Kazakhstan Opinions - The Times Of Central Asia

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U.S.-Central Asia Summit

Opinion: A Trump Visit to Central Asia Would Deliver Results and Anchor a Corridor Strategy

On November 6, Washington will host the C5+1 leaders’ summit, marking the format’s 10th anniversary and signaling a rare alignment of political attention and regional appetite for concrete outcomes. The date is confirmed by regional and U.S.-focused reporting, with Kazakhstan’s presidency and multiple outlets noting heads-of-state attendance in the U.S. capital. This timing is decisive. Russia’s bandwidth is constrained by the war in Ukraine, China’s trade weight in Central Asia has grown, and European demand for secure inputs and routes has intensified. All these developments together create a window where a visible United States presence can meaningfully alter the deal flow. A visit sequenced off the November C5+1 will attach U.S. political attention to minerals, corridors, and standards that regional governments already prioritize, confirming the conversion of the summit's symbolism into leverage. Washington already has the instruments but has lacked a synchronized presence. Development finance, export credit, and C5+1 working groups exist, yet announcements have too often outpaced commissioning. A targeted tour could unveil named offtakes, corridor slot guarantees, and training compacts. This would move from the dialogue to bankable packages if paired with financing envelopes, posted schedules, and third-party verification. Deals, dates, and delivery would make operational signals clear to partners and competitors alike. Strategic Rationale and Operating Concept The United States has three clear goals. These are to diversify critical minerals away from single-point dependency on China, de-risk trans-Eurasian routes that connect Asian manufacturing to European demand, and reinforce the sovereignty of the states in the region without pressuring them to choose sides in great-power competition over other issues. These imperatives already guide the national-security strategies of Central Asian governments, which implement them according to multi-vector doctrines. A presidential visit that treats minerals, corridors, and standards as a single package would show that Washington is prepared to move forward on the same problem set that the region has defined for itself. The ways to do that are through finance-first diplomacy and an end-to-end corridor approach, including the Caspian crossing. Finance-first diplomacy pairs every political announcement with insurance, offtake letters, and term sheets (short non-binding summaries of key commercial and legal terms for a proposed deal). These signal the intention to convert declarations into commissioning. An end-to-end corridor approach accepts the physical reality that Central Asian outputs move west through Central Asia, across the Caspian Sea, and across the South Caucasus, with Azerbaijan functioning as the hinge that makes Europe reachable at scale. Each element of the “minerals–corridors–standards” triad reinforces the others when the whole is pursued as a single program. Reliable customs and traceability raise corridor credibility, which raises project bankability, which in turn attracts the private capital required for mineral processing. The instrumentalities for this already exist. The C5+1 framework can be tasked to track deliverables; the Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Export-Import Bank (EXIM) can cover risk and long-term debt; aid and technical programs of the Department of State and Commerce can align standards, procurement integrity, and traceable supply chains; U.S. universities and labs can...

Gabala 2025

Opinion: The Twelfth Summit of the Organization of Turkic States – A Turning Point for Regional Peace and Integration

The Twelfth Summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) was held on October 6–7, 2025, in Gabala, Azerbaijan, under the theme “Regional Peace and Security,” and was hosted by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. Attending the summit were Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Sadyr Japarov, President of the Kyrgyz Republic; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Turkey; Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan; and Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary, participating as an observer. Turkmenistan, represented by Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, represented by Ersin Tatar, also attended the summit as observer members. Among the central topics discussed was support for the Joint Declaration signed between Azerbaijan and Armenia on August 8, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The OTS member states regard this declaration as an important step toward lasting peace and stability in the South Caucasus. The summit also emphasized the need for a collective Turkic effort to sustain peace in the region. In his address, President Aliyev noted that one of the outcomes of the Washington Summit was progress on the Zangezur Corridor, describing it as a new transportation route of great importance within both the Middle Corridor and the North–South Corridor. Speaking before the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had countered the use of the term “Zangezur Corridor,” which does not appear in the signed documents and was never used in negotiations. Despite these objections, however, Aliyev again used the term at the OTS Summit, reaffirming his intention to move forward under that framework. The New York meeting on September 22, 2025, between the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, where both sides agreed to continue dialogue based on the outcomes of the Washington Declaration, has been widely considered a constructive step toward normalization of relations between the two parties. Another highlight of the summit was President Erdoğan’s call to develop the ‘Turkish Large Language Model.’ “To catch up with global developments in artificial intelligence and to preserve our cultural richness, we need to accelerate the development of the Turkish Large Language Model,” Erdoğan said. “[In] Türkiye, we are taking the first step on the common alphabet issue by printing a work about Chingiz Aitmatov and the Oghuznames in the common alphabet. Today, we are also presenting a copy of this to the leaders.” The initiative reflects the vision for greater cultural, scientific, and digital integration among Turkic states, and it was included as part of the broader digital transformation and innovation agenda outlined in the Gabala Declaration, which followed the summit. Kazakh President Tokayev described the Organization of Turkic States as an “authoritative structure uniting friendly Turkic peoples,” capable of addressing shared challenges, and expressed support for establishing an “OTS+” format to expand cooperation and global visibility. President Aliyev, meanwhile, highlighted growing military collaboration between Azerbaijan and Turkey, referencing more than 25 joint exercises held within one year - although this figure has...

UN General Assembly

Opinion: Almaty as a Model for the Future: Central Asia’s Role in the Global Agenda

Almaty is gradually becoming a hub for resolving issues of not only regional but also global significance. The recent opening of the UN Regional Center for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Central Asia and Afghanistan here was an event no less significant than the 80th anniversary session of the General Assembly in New York. This is no coincidence: the global agenda at the UN today is increasingly focused on the regional level. Central Asia is not a periphery, but a kind of “model for the future,” where climate, water resources, and security challenges are intertwined. For example, the Tian Shan glaciers have shrunk by more than 25% over the past decade and continue to melt faster than predicted, directly threatening the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers. These rivers are increasingly failing to reach the Aral Sea, and its dried-up bed is turning into a giant source of dust and salt. Air pollution levels in the region's cities, as measured by PM2.5, exceed World Health Organization guidelines by an average of 4–6 times. Extreme heat and drought are leading to the loss of agricultural land and the degradation of ecosystems, which affects not only regional but also global food security. Central Asia has already become a unique “testing ground for the future.” The region is testing mechanisms for cross-border cooperation. The CASA-1000 energy project connects Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan with Afghanistan and Pakistan, creating a “green energy corridor.” Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s Qosh Tepa Canal is altering the balance of water usage on the Amu Darya, forcing neighboring countries to seek new models of agreement. The question is whether these nations can develop a system of joint water and energy management. The outcome will shape not only regional but also global processes. At the same time, the United Nations itself is grappling with a deficit of trust and effectiveness. The Security Council is paralyzed, while General Assembly resolutions often carry only advisory weight. In the face of nuclear risks, environmental upheavals, and the threat of epidemics, the global community is stalling. Even large-scale initiatives such as the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) remain largely declarative rather than actually limiting “dirty” investments. Therefore, reform proposals are becoming increasingly vocal, in particular, to strengthen regional UN divisions that are capable of responding more quickly to crises and ensuring practical cooperation between countries. Another way to overcome the trust deficit could be to involve independent expert councils – scientists, NGOs, think tanks – more widely in the decision-making process, which would reduce the influence of political gridlock at the global level. Overall, Almaty can be seen as a model of a “UN in miniature” – a regional center capable of promptly addressing issues that may seem “too small” for New York, yet are critically important for the countries of the region. For instance, the SDG Center could initiate the creation of a regional water monitoring system with unified measurement standards and transparent data sharing. Such decentralization could form the basis for future UN reform....

Desertification

Opinion: Turning Deserts Into Fields of Hope

Desertification is a global crisis threatening the livelihoods of 3.2 billion people worldwide. From China’s vast green belt along its largest desert to Central Asia’s unified efforts to halt land degradation on arid plains, the fight against encroaching sand continues. These initiatives offer hopeful examples of human endeavor in restoring degraded lands and safeguarding the future of our planet. In the heart of southern Xinjiang lies the Taklamakan Desert, a vast expanse known as the “sea of death” for its extreme arid and inhospitable conditions. Covering 330,000 square kilometers - an area almost the size of Finland - it is China’s largest desert and the world’s second-largest shifting desert. Here, dunes stretch endlessly, and sandstorm days comprise one-third of the year. For generations, the Taklamakan Desert has threatened surrounding villages, farmlands, and transportation routes, squeezing the living space of those who dwell on its edges. Nearly 80% of the desert sands are in constant motion, while seasonal floods from melting snow on the mountains add further instability, leaving homes and livelihoods at risk. The danger is long-term: at one point, the Taklamakan risked merging with the nearby Kumtag Desert, placing even greater pressure on human settlements. How To Contain The Sands Faced with the challenge, China launched an ambitious initiative: building a shield of vegetation to encircle the Taklamakan Desert, planting desert-tolerant species such as desert poplar, red willow, saxaul, and even roses. This massive project took more than 40 years to complete. By the end of 2023, 2,761 kilometers (about 1,716 miles) of the belt had been established. A year later, the final 285 kilometers - the most challenging section - was closed through the dedicated efforts of 600,000 people. On November 28, 2024, in Yutian County on the desert’s southern edge, the last seedlings were planted into the sands, completing a 3,046-kilometer green belt. This vast ecological barrier stabilizes the Taklamakan Desert’s edge, prevents sandstorms, and protects the fragile ecology. In addition, the green belt provides wild animals in the desert with safe conditions for survival, breeding, and migration. A Bold Green Strategy Against Desertification The Taklamakan Desert control project is a part of China's Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, or TSFP, the world's largest afforestation program aimed at curbing desertification. Launched in 1978, this ambitious program seeks to slow the progress of desertification and reduce the frequency of sandstorms by planting vast stretches of trees and resilient plant species across the arid and semi-arid regions in northern China, where sandstorms pose a constant threat to local farmlands and residents. Official data shows that forest coverage in areas covered by the TSFP has risen from 5% in 1977 to 13.8% today. More than 60% of regions prone to soil erosion have been effectively controlled, and roughly 30 million hectares of farmland have been safeguarded from desert expansion. Turning Lands of Despair into Fields of Hope: A Shared Mission The challenges faced in northern China echo across the globe. From the Sahel in Africa to the Middle East and Central...

Opinion: Kazakhstan in the Digital Era: Human Capital and AI as Foundations for Regional Leadership

On September 8, in his annual address to the nation, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev outlined key initiatives in forming a new institutional framework for the country’s digital transformation. These steps signify a qualitative shift from fragmented digital solutions to a more systemic approach to artificial intelligence and advanced technologies. A New Phase: Institutionalizing the Digital Agenda The Ministry of Artificial Intelligence, to be established by presidential order, will become a specialized government body responsible for developing, implementing, and monitoring AI policy. The ministry's core task will be to balance innovation with risk oversight, including ethical, economic, and social considerations. A Digital Code, to be adopted, will serve as the primary legal instrument in the digital sphere. It will consolidate norms relating to personal data, digital rights, AI regulation, electronic platforms, and digital identity. This will enable Kazakhstan to move from fragmented legislation to a codified, resilient legal system for the digital economy. The State Digital Asset Fund under the National Bank is being established to build a crypto reserve and finance key digital infrastructure projects. This model promotes independent financing for innovation, with a focus on sovereignty, resilience, and long-term investment. The Regulatory Intelligence Center, also announced in the address, will act as a ‘policy lab’ for testing new regulatory models within the digital economy. The town of Alatau, envisioned as a national hub of innovation and business activity, is set to become the first fully digital city in the region, combining advanced Smart City technologies with a highly livable urban environment. President Tokayev’s address emphasized the need to establish a special legal status for Alatau City via presidential decree, granting it direct subordination to the government, followed by a dedicated law regulating its governance and financial model. Drawing inspiration from global examples such as Shenzhen, the project will involve a leading Chinese company that participated in building that renowned technopolis. As the president underlined, this special legal status is not a privilege, but a necessary institutional tool, without which the vision of Alatau City risks remaining on paper. The city is intended to become a symbol of Kazakhstan’s future, reflecting the country’s technological ambitions and commitment to human- centered innovation. The use of the digital tenge, the National Bank’s digital currency, also deserves attention. It is already being used to fund projects through the National Fund. In his address, Mr Tokayev instructed that its use be expanded across the entire public finance system, including national and local budgets and state holdings. The digital tenge is thus becoming not only a technological innovation, but also a tool of macroeconomic policy, supporting a more flexible and digitally-driven financial model. All of these initiatives are integrated into the national program Digital Kazakhstan, the update and redesign of which has been assigned to the government. The renewed program will span key areas, from artificial intelligence and digital education to infrastructure and cybersecurity, reflecting Kazakhstan’s pivot toward a fully digital transformation. These steps create a system-wide architecture for integrating AI into the economy, education, governance,...

Afghanistan

Opinion: The Contact Group on Afghanistan – Central Asia Formulates a Regional Position

On August 26, special representatives on Afghanistan from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan met for the first time in Tashkent. The meeting resulted in the creation of a permanent regional platform: the Contact Group on Afghanistan. This gathering was not only a continuation of commitments outlined in the joint statement from the most recent Consultative Summit of Central Asian heads of state, but also a step toward preparing for the next high-level format, scheduled for November in Tashkent. Formally, Turkmenistan was absent. Available information suggests the reasons were purely technical. Ashgabat was ready to join and expressed support for the results through its foreign ministry channels. The key outcome is that Central Asian states have, for the first time, shown their readiness to speak with one voice on an issue long shaped by competing external interests. This is not the start of forming a common position; that had already developed de facto in recent years. All Central Asian countries have supported trade and transit with Afghanistan, continued supplying electricity and food, and maintained working contacts with the Taliban, while avoiding extremes. The Tashkent meeting institutionalized this approach: parallel tracks have now shifted, cautiously, toward coordination. Informal unity has been formalized into a tool. Unlike external players, who often cloak interests in grand rhetoric, Central Asia acts openly and pragmatically. The logic is simple: whatever is done for Afghanistan is, in fact, done for oneself. That is the distinctive feature of the regional approach - no ideological cover, no attempts to reshape Afghanistan. Examples are straightforward. Electricity continues to flow even when payments are delayed - not as charity, but as an investment in security. A blackout in Afghanistan could trigger refugee flows and threats heading north. Exports of flour and fuel sustain Afghan markets but also expand outlets for Central Asian producers. Participation in trans-Afghan corridors is not a gift to Kabul but an opportunity for Central Asia to anchor itself in southern logistics routes. Ultimately, every step “for Afghanistan” is primarily for the region itself. If Kabul ignores basic rules, cooperation will simply stop. In politics, there are no eternal friends, only eternal interests. The new format does not yet imply collective pressure on the Taliban. Rather, it creates conditions for each country to conduct more substantive bilateral dialogue, but grounded in a shared position. Until now, Central Asia has mainly spoken to the Taliban about trade, transit, and infrastructure. The Contact Group now makes it possible to add another dimension: clarifying boundaries of what is acceptable on issues like extremism, border escalation, or water pressure. For now, “red lines” are unlikely, since the Taliban have not crossed them. The situation remains manageable, leaving room for constructive dialogue. Equally important, the Contact Group is not a threat or ultimatum. Coordination is meant to expand opportunities for dialogue, not limit them. In the long run, this could evolve into a sustainable C5+A format. Afghanistan would then be integrated into regional frameworks not as a problem to be managed, but as...