Central Asian consumers and businesses are scrambling for gasoline and diesel as disturbances to Russia’s energy network, blamed on a growing drone campaign from Ukraine, spread shortages beyond Moscow and into neighboring states. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are reporting the sharpest effects, authorities say, while airlines and regional governments weigh emergency measures to blunt the impact during a peak travel and farming season. In Bishkek, motorists have faced empty pumps

Tajikistan says enhanced security is in place after a pause following fatal attacks that targeted road workers. Chinese construction teams have resumed operations on a roughly 110-kilometer section of the Dushanbe–Kulma highway close to Tajikistan’s frontier with Afghanistan, Tajik transport officials told RFE/L’s Tajik-language service. Work, which reportedly restarted in April, follows a months-long suspension prompted by violent incidents late last year that led Beijing to

A week before ballots are cast, members aligned with the Kurultai slate used Parliament’s last debate over the annual budget to press campaign promises and sharpen attacks on incumbents, transforming a technical spending discussion into a public audition for votes. Lawmakers sympathetic to Kurultai devoted much of their speaking time to pledges of local investment rather than line-by-line budget scrutiny, pushing for more road work, classroom repairs and health-clinic upgrade

Once a closed settlement serving the nearby Soviet test site, Kurchatov is remaking itself into a modest center for industry, health services and tourism, even as memories and worries about past atomic experiments remain. Local officials and community organizers say a mix of state funding, foreign grants and small private investment has created jobs and drawn visitors to a museum and guided tours of the surrounding steppe — but they also caution that long-term health and envi

Kazakhstan’s legislature has voted to transfer significant authorities to a newly formed kurultai under a sweeping constitutional package put forward by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, a move supporters say modernizes governance and critics warn will concentrate authority around the presidency. The measure approved by deputies reassigns a range of supervisory and appointment powers from the lower house to the kurultai, an assembly Mr. Tokayev has described as a consultative

Subheadline: At Palazzo Franchetti, a show of rubbed photographs and scoured manuscripts reframes memory, censorship and the region’s art history for local viewers A collection of subdued yet forceful pieces by Uzbek artist Vyacheslav Akhunov is drawing attention in Venice, where viewers encounter photographs and handwritten pages that have been physically worn until only hints remain. The exhibition, a collateral event at the Biennale, stages the process of erasure as both m

Kazakh Move Could Bring Clearer Rules for Mineral Trade and Fresh Capital for Mining and Manufacturing Kazakhstan formally joined Pax Silica this week, a step that officials and industry watchers say should make the country more attractive to foreign backers of mineral extraction and downstream industries. The pact, designed to standardize trade practices for silica-related commodities, introduces a set of compliance measures and dispute-resolution procedures that investors o

Water scarcity is emerging as a top threat to Central Asia’s economic progress and social stability, U.S.-based analysts warn, and they say progress will depend on stronger regional institutions and political will inside the five republics. While outside partners such as Washington and Brussels could provide technology and financing, experts stress that long-term fixes must be negotiated and enforced by the countries that share rivers and irrigation networks. A Washington thi

Kazakh and Chinese officials signed a protocol this week setting a framework for cooperation in civilian nuclear power during the first session of a bilateral working group held in Astana. Chinese energy regulator Wang Hongzhi led his delegation to the meeting, where ministers and senior officials agreed on steps to coordinate nuclear projects, though Kazakh authorities released only a brief statement and few specifics. Separate contracts already name Russia’s Rosatom as buil

Kazakh President Kassym‑Jomart Tokayev wrapped up a visit to Brussels with agreements and memorandums that officials value at more than $12 billion, centered on strengthening the Trans‑Caspian transport route and expanding energy and raw‑materials cooperation. In the highest‑profile transaction, Kazakhstan agreed to buy 50 Airbus airliners in a deal worth about €7.1 billion, part of a package of commercial and investment commitments announced during talks tied to the EU’s Glo

A string of accords signed in Baku on June 22 aims to pull Turkmenistan into faster trade flows across the Caspian Sea, touching everything from customs rules to energy and mining cooperation. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkmenistan’s head of state, Serdar Berdymukhamedov, signed multiple agreements designed to simplify cross-border shipments and increase cargo moving along the so-called Middle Corridor to Europe. The documents call for aligning operational rules

Kazakh and Uzbek officials are stepping up efforts to open rail and road corridors through Afghanistan that would give Central Asian exporters direct access to ports in South Asia and the Persian Gulf. On June 21, Serik Zhumangarin, Kazakhstan’s deputy prime minister, held talks in Kabul with senior Afghan figures focused on trade flows, customs procedures and transport links. Astana said it is contributing to the final leg of a rail connection between Iran’s Khaf and Afghani

Kazakhstan has what it takes to become one of the world’s leading mining countries, a senior SP Global Energy official told industry listeners, but only if the nation turns known resources into steady, long-term output and keeps investors comfortable. The official warned that the market’s focal points shift fast. Over recent years investors have swung from virtual reality projects to battery metals, clean power, artificial intelligence and the infrastructure needed to support

BRUSSELS — President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev arrived in Belgium on Monday for a two-day visit aimed at accelerating negotiations with European Union officials on commerce, raw materials and cross-border transport links. In meetings set with top EU diplomats and trade commissioners, Tokayev is expected to press for a more predictable framework for bilateral trade and investment, while Brussels will seek clearer guarantees on supplies of strategic minerals and steps to improve lo

The European Commission unveiled a new Connectivity Agenda Platform on June 23, pledging to marshal as much as €2 billion to upgrade roads, ports and border procedures that serve routes between Europe and Central Asia. Brussels framed the move as a push to ease freight flows across the Black Sea region and the South Caucasus, promising funds for projects that regional shippers and customs agencies say could cut delays and lower logistics costs. Commission officials opened the

Uzbek authorities have pushed through sweeping changes to their rail sector and opened new cross-border corridors, aiming to shave days off freight journeys and lure cargo that once bypassed the country. Officials and private operators say the moves are already nudging Uzbekistan toward a more central role in regional trade. The government has restructured parts of the national railway system, loosened rules to let private firms haul freight and introduced digital booking and

Brussels — Kazakhstan and a cohort of European partners on June 22 formalized four transport agreements valued at a combined $462 million, aiming to speed up and expand the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route — the so-called Middle Corridor — as President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visited Belgium. The accords were unveiled at a high-level conference on EU-Kazakhstan connectivity attended by officials from the European Commission and Parliament, international financiers an

Central Asian farmers along the Amu Darya are confronting a simple fact: the river that once reliably irrigated vast cotton and rice fields now arrives with less certainty. But the political reactions in Tashkent and Ashgabat are taking divergent paths. One government is cautiously loosening controls and experimenting with incentives for farmers, while the other appears to double down on centralized crop plans and state-managed water delivery — a choice that raises the stakes

Portugal's veteran forward Cristiano Ronaldo marked a personal milestone as his team opened its World Cup campaign with a convincing 5-0 victory over Uzbekistan. In a one-sided group-stage match, Portugal controlled possession and territory from the first whistle, turning pressure into goals across both halves. Ronaldo was among the scorers, adding to a long list of tournament achievements and drawing loud applause from the crowd as teammates piled on another finish. Uzbekist

Центральная Азия сегодня представляет собой динамично развивающийся регион с уникальными экономическими особенностями и значительным потенциалом для роста. В последние годы здесь наблюдаются важные изменения, которые формируют новые тренды и влияют на экономическую структуру стран. В этом материале я подробно рассмотрю ключевые направления развития, вызовы и возможности, которые определяют будущее региона. Основные тренды экономики региона Экономика Центральной Азии претерпев