The Times Of Central Asia | Eurasian Publication & News Online

Uzbekistan has a limited window of opportunity to turn its rapidly growing young population into a driver of long-term economic growth, according to a new study on demographic trends and human capital development in the country. The report, produced as part of a broader regional study on Central Asia, analyzes...

Trade Corridors

Opinion: Eurasia’s New Corridors Are More Than a Transit Race

Across Eurasia, new transport corridors are usually described as instruments of rivalry: routes to bypass Russia, ports to outflank competitors, or rail links to shift influence between regions. The conflict around Iran, the rivalry between India and Pakistan, instability in the Afghanistan-Pakistan zone, crises in the Middle East, sanctions, competition...

Nuclear Diplomacy

Kazakhstan Offers the IAEA a Practical Option on Iran

On May 26, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev received IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi in Astana. The meeting pointed beyond bilateral nuclear cooperation toward Kazakhstan’s possible role in wider nuclear-security problems. Tokayev welcomed a roadmap for deepening Kazakhstan’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency through 2036, alongside documents on nuclear medicine...

EAEU

Putin’s Astana Visit Shows What Russia Still Wants From Kazakhstan

Cultural Heritage

From Golden Treasures to Looted Burial Mounds: How “Black Diggers” Are Destroying Eastern Kazakhstan’s History

Eastern Kazakhstan has gained international recognition for its extraordinary archaeological discoveries, but alongside that fame has come a growing threat: illegal treasure hunters, known locally as “black diggers,” are destroying historical monuments and depriving future generations of access to invaluable artifacts. Eastern Kazakhstan’s Archaeological Treasures In recent years, the Eastern...

Investment Projects

Tashkent Signs $3.5 Billion in China Deals for Infrastructure and Exports

The third Uzbekistan-China Interregional Forum, held in the Chinese city of Xi’an, concluded with Tashkent signing more than $3.5 billion in investment and export agreements with Chinese partners, according to the Tashkent city administration. The agreements include $3.35 billion in investment projects and $156 million in export contracts spanning infrastructure,...

EAEU

EAEU Leaders Meet in Astana Amid Growing Internal Trade Disputes

Astana is hosting Eurasian Economic Union events on May 28-29, with leaders arriving on Thursday and the main meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council scheduled for Friday, May 29. The first part of Thursday was dominated by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his delegation...

U.S. Diplomacy

Top U.S. State Department Official Travels to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

OTS Optimism, Afghan Ambushes, and a Deep Dive on the Next President of Tajikistan

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Sunkar Podcast

Kazakhstan to Host 2027 Table Tennis World Championships

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Opinions

Opinion: Eurasia’s New Corridors Are More Than a Transit Race

Aidar Borangaziyev

Opinion: Silk Seven or the OTS? Central Asia May Not Have to Choose

Ken Moriyasu

Opinion: How AI Is Reshaping the Global Image of Nations

Sergey Akhmetov

Opinion: Middle Powers and the “Voice of the Region” – Is Central Asia Becoming a Coordinated Actor?

Timur Serikuly

Opinion: UK’s C6 Engagement and the Opportunity for British Geostrategic Renewal

Matthew Davies

Opinion: The Southern Dimension of the Middle Corridor – Afghanistan’s Role in Eurasia’s New Logistics Landscape

Timur Serikuly

Opinion: Kazakhstan, Oil, the Iran War and Dutch Disease

Charles McLean

Opinion: The U.S. Still Doesn’t Know Where Central Asia Belongs

Ken Moriyasu

Opinion: Hormuz Crisis Pushes Afghanistan Aid Routes Toward Central Asia

Aidar Borangaziyev

Opinion: The Regional Ecological Summit and the Making of a Central Asian Voice

Ilyas Kanybek

Opinion: Kazakhstan’s Critical Minerals Promise Is Running Out of Time

Tsoberg Nadezhda and Marzhan Rakhymberdina

Opinion: Kazakhstan’s Human Capital Problem – How State Scholarships Are Building a Talent Pipeline for the West

Anel Askar

Business & Economy

FAO

New FAO Project Aims to Strengthen Kyrgyzstan’s Aquaculture Sector

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry have launched a new initiative designed to strengthen the country’s aquaculture sector and improve the sustainability of fish production. The project, Sustainable Fish Value Chains for Landlocked Developing Countries, is funded by South Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. It aims to improve the sustainability, productivity, and competitiveness of fish value chains in Kyrgyzstan, with a particular focus on rainbow trout and carp, two species identified as having strong potential for growth and income generation. The project was officially launched...

Population

Uzbekistan Population Growth: 20 Years To Use a Window of Opportunity

Astana LRT

Astana LRT Carries One Million Passengers in First Two Weeks, Mayor Says

Trade Corridors

Opinion: Eurasia’s New Corridors Are More Than a Transit Race

Rail Freight

Kazakhstan and Russia Digitalize Rail Freight Transportation

Pharmaceuticals

Investment in Kazakhstan’s Pharmaceutical Manufacturing More Than Triples in Three Years

Investment in Kazakhstan’s pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing sector reached $142.8 million in 2025, more than three times the level recorded in 2023, according to the country’s Ministry of Health. At a recent ministry board meeting, First Vice Minister of Healthcare Timur Sultangaziyev said Kazakhstan continues to show strong growth in attracting investment into pharmaceutical production. According to Sultangaziyev, gross investment inflows into the sector totaled $46.9 million in 2023 before nearly doubling to $91.3 million in 2024. Growth continued in 2025, with investment reaching $142.8 million. “These investments are being directed toward the modernization of production facilities, capacity expansion, and...

Coal

Kyrgyzstan Coal Industry Tilts Toward China

Kyrgyzstan coal is increasingly destined for China, as the country seeks to develop new transport links and infrastructure to grow exports to its western neighbour. A new coal cleaning and enrichment line has begun operating at the Torugart-1 deposit in Naryn Region, near the Kyrgyz-Chinese border. The project is being implemented jointly by state-owned coal company Kyrgyzkomur and the Chinese company Dun-Sen. According to Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Energy, the new equipment is intended to improve coal quality and reduce the environmental impact associated with coal extraction and preparation. The agreement to jointly develop the Torugart-1 deposit was signed on May...

Cargo Transport

Kyrgyzstan Logistics Center Aims to Link China and Central Asia

Kyrgyzstan has opened a new international trade and logistics center designed to strengthen transport links between China, Central Asia and wider post-Soviet markets, as Bishkek seeks to expand its role as a regional transit hub. The new facility, Altyn Logistic, officially opened on May 28 in the city of Balykchy, at the western end of Lake Issyk-Kul. The 5.5 hectare logistics center includes warehouses, a railway line with loading and unloading infrastructure, and a large open parking area. According to officials, the complex is capable of handling up to 200 trucks per day and is expected to create around 80...

Uzbekistan AI adoption Trails Global Average, Microsoft Report Finds

Only 7.2% of people aged 15 to 64 in Uzbekistan used generative artificial intelligence tools during the first quarter of 2026, according to Microsoft’s latest Global AI Diffusion Report. The figure places Uzbekistan below the global average, as the share of generative AI users worldwide rose from 16.3% in the second half of 2025 to 17.8% in the first quarter of 2026. It also highlights a persistent gap in Central Asia between governments’ digital ambitions and current levels of public uptake. Among Central Asian countries, Kazakhstan recorded the region’s highest adoption rate at 15.9%, followed by Kyrgyzstan at 9.5%. Uzbekistan...

Local Politics

Border Security

Kyrgyzstan Opens New Border Post Near Uzbekistan in Batken Region

A new border post has opened in Kyrgyzstan’s Batken region near the border with Uzbekistan, as authorities continue efforts to improve security infrastructure in sensitive frontier areas, according to 24.kg news agency. The opening ceremony for the Sogment border post took place in the village of Sogment in Batken district. The facility is part of the Charbak border outpost under the Batken regional department of Kyrgyzstan’s State Border Service. The presidential representative’s office in Batken region said the ceremony was attended online by Abdikarim Alimbaev, chairman of Kyrgyzstan’s State Border Service, while local officials, border guards, and regional authorities gathered...

AI in Education

Turkmenistan Looks to OpenAI as it Modernizes Education

Education Reform

Kazakhstan Reshapes Education System to Meet Industrial and Labor Market Needs

Afghan Refugees

Tajikistan Officially Confirms Deportation of Afghan Refugees

Elections

Kazakhstan Rules Out Fines for Not Voting in Elections

National Identity

Kazakhstan Reclaims the Golden Horde

Kazakhstan’s symposium on the Golden Horde opens, in formal institutional terms, the question of where the country locates its statehood. Held in Astana on May 19–20 under UNESCO patronage, it brought together more than 300 scholars and experts, including 120 foreign researchers from more than 20 countries. Its title was “The Golden Horde as a Model of Steppe Civilization,” with history, archaeology, culture, and identity named as focal points of inquiry. The initiative places Kazakhstan’s history outside the narrow frame of post-Soviet chronology, treating the medieval past as a problem in the formation of Central Eurasia. Kazakhstan’s turn to the...

National Identity

Kazakhstan Looks to the Golden Horde for a Deeper National Narrative

A major international symposium dedicated to the Golden Horde opened this week in Kazakhstan’s capital, underscoring the country’s growing effort to redefine its historical narrative and national identity through the legacy of the Great Steppe. The symposium, held under the patronage of UNESCO and titled “The Golden Horde as a Model of Steppe Civilization: History, Archaeology, Culture and Identity,” brought together more than 300 scholars, including 120 foreign researchers from over 20 countries. The event reflects Kazakhstan’s effort to align its national narrative with a growing body of scholarship that treats nomadic societies not as a “backward” alternative to sedentary...

Education

Kyrgyzstan Seeks Foreign Teachers to Ease Education Staff Shortage

A group of deputies in Kyrgyzstan’s Jogorku Kenesh, the national parliament, has drafted legislative amendments aimed at attracting foreign teachers and modernizing the country’s educational infrastructure through new legal and economic incentives. The proposed amendments were submitted for parliamentary consideration. Under the draft legislation, foreign teachers working in Kyrgyzstan would be exempt from income tax and mandatory social security payments. The bill would also grant foreign educators the right to obtain temporary residence permits. Additional measures include tax incentives for educational institutions and exemptions from value-added tax (VAT) on imported educational equipment. The authors of the amendments argue that modernizing...

Animal Rights

Kazakhstan Renews Debate Over Stray Animals After Parliament Approves Euthanasia Amendments

Kazakhstan has once again found itself at the center of a heated public debate over how the state should address the country’s growing stray animal problem. Recently approved parliamentary amendments allowing the euthanasia of dogs after a short holding period have triggered strong criticism from animal rights activists, volunteers, and private shelter owners, who argue that the new measures fail to address the root causes of the crisis and instead merely conceal its consequences temporarily. For many involved in the debate, the issue goes beyond animal welfare and points to deeper problems in state governance. For years, responsibility for stray...

International Affairs

Counter-Terrorism

Turkmenistan Seeks Bigger Counter-Terrorism Role in Central Asia

Turkmenistan wants to host a United Nations counter-terrorism facility that would contribute to cooperation among Central Asian countries, whose security concerns have included online radicalization, instability in Afghanistan, and the repatriation of citizens from Syria and Iraq. Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov discussed the initiative with Alexandre Zouev, a Russian diplomat who is acting under-secretary-general of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), during a visit by Turkmenistan’s top diplomat to the United States last week. In the May 28 meeting, the Turkmen delegation provided details about the plan to establish a program office of UNOCT in Ashgabat, according to the...

Nuclear Diplomacy

Kazakhstan Offers the IAEA a Practical Option on Iran

EAEU

EAEU Leaders Meet in Astana Amid Growing Internal Trade Disputes

Organization of Turkic States (OTS)

Opinion: Silk Seven or the OTS? Central Asia May Not Have to Choose

Humanitarian Aid

Uzbekistan Sends Nearly 200 Tons of Aid to Flood-Hit Afghanistan Ahead of Eid al-Adha

EAEU

As Armenia Looks West, Could Uzbekistan Move Closer to the EAEU?

Armenia’s increasingly uncertain future within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) appears to have entered a new phase. On May 29, the presidents of Kazakhstan, Belarus, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan issued a joint statement calling on Yerevan to clarify whether it intends to pursue deeper integration with the European Union or remain committed to the Eurasian bloc. The four leaders announced that members of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council would present a report at the next meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in December 2026 outlining the possible consequences of suspending Armenia’s participation in the EAEU treaty framework. “We share the view...

EAEU

Putin’s Astana Visit Shows What Russia Still Wants From Kazakhstan

The Eurasian Economic Union summit in Astana gave Vladimir Putin's state visit a wider stage. The summit produced technical documents and familiar language about integration. The bilateral Russia-Kazakhstan package around it was more concrete. It showed what Moscow still wants from Kazakhstan, and what Astana expects in return. The detail lies in infrastructure, where contracts can last for decades. The setting echoed history. Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia signed the treaty creating the Eurasian Economic Union in Astana on May 29, 2014, with Armenia joining in January 2015, and Kyrgyzstan in August of the same year. In 2026, the bloc returned...

U.S. Diplomacy

Top U.S. State Department Official Travels to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

Sarah B. Rogers, a senior official at the United States Department of State whose job includes engaging foreign publics through educational, cultural, and other means, will visit Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as part of a trip to Central Asia and South Asia. Rogers, the under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, will also visit India and Nepal during the May 27-June 10 tour, according to the State Department. President Donald Trump nominated Rogers, a lawyer, to the post early last year and she was sworn in on October 10, 2025. The president has since nominated her to head...

Energy Security

Putin Visit Puts Nuclear Power and Oil Transit at Center of Russia-Kazakhstan Ties

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state visit to Kazakhstan is becoming more than a diplomatic event. It is increasingly being seen as a demonstration of how Russia and Kazakhstan are shaping one of Eurasia’s key energy and logistics axes amid the restructuring of global markets, sanctions pressure, and the continued shift of economic flows toward Asia. Symbolically, ahead of the visit, Putin published a programmatic article in Kazakh media titled “Russia-Kazakhstan: An Alliance at the Heart of Eurasia,” in which he outlined a new framework for bilateral relations. The Russian president focused on nuclear energy, oil and gas cooperation, transport corridors,...

Life & Culture

Film Festival

Eurasian Film Festival in London Showcases Cinema from Central Asia and Beyond

The ninth edition of the ECG Eurasian Film Festival has concluded in London, bringing together films from Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the wider post-Soviet space. The festival, held in partnership with the Romford Film Festival, was created to promote Eurasian cinema in the English-speaking world and connect filmmakers from the region with international audiences and industry professionals. It is also listed by FestivalFinder, the European Festivals Association’s platform for film festivals. The festival still gives filmmakers from smaller Eurasian film industries access to London audiences and industry professionals. Too often, movies from across Eurasia are framed through a narrow...

Cultural Heritage

From Golden Treasures to Looted Burial Mounds: How “Black Diggers” Are Destroying Eastern Kazakhstan’s History

Taxation

Kyrgyzstan Weighs Higher Sugary Drink Taxes as Child Health Concerns Rise

Medical Workers

Kazakhstan Faces Growing Shortage of Doctors and Medical Personnel

Venice Biennale

Kyrgyzstan Pavilion Brings Nomadism to the 2026 Venice Biennale

TCA Interviews

“Don’t Try to Please the West” – Screenwriter Kazybek Orazbek on Kazakh Cinema

Kazybek Orazbek is one of the screenwriters behind a recent shift in Kazakh cinema, as locally produced horror and thriller films have begun to punch above their weight, both at the domestic box-office and internationally. His credits include Dästür, the Kazakh-language horror film that earned more than 1 billion tenge ($2.2 million) in its first week, and Auru, a 2025 drama-thriller released with a 21+ rating in Kazakhstan and screened internationally under the English title Sicko. In an interview with The Times of Central Asia, Orazbek explains why deeply local stories can resonate globally, why Kazakhstan’s film industry needs international...

TCA Interviews

Uzbekistan’s New Visual Language: How OZBE Reimagines Culture Through Streetwear

Uzbekistani fashion is increasingly moving beyond traditional interpretations of national motifs. A new generation of local brands is engaging with cultural heritage through streetwear, using the visual language of youth culture and contemporary identity to resonate in Uzbekistan and internationally. The Times of Central Asia spoke with Raupjon Eshtemirov, a representative of the Uzbekistani streetwear brand OZBE, about how Uzbek ornaments, symbols, and cultural references are being transformed into modern fashion, why young people are rediscovering their cultural roots, and whether Uzbekistan’s fashion scene can gain greater international visibility. TCA: Please tell us a little about the OZBE brand. How...

Healthcare

Turkmenistan Works With WHO on Healthcare Upgrades

Turkmenistan and the World Health Organization went through a delicate period during the pandemic, when the Turkmen government said there had been no COVID-19 cases in the country. The global health agency didn’t publicly challenge the claim, which was met with widespread international skepticism. While Turkmenistan retains many of the tight controls on information that were in place at the height of the pandemic, its relationship with the World Health Organization, or WHO, has evolved into one of closer cooperation aimed at bringing parts of the country´s health system into line with international practices. In the latest initiative, WHO experts...

Education

Opinion: The Cultural Bridge Kyrgyzstan Needs for Global Education

The global deployment of foreign educators has emerged as a response to teacher shortages and the growing demand for high-quality education. Kyrgyzstan is no exception. On May 14, 2026, The Times of Central Asia reported that Kyrgyz lawmakers are actively exploring mechanisms to attract foreign teachers to address the country's shortage of educators. The rationale is compelling: recruiting internationally qualified teachers enables students to access global-standard education without leaving their home country, preserving social capital and mitigating the risk of brain drain. Unfortunately, policy discourse on this issue remains disproportionately focused on academic qualifications and competencies, while largely overlooking a...

Justice

Human Rights

Rights Groups Urge EU to Tie Turkmenistan Relations to Human Rights Progress

Rights groups have urged the European Union to take a tougher line on Turkmenistan, warning that closer ties with Ashgabat should be tied to measurable progress on human rights. The call came in a briefing by the International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) and the Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights (TIHR) ahead of the EU-Turkmenistan Human Rights Dialogue, scheduled for June 22, 2026, in Ashgabat. The organizations called on European institutions to press Turkmen authorities to take concrete steps to improve civil liberties, freedom of expression, and human rights protections. Turkmenistan remains one of the world’s most closed and repressive...

Rule of law

American Professor and Longtime Central Asia Researcher Denied Entry to Kyrgyzstan

Regional Security

Tokayev Urges Central Asia and China to Strengthen Law Enforcement Cooperation

Forced Labor

Forced Labor in Turkmenistan the Target of New EU-ILO Project

U.S. Scholar Wins Copyright Case in Uzbekistan Over Unauthorized Distribution of Bygone Days Translation

Prisons

Uzbek Diplomats Visit Prisoners in Russia’s Sakhalin Region

Officials from Uzbekistan’s Consulate General have visited Uzbek nationals serving prison sentences in Russia’s Sakhalin region to discuss their living conditions, health, and requests for transfer back to Uzbekistan, according to Uzbekistan’s state-run news agency Dunyo. The meeting took place at Correctional Institution No. 1 in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk during a working visit by consular staff. Dunyo reported that eleven Uzbek citizens are currently incarcerated at the facility after being convicted under various articles of Russia’s Criminal Code. During the visit, consular representatives inspected residential quarters, dining areas, and recreation facilities before holding a group meeting with the prisoners. Discussions focused on...

Forced Labor

Turkmen State Employees Forced Back Into Cotton Harvest Campaign

The authorities in Turkmenistan have again mobilized public-sector employees for the annual cotton harvest, forcing teachers, doctors, municipal workers, and other state employees either to work in the fields or pay for replacement laborers from their own salaries. The renewed campaign comes as international brands continue to face growing risks that what activists describe as “toxic” Turkmen cotton may still be entering global supply chains. According to Dialectic, the authorities have abandoned even the limited relaxations introduced in some regions during previous harvest seasons. Cotton remains one of Turkmenistan’s key export commodities. Each year, the state sets a harvest target...

Administrative Detention

“I Felt Like an Uzbek in Russia”: Russian Woman Detained in Almaty After Video Sparks Backlash

A Russian citizen has been sentenced to 10 days of administrative detention in Almaty after publishing a video criticizing bureaucratic procedures in Kazakhstan and using offensive language, according to Kazakhstan’s news agency KazTAG and the Almaty police department. The woman had traveled to Almaty to obtain a bank card and later posted a video on social media describing her frustration with queues, paperwork, and banking procedures. In the recording, she said she felt “like an Uzbek in Russia,” a remark that drew criticism online, particularly among users in Kazakhstan who viewed the statement as offensive. The video quickly circulated on...

Jeffrey Epstein

Woman From Uzbekistan Says Jeffrey Epstein Abused Her for Years

A woman from Uzbekistan has publicly accused the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein of sexually abusing her over several years after she was recruited as a teenager with promises of a modeling career in the United States. According to the BBC, the woman, identified only as Roza, spoke publicly for the first time during a field hearing organized by Democratic members of the U.S. House Oversight Committee in West Palm Beach, Florida, a location lawmakers said was chosen because it was where Epstein’s crimes first became known. According to Roza’s testimony, she met French modeling agent Jean-Luc...

Environment

Waste Management

Dushanbe Considers Waste-to-Energy Plant as Part of Green Development Strategy

Authorities in Tajikistan’s capital are considering the construction of a modern waste-to-energy facility that would process municipal solid waste while generating electricity, as part of efforts to develop more sustainable urban infrastructure. The proposal was discussed during talks between Tajikistan’s minister of energy and water resources, Daler Juma, and Environmental Protection Committee chairman Bahodur Sheralizoda, and representatives of the Chinese company Wangneng Environment, which specializes in waste treatment and energy recovery technologies. The parties explored the possibility of introducing municipal waste-processing technologies, including electricity generation through waste incineration and other forms of energy recovery. Such systems are used in a...

Water Security

Opinion: Water Without a Guarantor – Central Asia’s Next Security Test

Compensation Mechanisms

Kyrgyzstan Calls for Compensation Mechanisms to Maintain Regional Water Infrastructure

Aral Sea

Kazakhstan Says Aral Sea Bed Afforestation Has Reached 1.2 Million Hectares

Water Security

Dushanbe Water Talks Put Tajikistan’s Climate Diplomacy in Focus

Wildlife Restoration

Kazakhstan Releases New Group of Przewalski’s Horses Into the Wild

A group of five Przewalski’s horses has been released into the wild in Kazakhstan’s Kostanay Region as part of a reintroduction program to restore the species to its historical habitat, according to the country’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources. Przewalski’s horse is the last surviving horse species. Once widespread across the grasslands of Central Asia, including present-day Kazakhstan, the species is distinguished by its stocky build, large head, and dun-colored coat with a dark mane. By 1969, Przewalski’s horses had disappeared from the wild and survived only in captivity. Kazakhstan launched a reintroduction program aimed at restoring a self-sustaining...

Irrigation Water

Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan Agree on Summer Water Releases from Bahri Tojik Reservoir

Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have agreed on water releases from Tajikistan’s Bahri Tojik reservoir for the June-August 2026 irrigation period, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation has announced. The agreement was formalized in a trilateral protocol signed by Kazakhstan’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, Tajikistan’s Minister of Energy and Water Resources Juma Daler, and Uzbekistan’s Minister of Water Resources Shavkat Khamrayev. Under the agreed schedule, water from the Bahri Tojik reservoir will be released during the summer to support agricultural producers in Kazakhstan’s Turkestan region, particularly in the Maktaaral and Zhetysai districts, where irrigation demand rises...

Water Supply

Tajikistan Announces Water Infrastructure Drive, Urges Central Asia Cooperation

Tajikistan plans to provide at least 90% of its population with access to a centralized water supply by 2040, in a long-term infrastructure project that would reduce disparities in water services for urban and rural residents. President Emomali Rahmon spoke about Tajikistan’s water goals as well as wider collaboration in Central Asia during a speech at a Dushanbe conference that has drawn delegates from around the world for discussions on water scarcity. Tajikistan and the United Nations are co-hosting the four-day event, which ends on Thursday and is a prelude to a U.N. water conference in the United Arab Emirates...

Waste Processing

Tajikistan Waste Recycling Plant Put on Hold After Iranian Investors Withdraw

A planned Tajik-Iranian waste recycling plant in Tajikistan’s northern Sughd Region has been put on hold after Iranian investors were unable to travel to the country amid the conflict U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. The facility was to be built in the Sughd Free Economic Zone in Khujand and had been promoted by local officials as the region’s first large-scale modern waste processing plant. Muhammad Muhammadzoda, head of the free economic zone, told Asia-Plus that the project was to be jointly financed by Tajikistan and Iran, with the Iranian side covering 40% of the costs and the Tajik side financing the...

As Armenia Looks West, Could Uzbekistan Move Closer to the EAEU?

Latest

Features

Features

OTS Optimism, Afghan Ambushes, and a Deep Dive on the Next President of Tajikistan

Latest

Sunkar Podcast

OTS Optimism, Afghan Ambushes, and a Deep Dive on the Next President of Tajikistan

Sunkar Podcast

Opinions

Opinions

Aidar Borangaziyev

Ken Moriyasu

Sergey Akhmetov

Timur Serikuly

Matthew Davies

Timur Serikuly

Charles McLean

Ken Moriyasu

Aidar Borangaziyev

Ilyas Kanybek

Tsoberg Nadezhda and Marzhan Rakhymberdina

Anel Askar

Business & Economy

Business & Economy

New FAO Project Aims to Strengthen Kyrgyzstan’s Aquaculture Sector

Investment in Kazakhstan’s Pharmaceutical Manufacturing More Than Triples in Three Years

Kyrgyzstan Coal Industry Tilts Toward China

Kyrgyzstan Logistics Center Aims to Link China and Central Asia

Uzbekistan AI adoption Trails Global Average, Microsoft Report Finds

Local Politics

Local Politics

Kyrgyzstan Opens New Border Post Near Uzbekistan in Batken Region

Kazakhstan Reclaims the Golden Horde

Kazakhstan Looks to the Golden Horde for a Deeper National Narrative

Kyrgyzstan Seeks Foreign Teachers to Ease Education Staff Shortage

Kazakhstan Renews Debate Over Stray Animals After Parliament Approves Euthanasia Amendments

International Affairs

International Affairs

Turkmenistan Seeks Bigger Counter-Terrorism Role in Central Asia

As Armenia Looks West, Could Uzbekistan Move Closer to the EAEU?

Putin’s Astana Visit Shows What Russia Still Wants From Kazakhstan

Top U.S. State Department Official Travels to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

Putin Visit Puts Nuclear Power and Oil Transit at Center of Russia-Kazakhstan Ties

Life & Culture

Life & Culture

Eurasian Film Festival in London Showcases Cinema from Central Asia and Beyond

“Don’t Try to Please the West” – Screenwriter Kazybek Orazbek on Kazakh Cinema

Uzbekistan’s New Visual Language: How OZBE Reimagines Culture Through Streetwear

Turkmenistan Works With WHO on Healthcare Upgrades

Opinion: The Cultural Bridge Kyrgyzstan Needs for Global Education

Justice

Justice

Rights Groups Urge EU to Tie Turkmenistan Relations to Human Rights Progress