We invite you to a Roundtable Discussion with Prof. Alexander ISKANDARYAN, Founding Director, Caucasus Institute, the Republic of Armenia on the topic “ARMENIA: at the Crossroads between Europe, the Middle East and Asia “.

A country placed at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, bordering the wider Middle East, Armenia has witnessed the political and economic presence of a growing number of countries, including Russia, Iran, India and China.

The main reason is that two routes with the potential to affect global economy and trade – the Central Belt of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) – are likely to pass via the South Caucasus. However, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the tensions between Azerbaijan and its Caspian Sea neighbors, the Ukrainian crisis, and the complicated situations in Afghanistan and around Iran have prevented these routes from reaching their full economic potential.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and ongoing tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan became one of the main factors for the EU’s enhanced engagement in the South Caucasus to promote regional stability, especially through the EUMA (European Union Mission in Armenia) in which Romania plays an important role.

The debates will explore the potential impact of regional conflicts with the involvement of great powers, and discuss ways to enlarge economic and energy connectivity between the South Caucasus and Europe taking into account Armenia’s potential to become an important partner for Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

The Roundtable will take place on Wednesday, 17 May, 2023, from 10:30 to 12:30, at the Marshal Garden Hotel, Ametist Conference Room (Calea Dorobanților nr. 50B, 6^th Floor, Sector 1, Bucharest).

We welcome representatives of the accredited diplomatic missions in Romania, international organizations and institutions, officials of the Romanian public institutions, NGOs, academia (professors), think-tanks (researchers and analysts), business persons, and mass-media to join us in this event.

Kindly respond to this invitation before 15 May 2023, 18:00 at the e-mail address: office@mepei.com.