from ESCP Europe, one of France’s top business schools, and furthered her studies at the University of Osaka in Japan.

Dr. Hassan Abbas is Distinguished Professor of International Relations at the National Defense University in Washington DC. He serves as a senior advisor at Harvard University’s Divinity school project on Shiism and global affairs. His current research work focuses on building narratives for countering political and religious extremism & rule of law reforms in developing states.

Earlier he served as the Distinguished Quaid i Azam Professor at Columbia University. He held various fellowships including at Harvard Law School’s Islamic Legal Studies Program & Program on Negotiation; the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government; Asia Society in New York as Bernard Schwartz fellow.

He appeared on various television news shows on CNN, Fox News, etc as analyst on security related issues. He has also testified before the Foreign Relations Committee, US House of Representatives on “Women fighting for Peace: Lessons for Today’s Conflicts”, and before the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom at the U.S. Congress on “Protecting Houses of Worship and Holy Sites”. He delivered many keynote addresses in conferences and seminars including in Australia, China, India, Iraq, Pakistan, Germany, France, Turkey, UAE, Oman, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and United Kingdom.

 His publications include The Taliban Revival: Violence and Extremism on the Pakistan – Afghanistan Frontier (Yale University Press, 2015); Pakistan’s Nuclear Bomb: A Story of Defiance, Deterrence and Deviance (Oxford University Press, 2018), The Prophet’s Heir: The Life of Ali ibn Abi Talib (Yale University Press, 2021) and most recently The Return of the Taliban: Afghanistan After the Americans Left (Yale University Press, 2023).