Ellen Wasylina was invited to speak at the European Institute of Asian Studies (EIAS) on May 8 .
The title of the event was « Strategic Opportunities for EU companies along the Middle Corridor – The Caspian Sea ports and the Alat Free Zone : https://eias.org/event/conference-strategic-opportunities-for-eu-companies-along-the-middle-corridor-the-caspian-sea-ports-and-the-alat-free-economic-zone-afez/
Ms Wasylina spoke on the second panel and here are the main subjects of her remarks. She started with a quote from Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations at the UNECE, March 2024 :
« We can not have peace with wars going on, financial debt , devastating floods. We need to have the necessary investments to unlock financial support of $50 billion a year, in energy transitions, digitalisation and education and social protection. »
European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the European Banking Authority (EBA) can further contribute to enhancing Europe’s financial sector resilience and show how the complementary role of the two institutions can support financial stability in Europe more broadly and contribute to the well-being of European citizens. Geopolitical tensions and geoeconomic fragmentation are shaping the future of the global economy and challenging our conventional understanding of risk.
At the same time, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors have emerged as critical criteria for businesses. Investors, regulators, and consumers are increasingly scrutinizing companies not only for financial performance but also for their impact on the environment, their role in society, and the governance structures they have in place. Industries that embrace ESG are positioning themselves for long-term success in an increasingly sustainability-conscious market.
Last December, she was invited to speak on a panel on AI and Cybersecurity at the annual Stratcom conference in Istanbul .
The COVID pandemic taught us a lot . We had to quickly transform our companies , our workplace into cloud spaces , using the cloud extensively to move people and data every day . We became digital nomads , which exposed us to Hackers, who disrupted business and consumer services with phishing, exfiltration of data, denial of service, malware, and ransomware attacks.
So how can we make this Middle Corridor more attractive ?
The Transport diplomacy development program , for example of the President of Turkménistan (2022-2025), the modernisation of its transport systems and infrastructure , creating an Integrated multimodale transport corridor /hub , reducing CO2 émissions and improving efficiences .
Boosting competitiveness for Azerbaijan railways , whose traffic initially increased during the first year of the war in Ukraine , has since fallen due to relative higher costs, resulting in a migration towards road transport . And two of her recommendations from the Sustainable Value Hub event, June 6, 2023, stand : the importance of digitalisation , a subject that was addressed by her previous think tank publication in their Baltic Sea issue in 2017 : geopolitical and geoeconomic stakes in the Baltic Sea , the digitalisation and modernization of European transportation to ensure national, economic and energy security .
Another recommendation was on the diversification of energy , particularly in solar energy . From her research in preparing for this panel , she was happy to see that not only has Azerbaijan decarbonised its railways (63% electrified ), but that the ADY has installed 650 solar panels at the depots , generating enough power to sustainably power a portion of its rail network .
As indicated in the report by the IEA on Azerbaijan, the three objectives of its environmental policy have been formulated: prioritising environmental security and minimising human impact on the environment; using renewable energy and achieving energy efficiency.
Third, in order for sustainable investment to succeed, it has to be supported by a robust program in Research and Development which currently stands at about 0.19% of GDP, around half the level of the lowest member country of the Organisation for Co‑operation and Development (OECD), but similar to the levels of other newly independent states.
Fourth, Education is the key to sustainable investments, and we at the Trocadéro Forum Institute have the ambition to train a new generation of leaders, putting Sustainability at the heart of all management decisions, teaching our young people to learn new principles and concepts of Sustainability and Economic Social Governance, to embrace the inherently important role of technology, and finally to instill and encourage an entrepreneurial culture, by facilitating geographic mobility, inside and outside the country.
Finally , the European Union has initiated the Global Gateway to invest in sustainable high quality infrastructure worldwide, including railways to that tune of 10 billion Euros; in April 3 /4, President von der Leyen and Antonio Costa held the EU Central Asia Summit in Samarkand , Uzbekistan , where they pledged another 300 billion Euros to bilateral strategic partnerships , particularly connecting five countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan ) to Europe and also opening up pathways for investment and access to rare earth minerals .
The EU has set its Green diplomacy as a political priority and so it should be for the Caspian Sea countries. It is defined as “accelerating a global just and inclusive green transition”, by the EU Consilium on March 18, 2024, which includes a multilateral approach with partner countries. Green Diplomacy can be used as a strategic component of a soft power approach, to build bridges with its neighbors, fostering goodwill, and enhance its influence through environmental sustainability efforts, as countries attempt to address critical global challenges and at the same time strengthen their standing and appeal on the world stage.
Having submitted recently three chapters to scientific publications , she cited them as a conclusion
- “A new Cold War is brewing : equity and vulnerability in a warming world” , published in November 2024 in The Socıal Consequences of Clımate Change : Debates ın Research and Polıcy” under the editors Suay Nilhan Açıkalın and Şefıka Şule Erçetın
- « Green Diplomacy : the soft power axis of Turkey’s public diplomacy », Dr. Oğuz Guner’s upcoming book, entitled “Turkey’s Public Diplomacy Ecosystem : a reflection on evolving practices” , Palgrave Macmillan, 2025, to be published mid-May
- « Green Diplomacy in the Black Sea Region – steps towards peace, growth and prosperity », to be published and presented at the Bulgarian Diplomatic Academy on June 4.
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