đź“… 19 May 2026
🕓 16:00–18:00 (GMT+5)
🌍 Online
Central Asia is undergoing significant economic and institutional transformation, shaped by financial sector reforms, increasing regional connectivity, and deeper integration into global production and financial networks. Recent developments, including rising foreign direct investment, expanding infrastructure finance, and the region’s growing importance within transnational economic corridors, are beginning to alter patterns of economic activity. At the same time, new financial centres are emerging, signalling a stronger emphasis on finance within broader strategies of economic diversification and regional integration.
Despite these developments, Central Asia has received relatively limited attention in the financial geography literature, particularly in work on the spatial organisation of financial systems, the territorial embedding of financial institutions, and uneven patterns of financial development. Research in financial geography has shown how financial networks and institutions are shaped by place-specific conditions and how they contribute to processes of regional development and economic restructuring. Much of this work, however, has focused on advanced and selected emerging economies, with less attention paid to Central Asia.
This creates an opportunity to extend existing debates and to engage more directly with questions of financial development, institutional change, and spatial inequality in post-socialist and emerging regional contexts.
In this context, the online workshop organised by the Global Network on Financial Geography (FinGeo) aims to bring together scholars working on Central Asia alongside researchers in financial geography to exchange ideas and develop a research agenda for the region. The workshop seeks to identify key analytical perspectives, encourage interdisciplinary dialogue, and support the development of ongoing collaboration, including potential future FinGeo activities in Central Asia.
Workshop Program
- Workshop Welcome and Opening Remarks:
Alena Dolgova, International expert on the creation and development of International Financial Centres - Introduction to the FinGeo Network:
Franziska Sohns, Chair, Global Network on Financial Geography (FinGeo): Introduction to the FinGeo community, its research agenda, and current initiatives. - Introduction to Financial Geography as a Field:
Dariusz Wójcik, Provost’s Chair Professor of Financial Geography, National University of Singapore; Honorary Research Associate, University of Oxford: Overview of the main research themes, conceptual approaches, and the development of financial geography as a field of study. - Research Presentations:
Short research presentations by invited scholars working on financial geography and Central Asia. - Mapping the Research Agenda for Financial Geography in Central Asia:
This interactive session will bring together invited commentators and open-floor contributions to identify key research priorities for financial geography in Central Asia. - FinGeo Initiative in Central Asia:
Franziska Sohns & Alena Dolgova: Presentation on the concept of a FinGeo School / Regional Seminar in Central Asia 2027. - Moderator:Â Alena Dolgova, International Expert on on the creation of an International Financial Centre
Researchers, students, and practitioners interested in financial geography and regional development in Central Asia are warmly invited to attend.
Participant registration deadline:Â 10 May 2026