Latest Articles about Central Asia
Kazakhstan Enters into Strategic Partnership with Britain
On July 1, in Astana, President Nursultan Nazarbayev and the visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron signed a joint declaration on strategic partnership between Britain and Kazakhstan. A large business delegation accompanied Cameron. He became the first serving British prime minister to visit Kazakhstan, although... MORE
China Enters Kashagan Oil Project, Will Boost Kazakhstan-China Pipeline Capacity
On July 2, Kazakhstan’s government announced that it has decided to sell an 8.4-percent stake in Kashagan, the supergiant oilfield development project, to China’s National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). The CNPC has prevailed against India’s Videsh, external operations branch of Indian state-controlled Oil & Natural Gas... MORE
Mongolian Presidential Election Ends in Ruling Democratic Party’s Favor
On July 3, the Mongolian parliament endorsed Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj’s second term as the country’s president, based on the General Election Commission’s report (Press Release of the Mongolian parliament, July 3). The swearing-in ceremony will be organized on July 10, on the eve of the three-day... MORE
More Young Tajik Radicals Starting to Fight Abroad?
The government in Dushanbe has said that three citizens of Tajikistan were recently killed fighting on the side of the rebels in Syria. Also according to Dushanbe, 11 Tajikistani fighters were killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan during the last several years. Tajikistan’s State Committee for... MORE
Caspian Arms Race Complexities
The Center for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SAM) and Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) hosted a conference this month in Baku on “Cooperation in the Caspian Region: National Perspectives and Common Challenges.” In his conference keynote speech, SAM director... MORE
Opposition to Customs Union Grows Across Eurasia
While the Customs Union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan is seeking to expand its membership, paving the way for the gradual incorporation of the Kyrgyz Republic and Ukraine into its integration orbit, opposition in these countries to the Eurasian integration project has been steadily rising.Several... MORE
Central Asia’s Water Conflicts Come into Focus During Nazarbayev-Karimov Summit
It was not the first time Central Asia’s water disputes have taken a prominent place on the summit agenda of the presidents of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Nursultan Nazarbayev and Islam Karimov, respectively. But the meeting in Tashkent on June 14–15 (see EDM, June 18) attached... MORE
Karimov-Nazarbayev Summit Signals Shift in Central Asian Security
On June 13–14, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev arrived in Tashkent for a summit with his Uzbekistani counterpart Islam Karimov. Although media coverage of this meeting differed in both countries, the summit witnessed the signing of a “strategic partnership” between Astana and Tashkent. Equally, despite the... MORE
Scandal in Scandinavia: Gulnara Karimova’s Shrinking Prospects to Become Next Uzbek President
The issue of power succession in Uzbekistan gained momentum as a serious investigation has been launched in Sweden against Gulnara Karimova, the 40-year old daughter of Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov. She is suspected of receiving a $320 million bribe, paid to her company Takilant Limited... MORE
Simmering Border Conflicts Erupt Between Tajik and Kyrgyz Villagers
Just days after the presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan met in Bishkek to confront the periodic conflicts breaking out on their countries’ border (https://news.tj/en/news/tajik-kyrgyz-leaders-outline-main-directions-further-bilateral-cooperation), a new incident occurred between residents of Batken (Kyrgyzstan) and Isfara (Tajkistan) districts in the Ferghana Valley on May 31. Hundreds... MORE