The 17th international Central Asia, Caucuses Conference themed at energy, water and transportation opened yesterday. The select papers in the conference will be published as a book.

IBNA: In the opening ceremony, Iran\'s Foreign Minister Manoucheh Mottaki said such conferences should be aimed at linking study centers in Iran\'s neighboring nations and materializing their research findings. 

"Strategic studies should be research-based and their outcome be places top on the agenda of the region\'s countries so perfect results will be drawn and submitted articles are applied properly," he said. 

He underlined the formation of European and African counties\' unions and proposed that given the expansion and active organizations in Asia like the ECO of the ASEAN, such unions can be formed in the continent as well so that it will prosper by cooperation and convergence of its nations.
 
"Consideration of the regional issues is the main goal of the conference," said Hamid Kasaei, head of the Central Asia and Caucasus Study Center and secretary of the conference. 

"The conference is themed at addressing issued like water, energy, transportation and establishment of cooperation and convergence in the region, and considering the possible aspects of security of energy, water and food in the region and its political ramifications." 

As he added, over 100 research papers were submitted to the secretariat of the conference by Iranian researchers. 50 of them were screened and were announced eligible for presentation in the conference and over 50 other articles and research papers were submitted by researchers from countries like Germany, Sweden, the US, Russia, Canada, Japan, China, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, etc. Of them, 30 articles were admitted to be presented in the conference. 

The conference finished today.

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