Expert: Further instability in Afghanistan may have impact on Central Asia

Elena Kosolapova, from Azeri news agency Trend, interviews Nicolas de Pedro, Research Fellow at CIDOB, on the potential impact in Central Asia of the US/NATO troops withdrawal from Afghanistan. Further instability or conflict in Afghanistan may have an impact on the Central Asian republics, European expert Nicolas de Pedro believes. "The Central Asian republics are not going to play a meaningful role in the resolution of the Afghan problem," de Pedro told Trend on Friday. According to the expert, Afghanistan's problems are very much related to the upcoming presidential elections. Moreover the likely dramatic drop in international funds for Afghanistan is going to have a serious impact on the Afghan economy, he said. "I don't think the Central Asian countries nor other regional stakeholders are ready or wiling to fulfill this gap," he said. Meanwhile, de Pedro does not see the threats from Afghanistan as an imminent and existential for Central Asian countries. "The main issues they must face are endogenous and mostly related to the own nature of their regimes resulting in institutional weakness, poor governance and lack of prospects for their young population," he said.