On June 7, Tajikistani President Emomali Rahmon returned home from a week-long tour of China. The tour included a five-day state visit followed by Rahmon’s participation in the 12th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Beijing. Following the trip, the Tajik President’s office... MORE

Last week, Tajikistan and Iran concluded the ninth meeting of the Joint Economic Commission in Tehran. The two countries signed five agreements in the hydro-electric, oil and health sectors (Ozodi, May 29). The issues of water and hydro-electricity featured prominently in the discussions, including agreements... MORE

“It is not important for China as to who will be building this railway line. The most important thing is that it is built,” Chinese Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Wang Kaiwen said recently about the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, which Bishkek and Beijing seek to implement despite... MORE

Meeting on the fringes of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Beijing on May 11, Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrohon Zarifi and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi made the usual affirmations of good bilateral relations (Xinhua, May 11). Part of a raft of... MORE

China’s Jinsha River, literally the “Golden Sands” River, could soon live up to its rich name. The approximately 2300-km long upstream section of the Yangtze River is the site of up to 25, planned large-scale (50 MW and above) hydropower projects (Caixun, May 4; Dongfang... MORE

In April 2012, authorities in the prosperous and generally peaceful Caribbean nation of Belize intercepted a shipment of precursor chemicals sent from China and apparently bound for representatives of the Mexican cartel “Los Zetas.”  The shipment—sufficient to produce an estimated $10 billion in methamphetamines—highlights growing... MORE

On May 16-17, members of the Inter-Governmental Council (IGC) met in Dubai to sign the financing agreements for the CASA-1000 energy project (Khovar, May 18). Delegations from the four principal countries, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as representatives from investor countries, the World... MORE

If there is any refrain to recent developments in Belarus, it is political and socio-economic stabilization. First, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has not succumbed to political pressure – mainly from the United States – and confirmed Minsk as the venue for the 2014... MORE

In 2008, China’s central government launched its own New Deal, heavily promoting massive infrastructure development after the economic downturn. Local governments were more than happy to take up the banner. Now, they are left with shiny new plazas, towering office buildings, highways to nowhere and... MORE

The Ukrainian government is negotiating the issue of ruble-denominated government bonds, making the country no longer reliant on IMF assistance. Ukraine’s 2010 IMF assistance package of $15.6 billion was suspended in March 2011 because of Ukraine’s refusal to continue with IMF reforms, in particular raising... MORE