This past week, regional media focused on several significant events including the informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in Shusha, the regional economic outlook report released by the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD), the free trade agreement between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan aimed at increasing bilateral trade to $10 billion, an attempted coup in Kyrgyzstan, developments in the energy industry in the different countries of the region, efforts by Uzbekistan and Afghanistan to revitalize the TAPI Gas Pipeline project, and the widespread unseasonal floodings across Central Asia.

16 July 2024

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The 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was held on July 3rd and 4th at the Palace of Independence in Kazakhstan's capital. This summit marked the first time the SCO convened in the "SCO+" format, enabling participating countries and international organizations to engage in more extensive multilateral exchanges and cooperation. This expanded the opportunities and mechanisms for collaboration between SCO member states and other countries and international institutions. The summit in Astana resulted in the adoption of 25 documents, including the "Astana Declaration," the initiative "On World Solidarity for Justice, Peace, Harmony, and Development," the "SCO Development Strategy 2035," the "2025-2027 Action Plan for Cooperation in Combating Terrorism, Separatism, and Extremism," the "2024-2029 Anti-Drug Strategy," and the "SCO Economic Development Strategy 2030." This summit also marked Iran's first formal participation as a full member state and the ascension of Belarus to member status.

09 July 2024

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The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a major political, economic, and security alliance established in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Today, the SCO comprises nine member states, three observer states, and fourteen dialogue partners. The organization focuses on cooperation among member states in various areas, including regional security, economic development, and cultural exchange.

01 July 2024

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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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