On September 13, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held its 13th session of the Council of Heads of State, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in a bid to strengthen cooperation on pressing security and economic challenges. The parties signed the Bishkek Declaration, calling for a joint struggle... MORE

Over the past six weeks, the independent FerganaNews.com portal has conducted an online discussion, sparked by an article of the leader of the “Birdamlik” opposition movement, Bahordir Chorniyev, on the possibility that Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov and his regime could be overthrown by a “velvet... MORE

It used to be said in the region that Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are one nation that speaks different languages. However, over the past several years, animosity between the two has been growing.To an outsider, the grievances of either government directed against the other sound reasonable.... MORE

On July 23, a new border incident took place between two groups of border guards from Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in the former’s Aksay district of Jalalabad province. According to Kyrgyzstan’s border protection service, the violent clash, which subsequently led to the death of two Uzbekistani... MORE

On July 6, the pro-government website 12news.uz published an article by Uzbekistani Professor Rustamjon Abdullaev entitled, “Uzbekistan must join NATO and stake territorial and other claims against some former Soviet Union countries.” In his article, Abdullaev articulates Tashkent’s strong opposition to the construction of hydroelectric... MORE

The visit of Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbaev to Uzbekistan on June 14, 2013, and the positive rhetoric accompanying the outcome of this visit—the two countries’ leaders signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement—highlighted the two Central Asia republics’ deepening cooperation (see EDM, June 19). This visit was... MORE

Although characterized by some inside and outside Uzbekistan as “the most hated person” in the country, Gulnara Islamovna Karimova has apparently mastered the art of social networking—in particular, Twitter. The medium is serving to promote and bring more visibility to her professional activities, providing a... MORE

In a June 19 press release, the Taliban, referring to itself as the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” stated that it will not “allow others to use Afghan soil to pose a threat to the security of other nations! [sic]” (https://shahamat-english.com/index.php/paighamoona/32948-statement-regarding-inauguration-of-political-office-of-islamic-emirate-in-qatar). Despite this promise and against... MORE

The Chinese government has claimed since 2012 that Uyghur militants from Xinjiang are fighting with the rebels in Syria against the government of Bashar al-Assad (Global Times [Beijing], October 29, 2012). On July 1, China said that a Uyghur militant who studied in Istanbul and... MORE

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