9–10 December 2025, Eldor Aripov, Director of the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan (ISRS), took part in the 23rd meeting of the Governing Board of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF). The meeting reviewed the Fund’s achievements in 2025 and identified strategic priorities for the next three years.

The session was chaired by Stefano Manservisi, Chairman of the GCERF Governing Board, with the participation of Khalid Koser, GCERF Executive Director, as well as representatives of donor and partner countries from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

A dedicated agenda item focused on the partnership between GCERF and Uzbekistan, which has significantly strengthened in recent years. Following initial consultations in Geneva in 2022 and a meeting in Tashkent in 2023, Uzbekistan was formally recognised as a GCERF partner country in September 2024. In November 2024, GCERF and ISRS signed a Memorandum of Understanding, establishing a framework for regular coordination of joint initiatives.

In 2025, cooperation became more practical and results-oriented. Under the aegis of ISRS, a Country Support Mechanism was established, and research was launched on the rehabilitation and reintegration of citizens, as well as on preventing violent extremism. In August 2025, GCERF approved its Investment Strategy for Uzbekistan, and in September announced the first grant programmes aimed at supporting local initiatives and enhancing community resilience.

During the meeting, Uzbekistan was recognised as one of the most proactive GCERF partner countries in advancing a comprehensive resilience-building approach, combining institutional reforms with the development of local mechanisms for community stability. Participants highlighted the central role of ISRS as the national coordinator ensuring strategic alignment of GCERF-supported projects with national priorities.

GCERF was established in 2014 as the first global fund dedicated to supporting community-level initiatives to strengthen resilience against violent extremist agendas. Its creation was announced in 2013 during the Global Counterterrorism Forum by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, and Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter. Today GCERF is among the world’s leading mechanisms supporting countries in preventing violent extremism, rehabilitation, and reintegration. Since 2014, GCERF has implemented programmes in 30 countries, investing more than USD 250 million.

In 2024, the Director of ISRS was elected for the first time to the GCERF Governing Board, the key decision-making body shaping the Fund’s global strategy.