In June 2024, CASIB hosted the CLIENT II Wrap-up Conference in Almaty, bringing together partners from Central Asia, Mongolia and Germany to present project results, exchange experiences, and discuss pathways for strengthening regional cooperation and sustainable innovation.
Overview: CLIENT II Wrap-up Conference for Central Asia 2024
Background and Objectives
As the CLIENT II funding programme “International Partnerships for Sustainable Innovations” entered its final phase, CASIB, with the support of the German Federal Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) and DLR Project Management Agency, organised a regional wrap-up conference in Almaty for project partners from Central Asia and Mongolia.
Since 2017, 15 collaborative CLIENT II projects have been implemented across Central Asia and Mongolia, addressing key challenges in climate, environment, resource management, and energy. The projects demonstrate strong potential to contribute to sustainable regional development through applied research and innovation.
A key objective of the conference was to strengthen awareness of the regional application potential of project outcomes and to foster trusted networks between project leaders and relevant stakeholders, supporting long-term implementation and impact.
Participants and Concept
The conference brought together participants from Mongolia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Germany.
The German delegation included representatives of the German Consulate General in Almaty, CLIENT II project partners, DLR Project Management Agency, and key organisations active in Central Asia.
The programme was designed to ensure broad regional exchange and focused on presenting project results, sharing experiences on implementation and cooperation, and discussing opportunities for strengthening regional innovation and knowledge transfer.
Conference Highlights
The conference was successfully implemented with 63 registered participants from six countries, enabling a strong regional dialogue between stakeholders from science, policy, and business.
The event was opened by Wolfgang Faust, Department for Press, Culture and Economy at the German Consulate General in Almaty, who highlighted Germany’s strong commitment to international cooperation and Central Asia as a key partner region.
The programme included presentations of CLIENT II projects such as LINOKAS, KAZHEMP, KendyrTEX, ReKKS, LocustTEC, SUFACHAIN, and TERESA, highlighting their scientific relevance and practical application potential for the region.
Participants were also introduced to key regional initiatives and platforms supporting networking and knowledge transfer in areas such as green technologies, sustainable agriculture, and science–policy dialogue, as well as the global CLIENT II network.
Interactive discussions and a stakeholder survey allowed participants to reflect on the impact of CLIENT II on sustainable development in the region, identify success factors in project implementation, and provide recommendations for future cooperation and funding formats.
The discussions brought together perspectives from science, policy, and business, with a strong focus on knowledge transfer, innovation uptake, and the commercialisation of research results.
Outcomes
The conference highlighted the importance of international research cooperation and demonstrated strong regional interest in continued collaboration.
Key findings included:
- Strengthening the visibility of German research and innovation activities in Central Asia
- Emphasising the importance of cross-sectoral cooperation for sustainable development
- Enhancing knowledge exchange among regional and international stakeholders
- Increasing awareness of the application potential of research results
- Collecting valuable feedback on CLIENT II impact, success factors, and future funding needs
