Earlier this summer the Foundation co-hosted the 2025 CAMCA Regional Forum in Mongolia. The Forum was established in 2014 with our organizing partners, the CAMCA Network and the Central Asia- Caucasus Institute, and is a growing annual initiative among our efforts to support regional cooperation across the CAMCA countries. The Forum gathers our CAMCA Fellowship alumni and other top professionals from all sectors to engage in dialogues on addressing the region’s most pressing issues through collaboration. In this blog post we’re pleased to share some of the firsthand perspectives from journalists, speakers, sponsors and more that joined us for this year’s CAMCA convening in Ulaanbaatar. (Find more about previous Forums in one of our earlier blog posts, “CAMCA Regional Forum: A Decade of Convening Across CAMCA.”)
The 11th annual CAMCA Regional Forum, held June 19th-20th, 2025, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, convened over 350 professionals from 20 countries to explore the theme of “Envisioning a Regional Future: Business, Society and Governance in CAMCA.” This year’s wide-ranging conversations were covered by a number of top regional media outlets.
Reflections from regional press:
The Astana Times heralded the Forum as: “the region’s main gathering for next‑generation policymakers, entrepreneurs and scholars,” praising the innovative ideas shared by Forum speakers like a regional travel visa and shared green finance schemes – “reframing Mongolia not as a peripheral bystander but as an essential tenth stakeholder.” Keep reading here.
The Times of Central Asia offered insightful perspectives, noting: “As Greater Central Asia moves to reclaim its voice, the future of the region will depend on whether its leaders can turn shared vision into shared infrastructure. CAMCA is not yet a finished structure, but… its strength lies… in deepening regional confidence.” Keep reading here.
UZ Daily captured the importance of the Forum’s inclusivity, stating: “Ulaanbaatar became a strategic platform for dialogue… participants – from state leaders to young scholars – engaged on equal footing… [the Forum] left behind… the momentum for new initiatives that will strengthen cooperation, sustainability, and prosperity across the CAMCA region.” Keep reading here.
Dive into topical interviews with some of our exceptional Forum speakers:
The Times of Central Asia featured the following interviews:
- “Digitizing Central Asia: Interview with Ainura Umaeva, Thought Leader in Communications and Media”
- “The Next Steps for Central Asian Finance: Interview with Azerbaijani Fintech Leader Dr. Fuad Karimov”
- “Kazakh Nomads and Authentic Tourism: Interview with Mongolia’s Cultural Envoy Dr. Gantemur Damba at CAMCA”
And in The Steppe: “Kazakhstan Has What the World Needs: Jonathan Elkind on Central Asia’s Climate Future”
These reflections spotlight how the CAMCA Regional Forum has become more than just an annual convening – but now an important catalyst impacting the region’s future trajectory. Hosting this year’s Forum in Mongolia particularly showcased the importance of thinking regionally to harness innovation and success for all of the CAMCA countries.
As shared by one of the 2025 Forum’s sponsors, “On behalf of [our company], I’d like to sincerely thank the CAMCA Forum for organizing such a successful and inspiring event in Mongolia. With over 75 years of global experience in nation-building and infrastructure development mainly with the public sector, we are now focusing more on private sector collaboration. The CAMCA region, with its rapid growth, is a key area of interest, and this Forum gave us a valuable opportunity to connect with outstanding players across the region. We hope to build on this momentum, address key challenges, and find ways to collaborate with partners in the region.”
In the year ahead, the Rumsfeld Foundation, alongside the Forum’s other organizing partners – the CAMCA Network and the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute – looks forward to connecting further with like-minded partners that are eager to demonstrate their regional leadership at this unique convening.
We are delighted to share that the 2026 CAMCA Regional Forum is slated for June 18–19 in Baku, Azerbaijan. If you are interested in a partnership opportunity for this one-of-a-kind regional event, please reach out to info@camcaforum.org to learn about sponsorship opportunities and more. Be sure to stay updated on the Forum at www.camcaforum.org, and on the following platforms: Facebook, X, LinkedIn and YouTube.
