Uzbekistan’s Gas Output Falls by 15% as Imports Rise
Uzbekistan’s natural gas production fell by 15% in the first quarter of 2026, adding pressure to an energy system already strained by rising demand, aging infrastructure, and lower hydrocarbon output. The country produced 9.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas in January-March, down from 11.3 billion in the same period...
Opinion: Hormuz Crisis Pushes Afghanistan Aid Routes Toward Central Asia
The crisis surrounding the Strait of Hormuz is usually viewed through the lens of energy security or military escalation. But it also has another, less visible, humanitarian dimension. A recent article in The Guardian, “Calls for humanitarian corridor through Strait of Hormuz as Iran war hits vital aid,” points to...
SelectUSA Investment Summit: U.S.-Kazakhstan Trade and Investment Relations on the Rise
Despite global economic headwinds and ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Kazakhstan is doubling down on its efforts to deepen commercial ties with the United States, an ambition on full display at this year’s SelectUSA Investment Summit in National Harbor, Maryland, near Washington, D.C. The annual forum, organized by the...
Kazakhstan Recasts Its Nuclear Past
At the United Nations in late April, Robert Floyd, executive secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, warned that any renewed nuclear test by Russia, the United States, or another state could draw other nuclear powers back into testing. His remarks followed the re-emergence of nuclear...
Pannier and Hillard’s Spotlight on Central Asia: New Episode Out Now
As Managing Editor of The Times of Central Asia, I’m delighted that, in partnership with the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs, from October 19, we are the home of the Spotlight on Central Asia podcast. Chaired by seasoned broadcasters Bruce Pannier of RFE/RL’s long-running Majlis podcast and Michael Hillard...
Kazakhstan Accelerates AI Push to Build Digital Economy
Kazakhstan must accelerate its transition to a digital economy and scale up artificial intelligence if it wants to avoid economic stagnation, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has said. Speaking on May 4 at a meeting of the AI Development Council, Tokayev warned that Kazakhstan’s traditional growth drivers, including natural resources and low-cost...
European Summit in Yerevan Sends a Signal to Central Asia
The 8th European Political Community summit in Yerevan highlighted deepening geopolitical fault lines while signaling that some post-Soviet countries, notably Azerbaijan and Armenia, are gradually shifting their geopolitical orientation away from Moscow. It is a realignment that Central Asian states are watching with increasing interest. On May 4, attention across...
UNEP Interview: From Space, Central Asia’s Methane Challenge Comes Into Focus
Satellites are changing the way the world sees methane. What was once an invisible leak from a well, flare, pipeline, landfill, or coal mine can now be detected from space, traced to a specific site, and sent to governments and companies for action. A new analysis by the United Nations...
Bishkek’s Backlash, Russia’s New Red Lines, and a Caspian in Crisis
Sunkar Podcast
Uzbekistan’s Sindarov Makes Breakthrough in World Chess
