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Nearly Half of Young Women in Tajikistan Are Not Working or Studying, Survey Finds

New results from Tajikistan’s 2025 Labor Force Survey point to persistent structural weaknesses in the country’s labor market. Although the official unemployment rate remains relatively low, labor force participation is limited, particularly among women and young people. Of the country’s 6.87 million people aged 15–75, 3.02 million are in the labor force, producing a participation rate of 43.9%. The rate is 57.1% among men and 30.9% among women, a gap of 26.2 percentage points. The World Bank previously described Tajikistan’s labor force participation rate as the lowest in Central Asia. The official unemployment rate is 6.3%, but the survey’s expanded measure of labor underutilization presents a less favorable picture. This measure includes unemployed people and the potential labor force, as well as those experiencing time-related underemployment. On this basis, the rate rises to 11.7%. Among women, it approaches 14%. The survey also shows a gradual shift in where employed people live. The urban share of employment increased from 20% in 2004 to 28.4% in 2025, but 71.6% of employed people still live in rural areas. That figure demonstrates the rural concentration of employment, although it does not by itself show how many people work in agriculture. Separately, the World Bank estimates that agriculture employs more than 40% of Tajikistan’s labor force. The findings on young people are particularly stark. Among those aged 15–24, nearly 27% are not in education, employment or training (NEET). The rate is 40.1% among young women, compared with 13.2% among young men. The gender divide is even wider among those aged 15–29. In this group, 45% of women are neither employed nor pursuing education or training, compared with 12.4% of men. The figures suggest that Tajikistan’s main labor-market challenge is not fully captured by the conventional unemployment rate. People who are not working but are neither actively seeking employment nor immediately available to start work are generally not counted as unemployed. Low participation and high NEET rates therefore reveal pressures that the headline unemployment figure does not. Women and young people account for much of this unused labor potential. Expanding their access to employment will be especially important as the country’s working-age population grows. The World Bank estimates that about 600,000 young people will enter Tajikistan’s labor force over the coming decade and that the economy will need to generate approximately 1.4 million jobs during that period. It also describes the country’s economy as heavily dependent on the export of low-skilled labor and the remittances those workers send home. These concerns are reflected in the World Bank Group’s Country Partnership Framework for Tajikistan for fiscal years 2026–2032. The strategy prioritizes a better-skilled and healthier workforce, along with increased private investment. It also seeks to create more and better jobs and calls for measures to raise labor force participation, particularly among women and young people. In May, the World Bank approved the Tajikistan Women’s Economic Empowerment Project. The initiative is expected to create 3,450 jobs and help 850 women-owned or women-led businesses gain access to financial services. It...

2 weeks ago

Mongolia-Central Asia Relations

Tajikistan’s President Rahmon Visits Mongolia as Ulaanbaatar Expands Central Asia Outreach

Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon is visiting Mongolia for the first time since 2009, as the two countries pursue closer ties and Mongolia expands its engagement with Central Asia. An honor guard welcomed Rahmon on his arrival in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar on Monday, and the Tajik leader later met President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, Tajikistan’s presidential office said. The two presidents aim to expand cooperation in politics, trade, the economy, agriculture, energy, transport, and culture, and will also discuss regional and international issues, according to Montsame, Mongolia’s state-owned news agency. “The visit will mark the first state visit by Tajikistan’s president to Mongolia in 17 years, following his previous visit in 2009,” Montsame reported. “It also serves as a reciprocal visit following President Khurelsukh's state visit to Tajikistan in 2025.” While trade between Mongolia and Tajikistan is relatively small, the warming ties are part of a wider Mongolian government policy to engage with Central Asia and diversify its economic partners. Coal, copper and other mining products are a big part of the economy of landlocked Mongolia, whose exports primarily go to China. Russia is to the north of Mongolia, and China is to the south, while Mongolia’s western tip is separated from Kazakhstan by a sliver of Chinese territory. “Northeast Asia remains Mongolia’s primary economic anchor in terms of exports, investment, and access to seaports,” Khaliunaa Batjargal wrote in a Think Mongol Institute analysis. “At the same time, Central Asia offers a different set of strategic opportunities. Cooperation with similarly landlocked, resource-based economies creates space for new market access and alternative transport options.” The analysis was published in April, shortly after a visit by the Mongolian leader to Kazakhstan, where he met President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Deals and high-level visits have also occurred in recent years between Mongolia and other Central Asian countries, including Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. Mongolia, a former Soviet satellite state with a population of several million, sought to build relationships with Central Asian countries after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, but that effort stagnated in the 2000s as opportunities for Mongolia increased in East Asia while Russia maintained a close relationship with the former Soviet republics, according to a Jamestown Foundation analysis by Nurbek Bekmurzaev in 2024. Now, as Central Asian countries expand their own trading partners and corridors, Mongolia is seeking to explore the potential of the region as a transit hub. Many analysts view an old debate about whether Mongolia is part of Central Asia or Northeast Asia as more academic than practical.

2 weeks ago

Energy Security

Kazakhstan’s Main Oil Route Remains Vulnerable. It Is Expanding Alternatives

Kazakhstan’s prosperity has been built largely on oil, much of which still reaches world markets through infrastructure crossing Russian territory. That would be a strategic exposure for any country; for a landlocked state bordering Russia during the largest war in Europe since 1945, it is impossible to ignore. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium route to the Black Sea remains Kazakhstan’s most important oil artery, carrying about 80% of its crude exports. Three tankers were struck near the terminal on July 17 and 19, two while loading Kazakh oil. Loadings briefly resumed before a fourth tanker, NELSA, was hit on July 20, forcing another suspension. No casualties or oil spill were reported, but the attacks repeatedly interrupted Kazakhstan’s main export route. Kazakhstan treated the attacks as a direct threat to its own economic interests, not as an incident confined to Russia. Its Foreign Ministry condemned the July 17 and 19 strikes as unacceptable, said an agreed mechanism for sharing information about civilian vessels entering the Black Sea to load CPC oil had been disregarded, and demanded an immediate halt. Ukraine’s General Staff said it had struck two tankers overnight on July 19 as part of its campaign against Russian oil and military-fuel logistics, but did not identify them. CPC said the vessels at its terminal were loading Kazakh crude. The episode exposed Kazakhstan’s dependence on infrastructure beyond its control. That exposure reflects geography and inherited infrastructure, not Kazakhstan’s foreign policy alignment. It is a serious strategic vulnerability that Astana is trying to reduce. Kazakhstan did not choose its geography, and its export system was not designed for the rupture that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It is the world’s largest landlocked country, bordered by Russia and China, and sits on the Middle Corridor linking China and Central Asia with the South Caucasus and Europe. No government in Astana can alter those facts. The relevant question is how it has responded to them. Under President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kazakhstan remains highly exposed to oil, but it is not an oil economy standing still. KAZENERGY’s 2023 National Energy Report put the hydrocarbon sector at about 23% of GDP in 2019 and about 20% in 2022. Kazakhstan’s Bureau of National Statistics put the oil and gas sector at 16.3% of GDP in 2024. The series are not directly comparable, but both indicate that hydrocarbons remain central even as non-oil sectors expand. Oil dependence has not disappeared. UNCTAD notes that oil exports still account for more than half of total exports and remain central to foreign exchange earnings and public finances. Kazakhstan has made more progress in reducing oil’s share of GDP than its weight in exports and state revenue. Any serious assessment has to account for both. Kazakhstan’s position on Ukraine also needs to be judged in context. Binary judgments obscure the constraints facing a country that shares a long border, trade channels, energy infrastructure and significant security exposure with Russia. Kazakhstan has not recognized Russia’s attempted annexations. In 2022, its Foreign Ministry said it would...

2 weeks ago

TCA Interviews

Saving The Caspian Seal: An Interview with Assel Baimukanova

The Caspian seal is the only marine mammal native to the Caspian Sea and the world’s only seal species found exclusively in an inland body of water. Once numbering close to one million, its population has declined dramatically over the past century due to commercial hunting, habitat degradation, pollution, accidental entanglement in fishing gear, and climate change. Today, the species is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Kazakh zoologist Assel Baimukanova has spent the past 13 years studying the Caspian seal alongside her father, renowned scientist Mirgaliy Baimukanov. Their work takes them to remote islands in the northern Caspian, where they spend weeks living in tents, monitoring the animals and collecting data essential to understanding the rapidly changing sea. The Times of Central Asia spoke with Baimukanova about how the Caspian seal coexists with offshore oil production, why scientists perform necropsies on dead animals, and what the future holds for the sea’s only endemic marine mammal. TCA: Assel, you have been studying the Caspian seal for 13 years. Since it is an endemic species found nowhere else in the world, are there many international researchers working on it, or is it studied mainly by Kazakh scientists? Baimukanova: The Caspian seal is indeed an endemic species, meaning it is found only in the Caspian Sea. But it is not studied only by our Institute of Hydrobiology and Ecology. Several research organizations, both in Kazakhstan and abroad, are involved in studying the species. Russian and Iranian scientists also work on the Caspian seal. In addition, we cooperate with researchers who study other seal species in Estonia, Finland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Each of these countries has experience studying different pinniped species, so we regularly exchange expertise and research findings. Our cooperation with international colleagues was particularly active between 2005 and 2017, when we carried out a number of joint research projects. TCA: In your documentary film, you say that although the Caspian Sea is shared by several countries, Kazakhstan bears the greatest responsibility for protecting the Caspian sealbecause the species’ most important habitats are located in Kazakh waters. Baimukanova: Yes, that is true. In spring and autumn, up to 90% of the Caspian seal population may gather in Kazakhstan’s sector of the Caspian Sea. In winter, the animals breed on the ice in the northern Caspian. Depending on ice conditions, breeding colonies may be located in either the Kazakh or Russian sectors. During spring and autumn, however, most seals are found in the shallow and hard-to-reach northeastern part of Kazakhstan’s sector of the sea. That is why the condition of our part of the Caspian is critical to the conservation of the species. TCA: But the ice cover is shrinking every year because of climate change. Should we already be worried, or is there no immediate cause for concern? Baimukanova: There is every reason to be concerned. Warm winters are becoming more common, while cold and severe winters are becoming increasingly rare. Ice still forms, but it...

2 weeks ago

Venture capital

How a New Generation of Startups From Kazakhstan Attracted International Investors

A software engineering team writes code in Almaty for a parent company incorporated in Delaware. Most of its revenue comes from customers in the United States and Singapore, with the United Kingdom another important market. Until recently, this business model was unusual in Kazakhstan. It is now becoming more common as entrepreneurs launch international companies from the outset rather than focus solely on the domestic market. Rather than adapt foreign products for Kazakhstan’s population of about 20 million, these founders are developing technology for customers abroad. Their success is drawing interest from international venture capital firms and raising Kazakhstan’s profile as a source of high-growth technology companies. Growth Measured in Numbers The latest Startups and Venture Capital in Central Asia 2026 report by RISE Research shows how quickly Kazakhstan’s venture sector is growing. Venture investment reached $209 million in 2025, nearly three times the $71 million raised a year earlier. The figure also exceeded the combined total elsewhere in Central Asia. The aggregate valuation of funded startups in Kazakhstan rose to $2.16 billion. RISE Research also found that U.S.-oriented startups with roots in Kazakhstan raised more than $214 million in 2025. This helps explain the rise in international interest. Venture funds are backing companies built for global markets rather than businesses dependent on a relatively small domestic customer base. Among the best-known examples is Higgsfield AI, which develops software for creating and editing AI-generated video. The company raised $50 million in Series A financing in September 2025. An $80 million extension in January 2026 brought the round to more than $130 million and valued the company at over $1.3 billion, confirming its status as Kazakhstan’s first unicorn. Cerebra AI develops software that analyzes CT scans to help clinicians detect ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes. The platform uses the ASPECTS scale and can return an analysis within minutes. Codiplay supplies educational software and Internet of Things kits used to teach programming and hands-on electronics in 13 countries, including South Korea and the UK. The company raised $9 million in Series A financing in January 2025. Parqour develops parking management software with automated license plate recognition. Its systems operate in 22 countries and cover more than 300 parking areas. These companies work in different fields, but their businesses are built mainly around software and intellectual property, even where hardware is part of the product. That makes expansion abroad less capital-intensive and helps explain their appeal to foreign investors. Why Investors Are Paying Attention Now Kazakhstan’s emergence as Central Asia’s leading venture capital market did not happen overnight. The record investment figures of 2025 followed several years of work in the startup sector, including Astana Hub’s accelerator programs and tax incentives. More founders also began developing products for international markets. One clear sign was international recognition. Three startups with founders from Kazakhstan were accepted into Y Combinator in 2025, matching the total accepted in all previous years combined, according to RISE Research. For international investors, acceptance into the Silicon Valley accelerator provides external validation as...

2 weeks ago

Middle East Crisis

Iran Says Trains Resume After Reported Strike on Railway Bridge to Turkmenistan

An alleged U.S. strike on a railway bridge on a northern Iranian line crossing into Turkmenistan highlighted concerns about Central Asian trade routes in the region. Iran, however, says it has repaired the tracks and trains are running again. The reported attack on the Aq Tekeh Khan bridge near Aqqala city in Golestan province on July 9 was part of a wave of U.S. military action against Iran after tensions over the disputed Strait of Hormuz, whose shipping lanes are key to global commerce, and the collapse of a shaky ceasefire. U.S. strikes were ongoing on Friday, while Iran has carried out drone strikes on U.S. allies in the Gulf region. There were no casualties in the strike on the bridge in Golestan, according to Iranian state-affiliated media that published photographs of what appeared to be an impact crater and twisted railway tracks. The Mehr news agency cited an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps statement that cruise missiles hit the bridge. Reconstruction began immediately and the railway was ready for traffic less than 24 hours after the attack, the chn.ir news site and other Iranian outlets reported. Washington has not publicly commented on reports of the attack on the Aq Tekeh Khan bridge, which is part of a railway line that crosses into Turkmenistan at the Iranian border city of Incheh Borun and is a key corridor for Iranian trade with Central Asia, Russia and China. An analysis by London-based Iran International said Iran, which is under pressure from economic sanctions as well as attacks on its maritime infrastructure, relies on the route for “military logistics, civilian trade, sanctions resilience and alternative transit routes.” The reported attack on the bridge is also significant for Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries, according to the analysis. “These countries have invested in diversified transit routes through Iran to reach Gulf ports and global markets while reducing dependence on Russian or Chinese-controlled corridors,” Iran International said. “If Iranian routes are viewed as vulnerable during conflict, governments and commercial operators may reassess their reliability.” East of the Incheh Borun railway line, another railway line between Iran and Turkmenistan crosses at the Iranian border town of Sarakhs. Iran has also been developing railway infrastructure at the border city of Loftabad, which lies between the Incheh Borun and Sarakhs lines. Shortly before Israel and the United States launched air strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, initiating the ongoing war, top railway officials from Iran and Turkmenistan met in Sarakhs to discuss ways to strengthen their cross-border railway routes. The talks were part of Iran’s effort to build “its position as a land bridge linking Central Asia to open waters,” the Tehran Times reported.

2 weeks ago

External debt

The Central Asia Debt Divide: Why the Region’s Borrowing Risks Are Not the Same

Central Asia’s biggest debtor is not necessarily its most vulnerable. Kazakhstan accounts for roughly two-thirds of the region’s external liabilities, but much of that debt sits on corporate balance sheets rather than the government’s. Tajikistan owes a fraction of the amount, yet remains at high risk of debt distress. The contrast highlights the Central Asia debt divide. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan rely more heavily on sovereign and concessional borrowing, while Uzbekistan’s external liabilities are now split almost evenly between the public and corporate sectors. Based on the latest available figures from national authorities and international financial institutions, the combined external debt of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan approached $275 billion in early 2026. Turkmenistan has not been included in the estimate because the country does not publish comprehensive official external debt statistics that can be directly compared with those of its regional neighbors. The total is an approximate calculation compiled from national statistics rather than a regional aggregate published by a single institution. The countries also release their debt data for different reporting dates and use different classifications, requiring caution when making direct comparisons. Total external debt includes obligations owed to non-residents by governments, central banks, commercial banks, private companies, and, in some countries, local subsidiaries of foreign corporations. Government external debt is a narrower measure covering liabilities that are directly serviced or guaranteed by the state. China remains an important bilateral creditor, particularly in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, while multilateral institutions provide much of the region’s infrastructure and public-sector financing. Kyrgyzstan: Rising Debt, but a Broader Creditor Base Kyrgyzstan’s public debt has risen alongside increased infrastructure spending and domestic borrowing, although its creditor base has become more diversified. A smaller share is now owed to a single bilateral lender, while multilateral financing and the domestic securities market have grown in importance. According to the Kyrgyz Ministry of Finance’s public debt data, the country’s total public debt stood at approximately $8.94 billion as of May 31, 2026, including around $6.1 billion in external obligations. The debt debate has also become part of President Sadyr Japarov’s broader economic narrative. In an interview with the Kabar national news agency published on October 8, 2025, Japarov said his government was continuing to borrow but argued that new loans were being directed toward commercial projects expected to repay their own financing rather than place an additional burden on the state budget. He also said Kyrgyzstan intended to repay its older debts by 2035. The International Monetary Fund said in its 2026 Article IV consultation that Kyrgyzstan had recorded strong economic growth for a fourth consecutive year, giving the authorities an opportunity to strengthen fiscal buffers and accelerate structural reforms. It also warned that the outlook remained exposed to significant downside risks. Kazakhstan: A Large External Debt, but a Different Risk Profile Kazakhstan accounts for the largest share of Central Asia’s external debt, but its headline figure can be misleading. Unlike several of its neighbors, the country’s external liabilities are dominated by corporate and intercompany borrowing rather...

2 weeks ago

Wildfire

Open Flames Extinguished at Semey Ormany as Crews Tackle Hotspots

Open flames at a 60-hectare forest fire in Kazakhstan’s Semey Ormany reserve had been extinguished by early July 17, although hundreds of personnel remained at the site tackling isolated smouldering hotspots. The fire prompted the evacuation of 190 children and 20 adults from a nearby summer camp. Police officers carried some of the youngest children to waiting vehicles as staff tried to prevent panic and move everyone out quickly. The blaze was reported on the morning of July 16 in the Kamyshenka forestry area of the reserve’s Borodulikha branch. By that afternoon, it had spread across an estimated 60 hectares. Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov sent both ministers responsible for the response to the Abai region to oversee the operation. As of 7 a.m. on July 17, the operation involved 769 personnel, 191 vehicles, and eight helicopters. Aircraft had completed 219 water drops, delivering 474 tons of water. Crews worked through the night to contain the fire and continued soaking smouldering areas after the open flames were extinguished. [caption id="attachment_52405" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Image: EcologyofQazaqstan[/caption] The Emergency Situations Ministry said the threat to Kamyshenka had been lifted. Ground teams and aircraft remained in place while the authorities worked toward full containment and continued monitoring the area. The fire broke out in the same reserve where 14 forestry workers died in June 2023. That blaze burned more than 60,000 hectares and caused damage estimated at 161.6 billion tenge. It also led to criminal cases and a major overhaul of the reserve’s equipment. In May 2024, a court sentenced the reserve’s acting director and the head of its Novoshulbinsk branch to seven years in prison for fire-safety violations that led to multiple deaths. The Abai regional appeals court upheld the convictions in August. Two other officials received two-year prison terms later that year, and the Prosecutor-General’s Office said in January 2025 that all criminal cases linked to the disaster had concluded. Kazakhstan has since invested in new wildfire equipment and monitoring. In June, the authorities unveiled a specialized firefighting vehicle developed after the 2023 disaster. By April, an AI early detection system using 37 cameras covered 510,000 hectares of Semey Ormany. Dangerous conditions persist across the region. Kazhydromet forecast temperatures of 35–37°C in the Abai region on July 18, with winds reaching 15–20 meters per second in the southwest. High fire danger was expected in the northwest and center of the region, with extreme fire danger in the south.

2 weeks ago

Electricity Shortages

Tajikistan Prepares for Another Winter Power Shortfall

Tajikistan is preparing for another autumn and winter in which electricity demand may outstrip supply. Network losses have fallen, and investment in hydropower continues, but officials say the seasonal imbalance between generation and consumption will persist. Mahmadumar Asozoda, chairman of state-owned power company Barki Tojik, said the imbalance would persist through the colder months. Asked whether electricity rationing would return, he did not rule it out. Tajikistan generates almost all of its electricity from hydropower, leaving supply tied to seasonal river flows. Output rises during the warmer months, when the country can meet domestic demand and export surplus electricity. In winter, river flows decline as electricity use increases for heating, creating a recurring shortfall. To cover part of the winter shortfall, Tajikistan plans to import electricity from Uzbekistan again. The two countries use a seasonal exchange: Uzbekistan supplies power in autumn and winter, and Tajikistan returns an equivalent volume during summer. Tajikistan imported 306 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) last winter, down from 350 million kWh a year earlier. Asozoda said the countries expect to sign a new agreement before the next autumn-winter season. Imports can ease the shortage, but they do not remove Tajikistan's dependence on hydropower or the winter drop in output. The seasonal arrangement with Uzbekistan gives Tajikistan access to power when domestic generation is lowest. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Kazakhstan has signed a 20-year agreement to buy electricity from Tajikistan. Deliveries are expected to depend on additional generating capacity at the Rogun Hydropower Plant. The Nurek Reservoir stood at 888.21 meters on July 13, but Energy and Water Resources Minister Daler Juma said Tajikistan was experiencing low water levels. The country has reduced electricity exports and is retaining more water in its reservoirs for winter. Losses in the electricity system fell during the first half of 2026. At Barki Tojik's generating facilities, losses were 0.32% of output, down 0.07 percentage points from a year earlier. Losses in high-voltage transmission networks fell to 2.96%, while distribution losses dropped from 17.93% to 12.42%. Barki Tojik generated 8.89 billion kWh during the period, 2.7 million kWh less than in the first half of 2025. Hydropower plants supplied 7.93 billion kWh, while thermal plants produced 964 million kWh. The utility also bought 2.7 billion kWh from independent producers in Tajikistan and abroad, with Sangtuda-1 supplying 1.48 billion kWh. Rogun and Sangtuda-2 supplied 667.2 million kWh and 474.2 million kWh, respectively. Demand continues to rise as Tajikistan's population grows and industrial production expands, President Emomali Rahmon said in December 2025. The World Bank expects Rogun to help meet domestic needs and reduce recurring winter cuts. Rahmon has said rationing should end in 2027, when the third generating unit is scheduled to enter service, although the World Bank projects full completion in 2033. For the coming winter, Tajikistan is conserving reservoir water and arranging imports from Uzbekistan, but Asozoda's comments leave open the possibility of renewed rationing.

2 weeks ago

Central Asia + Japan

Patient Capital, Fast Deals: Japan and South Korea Take Different Paths into Central Asia

Japan and South Korea have reached the same strategic conclusion: Central Asia matters to their economic security. Yet they are pursuing that goal through markedly different playbooks. In December 2025, Tokyo hosted the first leaders' summit of the "Central Asia plus Japan" Dialogue, 21 years after the format was launched. All five Central Asian presidents attended. Japan set a target of three trillion yen in business projects across the region over five years - roughly $19 billion at the time - while placing critical-mineral supply chains among the summit's priority areas. The bilateral announcements were equally significant. Uzbekistan presented a proposed project portfolio worth more than $12 billion and called for a joint investment platform to advance it. Kazakhstan and Japan announced a package of public- and private-sector agreements worth $3.7 billion. These included a long-term uranium contract and an offtake agreement under which Kazakhstan's Eurasian Resources Group would supply gallium to Mitsubishi Corporation RTM Japan. The timing was no accident. By May 2026, Chinese shipments to Japan of dysprosium and terbium remained close to zero, while exports of finished rare earth magnets to Japan fell 35% from the previous month. These materials are essential to high-performance magnets. For Tokyo, diversifying critical mineral supply is no longer a distant policy objective; it is an immediate industrial requirement. South Korea has been moving toward the same destination by a different route. During then-President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to Kazakhstan in 2024, the two countries signed a critical minerals memorandum allowing Korean companies to participate in the exploration and development of lithium, chromium, uranium, and rare earths. Seoul is now preparing to host the first Korea-Central Asia summit on September 16-17, 2026, elevating years of bilateral and multilateral engagement to the leaders' level. [caption id="attachment_52351" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Image: Japan Cabinet Public Affairs Office[/caption] Why Central Asia Counts Both Japan and South Korea are resource-poor manufacturing powers whose leading industries depend on secure supplies of imported minerals. South Korea imports more than 95% of the critical minerals it consumes. Japan received its own warning in 2010, when Chinese rare earth shipments were disrupted during a territorial dispute, and the pressure has returned in a sharper form in 2026. Central Asia cannot replace China in the short term, but it offers Tokyo and Seoul a credible route toward diversification. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan combine substantial mineral potential with governments eager to attract investment, technology, and new export markets. Kazakhstan is already a major producer of uranium and chromium, and has significant copper, titanium, and rare earth prospects. In April 2025, Kazakhstan announced the possible discovery of a rare earth deposit containing more than 20 million metric tons of resources. If further exploration confirms that estimate, the country could possess one of the world's largest rare earth resource bases. However, the distinction between a resource estimate and a usable supply chain is crucial. A discovery is not a producing mine, and a mine is not a processing industry. Exploration, environmental approvals, infrastructure, separation, refining, and...

2 weeks ago

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