Executive Summary: Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka visited Uzbekistan to strengthen bilateral relations between the two post-Soviet states. Economic relations between Uzbekistan and Belarus are becoming stronger. Bilateral trade has increased significantly in the past few years. The strain of Western sanctions on Belarus due to... MORE

Executive Summary: Russia’s increasing reliance on China for trade underscores potential vulnerabilities due to China’s economic woes and the yuan’s currency controls. This is prompting Russia to aggressively pursue the digital ruble. Despite Western sanctions, Russia-China trade has increased, enhancing bilateral commerce and financial cooperation.... MORE

Executive Summary: The PRC’s claims over Bhutanese territory have expanded over the years, including recent large-scale construction in disputed valleys, which contradicts the 1998 agreement to maintain the status quo, challenging Bhutanese sovereignty and raising strategic concerns for India. The PRC is pushing to resolve... MORE

Executive Summary: The Biden administration's temporary pause on constructing new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals has prompted Russian optimism about boosting its global LNG exports and exploiting internal divisions in the United States. Some Russian experts foresee opportunities in the potential for decreased US... MORE

Executive Summary: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s recent tour of North Africa focused on maintaining economic ties while seeking to expand the Kremlin’s political influence in the region. The Kremlin has been successful in expanding trade ties with Morocco and Tunisia by exploiting both countries’... MORE

Executive Summary The GBA, covering 56,000 square kilometers with 70 million people, aims to become a globally renowned economic and technological hub, comparable to bay areas like San Francisco, Tokyo, and New York. Its economic output surpasses 13 trillion RMB ($1.8 trillion) by 2022, exceeding... MORE

Executive Summary: Kazakhstan recently removed the Taliban from its list of banned terrorist organizations, signifying a shift in Central Asia’s engagement with Kabul. The Central Asian states, particularly Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, have expanded their cooperation with the Taliban on trade, transit, and energy matters. Astana... MORE

On December 25, 2023, during the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council summit in St. Petersburg, the Russian-dominated Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Iran inked an extensive free-trade agreement (FTA). Representatives from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Iran, and Chairman of the Eurasian Economic Commission Board Mikhail... MORE

On December 11, during the EU Eastern Partnership ministerial meeting, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan welcomed the European Council’s decision to grant candidate status to Georgia and initiate membership talks with Moldova and Ukraine. Mirzoyan emphasized that Yerevan is aligned with the idea of closer... MORE

In late December 2023, foreign investors for Russia’s Arctic LNG-2 project voiced their intentions to pull out from the initiative (Kommersant.ru, December 25, 2023). The development project on the Gydan Peninsula was designed to transform Russia into a central global exporter of liquid natural gas... MORE