I consider it necessary to consider this problem in more detail. The first wave of departure of valuable personnel took place in the 1990s, when there was a mass exodus of representatives of non-titular peoples from the region. The second wave occurred already in the 2000s, when representatives of the national intelligentsia who were born in the USSR left. And the third wave began around 2010, when young cadres began to leave their native countries.

The first wave was associated with the independence and the growth of nationalism in Central Asia. Many were forced to leave their acquired places for their historical homeland. The second wave was related to the possibility of obtaining citizenship of the Russian Federation within the framework of the program of resettlement of compatriots. Since 2000, almost a million Central Asians have been granted Russian citizenship. The third wave is explained by the monopolization of basic resources and entire sectors of the economy by the bureaucracy. Therefore, young professionals have serious difficulties getting decent jobs in their homeland

In turn, there are also enough problems in the way of relations between the countries of the region. Among the main problems, I would single out the following three:

-the unequal position of the Central Asian countries in the existing political and economic blocs in the post-Soviet space;

- territorial disputes, the rise of nationalism and radicalism;

-monopolization of basic resources and entire sectors of the economy by officials.

D.Saari: In your opinion, how could these problems be solved most effectively?

Sh.Latifov: an effective solution to the problems on the path of development of the Central Asian countries is a complex set of measures. Among the priority measures, I would single out the following:

- Eradication of corruption;

-creation of healthy competition in the domestic market, support for entrepreneurship, development of small and medium-sized businesses;

- providing conditions for attracting foreign capital and creating new jobs, especially for young professionals;

- a multi-vector foreign policy, which should be aimed at reducing economic and political dependence on the Russian Federation.

In turn, the development of relations between the countries of Central Asia is possible primarily due to the following measures:

- resolution of territorial disputes and demarcation of borders between the countries of the region;

- the creation of the Central Asian Economic Union (following the example of the European Union), including to reduce the geopolitical influence and pressure from the Russian Federation;

- development of a unified Central Asian energy strategy.

Vladimir Paramonov (Uzbekistan), Head of the Central Eurasia Analytical Group, www.ceasia.org : Danial, if I may, I will join the discussion. Dear Shukhrat, thank you for the interesting ratings! Nevertheless, I cannot agree with some of the accents. First of all, I am sure that cooperation between the Russian Federation and Central Asia is fundamentally important both for the development of our region and for the development of Russia itself. In this regard, I have one important question for further discussion: can integration in Central Asia be considered as an integral part of the integration process/project in the post-Soviet space? I invite all interested experts from Central Asian countries to give a reasoned answer to this question.

Notes: the virtual expert discussion was organized with the information support of a number of leading national, regional and international media, expert platforms, including the Business publication Kursiv, https://kursiv.kz (Казахстан), Kazakhstan Republican socio-political daily newspaper "Express K", https://express-k.kz (Kazakhstan), Information agencies K-News, www.knews.kg (Kyrgyzstan), Information Media portal «Uzbekistan News», www.nuz.uz (Uzbekistan), Regional Analytical Network of Central Asia (Central Asian Analytical Network, CAAN), www.caa-network.org  (США), Analytical resource «Region», www.region.kg (Kyrgyzstan),  The French Institute for Central Asian Studies (IFEAC) https://ifeac.hypotheses.org (France), Analytical portal "Business Eurasia", https://www.dea.kg (Kyrgyzstan) and others . All interested experts and analysts are invited to participate in the discussion, Public figures, representatives of culture and art are citizens of five Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan). Expert answers to the issues discussed during the discussion, including critical comments on certain assessments, can be sent to the following email address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . All interested media are invited to provide information support for the discussion, popularization and dissemination of expert assessments. Information about the discussion is also available on the telegram channel @ceasiaru and the project page on Facebook, www.facebook.com/ceasia.org. When quoting or otherwise publicly using the discussion materials, reference is made to the Central Eurasia project, www.ceasia.org required.