International Affairs - The Times Of Central Asia

Viewing results 7 - 12 of 1990

Property Rights

Kyrgyzstan Border Settlements Bring Property Documents to Villagers

Residents of Kara-Jantak village in Kyrgyzstan’s Batken region have received official property documents for 295 homes following the village’s transfer from Uzbekistan under a border agreement. The regional administration said officials handed over the documents to residents, who had previously received Kyrgyz passports. Around 1,200 people live in Kara-Jantak, which was formerly part of Uzbekistan’s Fergana region. In 2024, the village came under the jurisdiction of the city of Kadamjay in the Batken region as part of a settlement negotiated by the two countries’ intergovernmental commission on border delimitation and demarcation. Their border treaty was signed in 2022. Construction has begun on a 14-kilometer water supply network, with the project estimated to cost 38 million Kyrgyz soms (approximately $435,000). A separate irrigation project worth 316 million soms (around $3.6 million) has been prepared and is expected to be implemented soon. Land has also been set aside for a school and a kindergarten. In June 2026, two other former Uzbek villages, Chongara and Tash-Tobo in the Fergana region, became part of Kyrgyzstan. Around 2,500 people, mostly ethnic Kyrgyz, live in the two settlements. In exchange, Kyrgyzstan transferred land of equal area to Uzbekistan along the border. In a separate development, authorities in the Batken region are preparing to allocate 170 habitable houses out of 213 transferred to Kyrgyzstan through a territorial exchange with Tajikistan. The exchange followed a border settlement signed in March 2025. The houses will be provided to citizens who lost their homes or whose properties became uninhabitable during fighting along the Kyrgyz-Tajik border in 2021 and 2022. A regional working group led by Baktybek Toksonbaev, the first deputy presidential representative in the Batken region, reviewed the allocation process. It focused on providing a second replacement home to families whose two houses on the same plot had both been left uninhabitable. Authorities expect to hand over the properties to eligible residents in the coming days, following the required legal procedures.

AQABA Process

Uzbekistan Offers to Host Regional UN Counterterrorism Office at Astana Summit

Central Asian leaders and Jordan’s King Abdullah II met on November 6 to discuss how terrorist groups could use artificial intelligence to recruit members, coordinate their activities, and spread propaganda. At the Aqaba Process summit, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev offered to host a Central Asian office of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism. The proposed office would help Central Asian countries set up channels for reporting terrorist content and detect terrorist financing, according to the Uzbek presidential press service. Co-hosted by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Abdullah II, it is the first time Central Asia has hosted the Aqaba Process. Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, and representatives of international organizations also attended. Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubaev represented Kyrgyzstan, while Parliamentary Speaker Sahiba Gafarova represented Azerbaijan. [caption id="attachment_60177" align="aligncenter" width="1900"] The Aqaba Process summit in Astana on November 6, 2026. Image: Uzbek presidential press service.[/caption] From Social Media to Artificial Intelligence King Abdullah launched the Aqaba Process in 2015, which takes its name from the Red Sea city of Aqaba where the first meetings were held. The initiative was originally designed to coordinate international efforts against terrorism and violent extremism, particularly in the Middle East. Unlike international organizations with permanent membership, it brings participants together to discuss specific threats and does not adopt binding decisions. Over the past decade, the agenda has changed considerably. As early as 2019, a meeting in the United States addressed the use of the internet and social media by terrorist organizations. Representatives of technology companies were brought into the discussions, as countering extremist propaganda increasingly required cooperation with digital platform operators. In February 2026, Aqaba Process participants met at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the UK to discuss security threats posed by drones and how to regulate their use. Government representatives, experts, and technology companies took part in the discussions. In June, a meeting in New York focused in part on extremist recruitment through online games. Representatives of international organizations, the gaming industry, and civil society joined the discussions. In Astana, participants turned their attention to generative artificial intelligence. Modern AI models can produce text, images, and videos in minutes, translate messages into different languages, and imitate real people's voices. For terrorist organizations, such tools could make it easier to produce propaganda and reach audiences beyond traditional linguistic and geographic boundaries. Fabricated videos and audio recordings presented as statements by politicians, religious leaders, or security officials pose a particular danger. AI can also automate conversations and tailor messages to individual interests, making recruitment attempts on social media and messaging platforms more difficult to detect. In May 2024, three Spanish tourists were among those killed in an attack in Afghanistan’s Bamyan province. Days later, a group calling itself Khurasan TV circulated a video featuring an AI-generated newsreader in a simulated newsroom. A synthetic voice read out Islamic State Khorasan Province’s claim of responsibility in Pashto. Researchers at Afghan Witness traced at least eight such videos to Khurasan TV, which they said appeared to...

Observer Status

Turkish Official Questions Tokayev’s Proposal for OTS Observer Status for Russia

Kürşad Zorlu, a senior official in Türkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party, has questioned Russia’s eligibility for observer status in the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), citing its language requirements. At the OTS summit in Ankara on October 30, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed inviting Russia to participate through the OTS+ cooperation framework or as an observer. He argued that closer engagement with Moscow would enhance the organization’s international standing. The OTS brings together Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan as full members. Its work now covers trade, transport, energy, and political coordination alongside linguistic and cultural cooperation. Zorlu, a deputy chairman responsible for the party’s relations with Turkic states, cited observer-status rules adopted at the 2021 Istanbul summit in comments to Anadolu Agency on November 3. Under those rules, he said, a country seeking observer status must recognize a Turkic or related language as a state or official language used in government correspondence nationwide. Recognition in individual regions is insufficient. Hungary was granted observer status in 2018, before the rules were adopted. Russia has several republics with substantial Turkic-speaking populations, and some Turkic languages have official status within them. Russian remains the country’s sole state language at the federal level. On November 2, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s participation in the OTS would be appropriate, although Moscow had not received an official invitation. Zorlu pointed instead to OTS+, a framework introduced in 2025 to develop relations with countries outside the organization’s formal membership and observer arrangements. It allows meetings with third countries at the level of foreign ministers or heads of state, provided all member states agree. This offers Moscow a channel for cooperation without changing the language requirements for observer status. He linked other countries’ growing interest in the OTS to the strategic importance of the Middle Corridor, a trade route connecting China and Europe through Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye. Zorlu also proposed reviving cultural cooperation between Russia’s Turkic republics and the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TÜRKSOY). Founded in 1993, TÜRKSOY promotes cultural exchanges among Turkic-speaking communities. Its website lists six Russian republics as observers: Altai, Tuva, Khakassia, Bashkortostan, Sakha (Yakutia), and Tatarstan. Zorlu said their cooperation with TÜRKSOY had been effectively frozen since 2015. That year, Russia’s Culture Ministry called for a halt to contacts amid a sharp deterioration in relations after Türkiye shot down a Russian military aircraft near the Syrian border. The Ankara summit also took place without Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, despite a personal invitation from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Azerbaijan was represented by Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov. Azerbaijani media attributed Aliyev’s absence from the summit to scheduling commitments. The meeting came amid tensions between Ankara and Baku over Azerbaijan’s restrictions on headscarves in schools and its close ties with Israel. Baku has not officially linked his absence to those disagreements.

Middle Corridor

Middle Corridor: $55 Billion in Investment Needed to Turn a Transit Route into an Economic Corridor

Developing the Middle Corridor, a transport route connecting China and Europe through Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, and the South Caucasus, will require at least $25 billion in infrastructure upgrades by 2040. The World Bank estimates that another $30.5 billion will be needed for complementary investments in logistics centers, industrial zones, and other projects capable of generating economic benefits for countries along the route. These estimates are presented in the World Bank study Integration: World-Class Trade Logistics Along the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor. According to the bank's projections, if the necessary investments and reforms are implemented, freight volumes crossing the Caspian Sea could more than triple by 2040. In the long term, participating countries could see an average additional increase of 3.3% in GDP and 2.9% in employment, equivalent to approximately two million additional jobs. The study covers nine countries in Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and Turkey. For Central Asian countries without direct access to the world's oceans, developing the route offers an opportunity to reduce transportation costs and expand access to foreign markets. For China and Europe, it provides an additional trade route that could help diversify supply chains. Why Transit Alone Is Not Enough The study's findings were discussed on October 15 in Astana at the eighth New Silk Way International Transport and Logistics Business Forum. Andrei Mikhnev, the World Bank's Country Manager for Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, highlighted the difference between increasing transit volumes and generating economic benefits for countries along the route. "Turning connectivity into economic value, and transit flows into broader development opportunities, is not easy. That is why the Eurasian corridor is so important. It is not merely a transport and transit route, but a foundation for economic integration," he said. Countries are already investing in railways, roads, ports, and logistics infrastructure while simplifying trade procedures. According to Mikhnev, further development will require closer cooperation among governments and transport operators. The World Bank projects that by 2040, trade among Middle Corridor countries could increase by approximately 50% in value and 60% in physical volume. Kazakhstan and Turkey are expected to see the greatest economic gains in absolute terms because of the size of their economies and their positions within the transport network. Countries located away from the main transit routes could also benefit. For Tajikistan, for example, improved transport connections would mean lower shipping costs and better access to regional markets. However, developing the corridor alone will not transform the structure of exports. Oil, metals, and other raw materials will continue to dominate freight flows. The share of machinery, electronics, and processed goods will grow more slowly. $25 Billion for Infrastructure and $30.5 Billion for Complementary Investments The World Bank estimates the cost of priority infrastructure projects at at least $25 billion. The funds are needed to modernize railways and ports, increase maritime transport capacity, and eliminate bottlenecks along the route. Of the 16 most important projects, 12 are already underway. Together, they account for approximately 85% of the estimated costs. Luis Blancas, a senior...

Economic Diplomacy

Expanding U.S.–Turkmenistan Ties: Envoy and Business Group Visit Ashgabat

Turkmenistan and the United States are working to deepen their economic and diplomatic relationship, with a top American diplomat and a U.S. business delegation visiting Ashgabat this week. The U.S.-Turkmenistan Business Council had announced a semiannual business mission to Ashgabat on November 4–5, a trip that comes amid a wider effort by the United States and Central Asian countries to expand trade and investment ties with each other. The council is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group led by Eric Stewart, a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary for Europe/Eurasia at the Department of Commerce who has founded more than a dozen similar groups focusing on other countries and regions. The trip, which was coordinated with the U.S. government, followed a visit to Ashgabat this week by S. Paul Kapur, U.S. assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs. On November 3, Kapur and Turkmenistan's Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov talked about “expanding business ties and identifying new opportunities” for partnership, according to Turkmenistan’s embassy in the U.S. U.S. support for the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) gas pipeline was also discussed, the embassy said. That support was also noted in a Turkmen state media report on Kapur’s meeting with Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the former president who still has a powerful leadership role in Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan recently said there was progress in laying the pipeline in Afghanistan’s Herat province, though the overall TAPI project has faced years of delays and challenges in its implementation. While U.S.-Turkmen trade and investment are relatively small, Turkmenistan’s strategic location on Caspian Sea trade routes and the fact that it has some of the largest proven reserves of natural gas in the world make it a potentially important partner for the U.S. Turkmenistan mainly exports energy to China but is aiming to diversify export options, including through projects such as TAPI and the planned Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline.

U.S.-Central Asia Engagement

U.S. Midterms Hand Democrats a Central Asia Agenda They Helped Build

Democrats have won control of Congress in the November 3 midterms, ending President Donald Trump’s Republican majority. But they inherit a Central Asia agenda their party helped build, backed by substantial orders for American manufacturers. Uzbekistan Airways’ new Boeing deliveries are due to begin in 2031, while Kazakhstan’s $4.2 billion Wabtec agreement covers a decade. For American businesses, the region’s importance is already measured in export orders that outlast a congressional majority. American Jobs Behind the Diplomacy Kazakhstan signed its Wabtec agreement in September 2025. The U.S. Commerce Department said the Pennsylvania-based manufacturer would supply 300 heavy-haul locomotive kits over the next decade. It estimated that the deal would support more than 11,000 American jobs. Uzbekistan Airways initially ordered 14 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, with options for eight more. The Commerce Department valued that package at approximately $8.5 billion. The airline subsequently exercised the options, bringing its firm order to 22 aircraft. Those purchases give Astana and Tashkent a direct argument in Washington: engaging with them brings business to American factories. The relationship also gives U.S. manufacturers a reason to support continued engagement, whichever party controls congressional committees. From Biden to Trump The minerals agenda has already survived a change of president. The Biden administration signed a critical minerals cooperation memorandum with Uzbekistan in September 2024, aimed at diversifying global supplies. Under Trump, critical minerals and digital infrastructure remained on the agenda at the October 19 C5+1 meeting in Samarkand. The United States and the five Central Asian republics also backed increased trade through the Trans-Caspian route and closer links between their business communities. Congressional support crosses the same party divide. In October, Democratic Senator Chris Coons and Republican Senator Tim Sheehy introduced legislation to strengthen critical mineral supply chains through mining and processing partnerships with U.S. allies. A bipartisan artificial intelligence (AI) bill, reintroduced in February, similarly aims to strengthen American research and testing capacity. Kazakhstan’s June 2026 agreements with Firebird, a U.S. technology company, cover proposed AI infrastructure and advanced computing capacity. Central Asia offers customers for American technology as well as potential sources of strategic minerals. Both fit priorities Democrats have backed alongside Republicans. The incoming majority has reasons of its own to maintain that engagement. Congress’s Unfinished Business The Democratic majority will take office in January 2027, gaining control of committees and greater influence over legislation and oversight. Central Asian governments will also lose two established advocates. Republican Steve Daines and Democrat Gary Peters, who founded the Senate Central Asia Caucus in 2024, are both retiring that month. Their successors will inherit an unfinished trade agenda. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan remain subject to the Cold War-era Jackson-Vanik Amendment, despite years of calls to remove its trade restrictions. Republican and Democratic lawmakers introduced repeal legislation in November 2025. While American manufacturers are booking Central Asian business into the 2030s, Congress is still debating whether to lift trade restrictions dating from 1974. At a September 2026 House hearing, lawmakers from both parties heard arguments for removing the restrictions. The discussion...