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In 44 meetings, the Berlin Eurasian Club (BEK) had dealt with a wide range of topics that are important for Germany and Central Asia, especially Kazakhstan. But it was not until the 45th conference that key issues relating to media and communication were finally addressed.

diplo.news was invited to both moderate the panel discussion (editor-in-chief Gudrun Dometeit) and to give the keynote speech (publisher Ewald König).

The main topic of the Berlin expert conference was how to overcome old stereotypes about backwardness in the post-Soviet space and recognize the sometimes breathtaking progress made in Kazakhstan's economy. The lack of mutual reporting came up time and again. There is not a single German correspondent in Kazakhstan, as keynote speaker Ewald König emphasized. The reports would come from Moscow or from Berlin itself or from the Internet. Conversely, there is also no real correspondent post for Kazakh media in Germany.

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 In the following discussion, the owner of the Berlin publishing house, Holger Friedrich, announced that the Berliner Zeitung was going to open an office in Kazakhstan and staff it with two local employees.

Issues of building trust, deepening technical cooperation and improving communication processes between the two countries were discussed.

In his welcoming address, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan, Arman Issetov, emphasized that Kazakhstan had carried out a comprehensive transformation of the system of state administration as well as far-reaching social, political and economic reforms in recent years. These developments would also have strengthened trust in the international community.

The Berlin Eurasian Club organizes three such events a year — one  in Astana, one in Brussels and one in Berlin.

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