Eurasianet

21/10/2025

Central Asia is developing into a key trade hub despite the region’s lack of access to a seaport, according to a recently released study by the Kazakhstan-based Eurasian Development Bank (EDB).

Success despite the lack of access to a seaport.

21/10/2025

In Afghanistan to monitor a pipeline construction project, Turkmenistan’s paramount leader, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, hailed improving bilateral relations with the Taliban government in Kabul, while giving a shout-out to the United States for fostering regional trade.

20/10/2025

Amid Georgian Dream’s totalitarian turn, some erstwhile party loyalists are finding themselves on the wrong side of the power divide. On October 18, the State Security Service announced it had raided 24 properties linked to former prime minister Irakli Gharibashvili (who still is GD party chair), former State Security Service head Grigol Liluashvili, former prosecutor general Otar Partskhaladze, and five other figures. Authorities reportedly seized around $7 million in cash, hundreds of pieces of jewelry and watches and several expensive paintings.

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20/10/2025

Tidbits that will help keep you in the know.

18/10/2025

Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev appeared to bury the hatchet with his Kremlin counterpart Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Dushanbe earlier in October.

Or did he?

Is a goodwill gesture also a threat?

17/10/2025

Kazakhstani officials contend that US action to lift Jackson-Vanik restrictions on Astana can catalyze expanded bilateral trade, including in the critical minerals sector.

Visiting Astana official hopes for “speedy resolution.”

17/10/2025

Central Asian neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine war is undergoing a not-so-subtle shift. Neutrality for Central Asian states during the first three-plus years of the conflict meant keeping Russia happy by keeping Kyiv at arm’s length. But now, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are showing greater willingness to openly engage with Ukrainian leaders.

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17/10/2025

There were pyramids of watermelons, peacock topiaries and the usual lines about “deepening the strategic partnership” at the string of meetings between Central Asian leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Dushanbe. But not much else.

Putin seeks to smooth migrant crackdown discontent with Tajiks.

15/10/2025

Armenians are some of the angriest people in the world while Uzbeks are among the most easygoing, according to a recently published global survey of emotional wellbeing.

Uzbeks rank high in enjoyment.

10/10/2025

State-aligned media in Azerbaijan is lauding the country’s leader, Ilham Aliyev, for making his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin blink first during a long-running diplomatic staredown over the shootdown of a civilian Azerbaijani jetliner last December.

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10/10/2025

A large chunk of the government funding is intended for initiatives to attract foreign investors to construct data centers in Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region in western Uzbekistan, Digital Technologies Minister Sherzod Shermatov said in an interview with state television.

Tashkent looking to partner with Meta.

08/10/2025

The Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) appears to be planning far-reaching changes to the way it operates. The changes are designed to make the EAEU’s decision-making mechanism more closely resemble that of the European Union.

The Kremlin-led group wants to be more like Brussels.