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The Center for Central Asian Studies began operating at the Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Azernews reports, citing 24.kg news agency.

The center was created on the initiative of the presidential administration of the Russian Federation; it will focus on the study of modern politics, economics, international and interfaith relations, religious politics in the countries of Central Asia, as well as in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

«Central Asia becomes a key region for the entire Eurasian space, for cooperation between great powers and the integration of major economic initiatives. The region is also the core of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The task of our new center is to provide the Russian authorities with a relevant and objective analysis of what is happening in Central Asia, to form a scientific basis for the further development of partnerships between Russia and the countries of the region,» the Director of the institute, Kirill Babaev, said.

The new center is headed by Dmitry Novikov, Candidate of Political Sciences.

He expressed hope that the center would become one of the leading research clusters for the study of Central Asia in Russia.

«Today the state has a clear understanding that in order to carry out an effective policy in the region that meets the requirements of the times, it is necessary to rely on fundamental science and the expertise resulting from it. We will try to make our contribution to providing Russian policy with new ideas and strengthening relations between Russia and the countries of Central Asia,» he commented.

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