After Tajikistan deports hundreds of Afghans, refugee community remains on edge

Tajiks accuse deportees of bad behaviour, many held legal status.

PANNIER: Dire power deficit pits Kyrgyz president against city mayors and kettle against washing machine

Disco lights ordered off by 10pm. Crypto farms unplugged.

Bottleneck on the border, truckers baffled by major snarl-up on Kazakhstan-Russia frontier

Tens of thousands of goods vehicles stranded. Yet nobody is quite clear on what is going on.

Georgia’s ruling party cements absolute power one year on from disputed election

The Georgian Dream government has banned rival parties, imprisoned their leaders and branded them saboteurs, successfully laying the foundations for dictatorship in Georgia.

LGBTQ+ Russians fleeing Georgia say country mirrors Kremlin's playbook

Russian émigrés who once saw Georgia as a safe haven now warn the country is replicating Russia's systematic persecution of LGBTQ+ people, forcing them to flee once more

PANNIER: Booming breadbasket Kazakhstan now shipping grain to three continents

Drought-stricken countries such as Iran thankful Kazakhs are enjoying bumper crops. Improving cargo routes helping to push up shipments.

Georgian prime minister deepens ties with China as relations with West worsen

Political and economic ties have expanded rapidly since 2023, reflecting the ruling Georgian Dream party's growing pivot toward Beijing.

US, Central Asia relations will be strengthened “like never before”, says Trump

At White House summit with region’s five presidents, American leader commends series of business deals.

Kazakhstan’s AIFC arbitration centre emerges as a Eurasian rival to London and Singapore

The international arbitration centre at the Astana International Financial Centre is increasingly being used by regional and international businesses for commercial dispute resolution.

Will Trump’s Central Asia summit in Washington help break the Chinese chokehold on rare earths?

“Rare earths”. As Donald Trump on November 6 hosts Central Asia’s five presidents in Washington, DC, observers can forgive themselves if they quickly lose count of the number of times these buzzwords are uttered.

INTERVIEW: Population growth makes Central Asia a “hot” region for investors, says Roca executive

Global bathroom products manufacturer Roca Group plans to invest €70mn in an industrial complex in Kyzylorda, as it eyes growing demand across Central Asia.

Kazakhstan defies global FDI downturn as investors target new sectors

Renewables, agribusiness, data centres and advanced manufacturing among new magnets for investment sitting alongside oil, gas and mining.

COMMENT: China’s latest economic conquest – Central Asia

For the five Central Asian republics - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan - China has in recent years emerged not only as a dominant trading partner, but increasingly as the only partner nearby that can actually deliver.

Washington has a new focus on a Caspian energy play

For most of the last three decades since winning independence, Central Asia has been a bit of a backwater. Not any more. The Trump administration is becoming more focused on Turkmenistan's vast gas reserves and can smell money and power there.

BOTAŞ and Turkey’s hub ambition: from “30-year dream” to cross-border reality

For Ankara, the symbolism is as important as the molecules: Turkey’s energy map is shifting from end-market to hub.

Galkynysh: Turkmenistan’s giant gas field and the new energy frontier

What Central Asia wants out of the upcoming Washington summit

Clarity on critical minerals and a lot else.

PANNIER: Ruling family’s ‘palace in the sky’ cruel sight for Turkmenistan’s poor souls down below

Photos posted of renovated Boeing by US makeover manager offer further insight into "ultra-luxurious" world enjoyed by Berdimuhamedovs.

Turkmenistan’s TAPI gas pipeline takes off

Turkmenistan's 1,800km TAPI gas pipeline breaks ground after 30 years with first 14km completed into Afghanistan, aiming to deliver 33bcm annually to Pakistan and India by 2027 despite geopolitical hurdles.

Emerging Europe’s growth holds up but risks loom, says wiiw

Fiscal fragility, weakening industrial demand from Germany, and the prolonged fallout from Russia’s war in Ukraine threaten to undermine growth momentum in parts of the region.