The Interconnectedness of Central Asia and the Caspian Region: Current Issues

Abstract

   The article presents the main prerequisites and factors for the interconnectedness of the Caspian and Central Asian regions; the “window of opportunity” for the development of regional cooperation both between the states of the region and with neighboring countries was explored. The main factors determining the strategic importance of the region in the international arena, the importance of the large volume of hydrocarbon reserves, and the geographical location of the region are shown; interconnectedness of the countries of Central Asia and the Caspian states. As a result, the significance and prospects of interconnectedness between Central Asia and the Caspian region were revealed. In these regions, almost all the challenges and threats of globalization characteristic of the world system are manifested: multipolarity and economic confrontation between the West and the East; growing civilizational contradictions; depletion of natural resources; the likelihood of environmental and man-made threats on a planetary scale.