On February 21, Kazakhstan’s Central Election Commission announced that 22 candidates had submitted their applications to participate in the upcoming presidential election scheduled for April 3, but only 14 were successful. Seven applicants, according to the Central Election Commission, were removed from the list of... MORE

The Nabucco pipeline consortium has discreetly postponed its final investment decision by another year, this time until early 2012, with construction to start in 2012 “at the earliest” (Dow Jones, February 18, 21). The investment decision had previously been postponed in October 2010 for 2011,... MORE

Although Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev is expected to coast to an easy re-election victory on April 3, the predictable poll is full of unexpected color. A total of 22 presidential hopefuls from all walks of life, including the incumbent, submitted their nominations to the Central... MORE

India’s pursuit of a stronger global role and its competition with Pakistan for influence in Afghanistan has over the past two decades pushed New Delhi towards closer engagement with Central Asia. Tajikistan has become India’s main point of entry into the region, mainly due to... MORE

After experiencing a tumultuous 2010, Kyrgyzstan is facing yet another decisive test this year. Presidential elections planned for November-December 2011 will determine whether the positive trends seen in the past few months in Kyrgyzstan will continue after the incumbent leader Roza Otunbayeva steps down. The... MORE

Uzbek President Islam Karimov has already made two important official visits this year: the first was to Brussels on January 24, where the president met with European Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, EU Energy Commissioner, Gunther Oettinger, and NATO Secretary-General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, among others.... MORE

As Central Asia opened up to the rest of the world after the collapse of the Soviet Union opportunities have emerged for the regional countries to build links with Europe, South-East Asia, and the Middle East. This has proved to be significant in the development... MORE

Kazakhstan’s main opposition party Azat intends to boycott the country’s presidential polls to be held in early April, which President Nursultan Nazarbayev is expected to win by a wide margin.  This decision was made at the party’s congress in Almaty on February 12 because calling... MORE

On February 8, a Kyrgyz parliamentary committee proceeded with naming a 4,446-meter peak in honor of Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, as a sign of respect and gratitude for his policy towards Bishkek (www.news.ru, February 8). That same day, however, Russia’s ORT (First channel) was... MORE

Speaking to journalists on January 27, Tajikistan’s Foreign Minister, Khamrokhon Zarifi, announced that Dushanbe and Moscow will continue talks on Russia’s possible use of the recently renovated Ayni airfield, 15 miles (25 kilometers) west of the Tajik capital. According to Zarifi, the two countries have... MORE