This past week, the media paid attention to the 4th meeting of the Energy Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and their approval of a joint Strategy for the Development of Energy Cooperation, Uzbekistan and Russia implementing several joint projects in the energy sector valued at approximately $22 billion, Kyrgyzstan’s Parliament passing the bill for the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway unanimously, Russia’s exporting coal to India via the NSTC for the first time, and the upcoming CSTO exercises in Kazakhstan.

24 June 2024

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This past week, the media paid attention to the Tashkent International Investment Forum (TIIF) held on May 2-3 in Uzbekistan's capital city, the collective ban on the export of sugar from the Eurasian Economic Union, the announcement of the launch of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway in October, Almaty's hosting of Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia for peace talks, the aftermath of the spring floods in Kazakhstan, and the catastrophic floods in the northern and western regions of Afghanistan.

12 May 2024

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This past week, the media paid attention to Tokayev’s address to the nation following major flooding incidents in West Kazakhstan and the announcement of a state of emergency in the region, Kazakhstan’s announcement that it will curtail oil “overproduction” in the country to support OPEC+ nations, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan’s leaders’ summit where it was announced that both countries will cooperate on joint development initiatives, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan’s signing of bilateral investment and ministry-level cooperation agreements, and the United Nations High Commission on Refugees seeking $620 million from UN member states to aid Afghanistani migrants displaced in Pakistan and Iran.

08 April 2024

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This past week, the media paid attention to Kazakhstan’s deployment of 140 peacekeepers in the Golan Heights to monitor the disarmament process and to manage a buffer zone between Syria and Israel, a Kazakhstani government business delegation’s meeting in Germany to discuss investment opportunities in Kazakhstan including the announcement of twenty-two new development projects, a meeting between Uzbekistani and Taliban representatives in Kabul to open up the country to investment from Uzbekistan and create favorable trade relations, and the meeting between working groups from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to further resolve the border dispute between the two countries across a 10.76-kilometer stretch of land.

18 March 2024

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This past week, the media paid attention to a state visit by Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, where new renewable investment projects into Kazakhstan were announced, the announcement of a Kazakhstani-Azerbaijani joint fund to build and upgrade port infrastructure and logistics centers on the shores of the Caspian Sea, the announcement of a fund by USAID to aid in the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in Uzbekistan, the construction of various investment projects across Kyrgyzstan by Chinese firms, and the announcement that the Taliban will construct a Central Asian - South Asian electricity corridor to aid in rebuilding the energy infrastructure of Afghanistan.

11 March 2024

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This past week, the media paid attention to the meeting between Kazakhstan’s government and the leadership of the Islamic Development Bank, where a package of 70 development projects totaling $1.6 billion was announced, Kazakhstan’s shift to a single time zone, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan trying to enhance their bilateral relations during a visit of their heads of government, Japan announcing an investment package of US$12 million into Kyrgyzstan to support the construction of modernized irrigation projects, and the U.S. and the Taliban accusing each other of violating the terms of the Doha Agreement that formalized the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

04 March 2024

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This past week, the media paid attention to the announcement that Qazaq Air will be sold to a ‘strategic partner’ in the aviation industry, Kazakhstan’s announcement that five renewable energy projects (solar, wind, and hydrogen) will be completed by 2030, The World Bank announcing a financing package for Kazakhstan’s Digital Acceleration project DARE, Uzbekistan planning to introduce Chinese Electric Ambulances to its healthcare system, Tajikistani and Iranian ministers meeting in Tehran and setting goals for the strengthening of Persian language and commercial ties between the two countries, and the Taliban's envoy to Baku seeking expansion of trade relations with Azerbaijan.

26 February 2024

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This past week, the media paid attention to President Tokayev’s state visit to Qatar, where a series of commercial deals were struck in the energy and infrastructure sectors – special investment projects were also initiated; German companies create a lithium mining investment consortium in Kazakhstan, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced it has bought stakes in Air Astana. Uzbekistan announced millions in funding for environmental protection and plans to allocate reserved land to be protected. President Japarov responded to the U.S. Secretary of State Blinken’s letter from last months about new law regulating financial sources of NGOs in the republic, and the UN coordinated a meeting of special representatives in Doha to address the geopolitical situation in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

19 February 2024

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