In the following article published in the latest issue of OCA Magazine, the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Nick Rowan, analyzes the investment landscape and offers forecasts for the future state of investment in Central Asia and the CIS: Things are moving fast in Central Asia and the former Soviet Union (CIS) countries. The investment landscape has undergone
Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Japan Yerlan Baudarbek-Kozhatayev on March 5 held a meeting with Hiromasa Nakano, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan. The Ambassador introduced the current status and prospects of the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR or Middle Corridor) as one of the key multimodal transit corridors connecting
The UN General Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution on the establishment of the UN Regional Centre for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Central Asia and Afghanistan. The document was initiated by Kazakhstan on behalf of the Central Asian states. 152 UN member states supported the resolution as co-sponsors, which underlines the high significance of
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Energy and Water says that 70% of the CASA-1000 electricity transmission project in Afghanistan has been completed, TOLOnews reported. According to the ministry, if the World Bank provides the necessary funding, the Afghan government is prepared to complete the remaining work on this project. This major regional project, which connects Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan,
KTZ Express, a subsidiary of Kazakhstan’s national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), and major Chinese operator Yiwu Timex have discussed expanding cooperation in the field of international transportation with a focus on the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) and new logistics services for deliveries to Central Asian countries, the KTZ press
The Eurasian Creative Guild (ECG), with the support of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in London and ORZU Arts, is organizing a vibrant celebration of Navruz, a spring festival that embodies the rich cultural heritage of Eurasia. This special event will welcome the arrival of spring, a time of renewal and inspiration, and showcase the beauty
The Council of the European Union (EU) has appointed Mr Eduards Stiprais as the new EU Special Representative for Central Asia. Stiprais will take up his duties on 1 March 2025 with an initial mandate of two years, succeeding Terhi Hakala. According to the European Council, the task of the new Special Representative will be to promote relations between
The Council of the European Union (EU) has announced that the President of the European Council, António Costa, along with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, will be travelling to Uzbekistan for the first-ever EU-Central Asia summit on 3-4 April 2025, with the participation of the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan’s state news agency TDH reported that on February 10, the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty (People’s Council) of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov had a telephone conversation with President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian. Berdimuhamedov informed about the agreement with Türkiye’s BOTAŞ company on the transit of
A freight train, loaded with communication equipment and other products, departed from southwest China’s Chongqing city on February 10 and is expected to arrive in Afghanistan in 12 to 15 days, Xinhua reported. This marked the inauguration of a new direct freight train route, which passes through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, between Chongqing and Afghanistan. In
The Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan and Freedom Telecom Holding Ltd. (Kazakhstan) have signed a memorandum of cooperation in the construction of a fiber-optic hyper-highway and data centers for the transit and storage of international internet traffic. The construction of the West-East national hyper-highway will significantly increase the volume of
On February 10, a four-party working meeting was held in the format of a video conference to discuss the draft intergovernmental Agreement on the establishment of the Caspian Sea–Black Sea international transport route, the Turkmen Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported. The meeting was attended by heads and representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and other
The integration of Central Asian states and the formation of a common space for cooperation have always been considered an inevitable process that will sooner or later determine the main trends in the region’s development. The very understanding of Central Asia, based on historical, cultural and religious commonalities, is not about creating new but rather
‘The Legends of Great Silk Road: Adventures of the Spirit of Time’ is a new book by Uzbek author Gulchekhra-Begim Makhmudova, published in English by Hertfordshire Press in London. This book gives an opportunity to discover for your children (and for yourself) the magical world of the legendary Great Silk Road. In ‘Adventures of the
According to the Afghan Ministry of Industry and Commerce, during the past ten months of the current solar year (which began in March 2024), trade between Afghanistan and five Central Asian countries reached $1.696 billion, including $112 million of Afghan exports and $1.584 billion of imports, TOLOnews reported. Afghanistan exported to the Central Asian countries
A two-day meeting of representatives of the Railways of the Islamic Republic of Iran, national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), Russian Railways, and Turkmenistan’s railway company Turkmendemiryollary ended in Almaty on January 30. According to KTZ, the meeting summed up the results of railway cargo transportation across the territory of Kazakhstan via the Bolashak
On January 28-29 in Turkey, Laziz Kudratov, the Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan, participated in a meeting with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Transport from Uzbekistan, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. He also attended a trilateral business forum with the participation of over 400 representatives from the business communities of the three
Afghanistan Uzbekistan Kyrgyzstan China Rail Corridor Update The Afghan Ministry of Public Works said that the quadrilateral rail-economic corridor agreement between Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and China has been extended for the year 2025, TOLOnews reported. Mohammad Ashraf Haqshenas, the ministry’s spokesperson, stated that the deputy minister of public works signed the agreement during his visit
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) says it has set a new operational record in Central Asia by investing €2.26 billion through 121 projects in six regional economies last year – almost doubling its annual investment in Central Asia compared with 2023. It also mobilized €784 million from co-financiers, thus bringing more than
The United States and Armenia on January 14 signed a strategic partnership agreement expanding cooperation in security and several of areas as Yerevan seeks to distance itself from traditional ally Russia, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reported. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan signed the agreement in Washington. The United States is “working
