Pannier and Hillard’s Spotlight on Central Asia: New Episode Coming Sunday
As Managing Editor of The Times of Central Asia, I’m delighted that, in partnership with the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs, we are the home of the Spotlight on Central Asia podcast. Chaired by seasoned broadcasters Bruce Pannier of RFE/RL’s long-running Majlis podcast and Michael Hillard of The Red Line, each fortnightly instalment will take you on a deep dive into the latest news, developments, security issues, and social trends across an increasingly pivotal region. This week, the team will be covering Turkmenistan's changing foreign policy and the preservation of stability at home. Special guest: Luca Anceschi, Professor of Eurasian Studies at the University of Glasgow and the author of several books on Central Asian politics and foreign policy.
Lithuania Closures Highlight Limits of Central Asia’s Migration Shift Away From Russia
Lithuania will close external service provider centers that accept migration documents in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan on November 1. A day before the announcement, Lithuania’s Migration Department said external service centers in Central Asia had stopped accepting new applications from residents seeking to come to the country for work after receiving a very high volume of employment applications. Lithuania had also exhausted its annual quota for foreign workers earlier in September. Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas said the November 1 closures were prompted by security risks and the threat of terrorism. The centers act as intermediaries, accepting applications for Lithuanian residence permits and initiating migration procedures Lithuania’s State Security Department has previously reported identifying individual members of the Central Asian community with radical views or links to terrorism. In its annual threat assessment, the agency also said that Islamic State Khorasan Province, or ISIS-K, has been recruiting followers within Central Asian diaspora communities in Europe. However, the agency said it considers it unlikely that Lithuania itself will become a direct target for Islamist terrorists in the near term. The security decision comes as Lithuania has also reached its annual foreign-worker quota. The country set a quota of 24,706 foreign workers for 2026, which was officially declared exhausted on September 7. Once the quota is reached, a temporary residence permit based on employment remains available if the worker meets a higher salary threshold or belongs to certain high-value professions that are in shortage and meets the separate salary requirement for those professions. As of September 1, nearly 227,000 foreign nationals held valid residence permits in Lithuania. They included around 13,000 Uzbek citizens and 7,400 Tajik citizens. Demand for Lithuania has grown alongside broader interest in the European labor market. Between 2018 and 2024, the number of valid EU work permits held by Uzbek citizens increased roughly eightfold, those held by Kyrgyz citizens more than sevenfold, and those held by Tajik citizens more than fourteenfold. Poland has become one of the main destinations, Germany is expanding organized recruitment, and the UK has become an important source of seasonal work, while labor mobility programs are also emerging elsewhere in Europe. Conditions are also changing in Russia, which for decades has absorbed most of the region’s labor migrants. Following the March 2024 Crocus City Hall terrorist attack, the authorities tightened migration rules, expanded registration requirements, and introduced greater digital monitoring of foreign workers. In the first half of 2026, citizens of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan made around 1.9 million entries into Russia declaring work as the purpose of their trip, down from more than 2.3 million a year earlier. The decline does not mean that there is no longer dependence on the Russian labor market. In the first quarter of 2026, Russia accounted for 72.4% of cross-border remittances to Uzbekistan. In Kyrgyzstan, a March 2025 estimate put the number of citizens living abroad at roughly 600,000; around 380,000 were registered with Russian migration authorities at the end of 2024. For Central Asian migrants, European migration is on a far smaller scale. In 2024, Central Asian citizens accounted for only around 1.5% of valid EU work permits issued to third-country nationals. Uzbekistan was the region’s largest source of labor for the EU; its citizens held nearly 38,000 valid permits and received more than 19,000 new ones. The way people find work also differs. Many Central Asians have traditionally traveled to Russia independently and looked for jobs after arriving. Visa-free travel, the Russian language, direct transport links, and established diaspora communities lower the barriers to entry. Kazakh and Kyrgyz citizens can work in Russia without a work permit under Eurasian Economic Union rules, though hostility toward Central Asian migrants has increased markedly. In the EU, the journey more often begins with a job vacancy. Employers select candidates in advance, while some professions require language skills and recognition of qualifications. Germany already uses this model with Uzbekistan, where candidates are recruited for specific jobs. In 2025, 1,755 Uzbek citizens legally started working in Germany, and in January 2026 Uzbekistan’s Migration Agency advertised more than 500 new vacancies alongside free German-language courses. A study by the Prague Process Migration Observatory found that the most common sectors include construction, healthcare, tourism, and IT. Among the main challenges identified by the authors are the recognition of qualifications, long-term sustainability, and support for workers returning home. A separate ICMPD Migration Outlook said large-scale increases in migration from Central Asia to the EU were unlikely in 2026 under current admission rules, although it expected gradual expansion as new programs and bilateral agreements develop. For Central Asian workers, however, the search for jobs abroad is not limited to Europe. Uzbekistan is expanding organized employment programs in South Korea and Japan. South Korea operates the state-run Employment Permit System, or EPS; since 2007, nearly 50,000 Uzbek citizens have found jobs through the program. Korean employers are now also involved in training workers directly in Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan works with employers in the Gulf states. In 2026, licenses for overseas recruitment covered destinations including Turkey and the Gulf countries. Tajikistan is also looking for employment opportunities in the Gulf states and East Asia. Each labor market has its own specialization. The United Kingdom primarily recruits seasonal workers. Germany hires workers for specific occupations. South Korea uses a state-run system to select foreign workers: in 2026, Korean employers continued selecting Uzbek citizens through the SPAS electronic database. In the Gulf states, vacancies are available across sectors including construction and services. As the geography of migration changes, so do preparations for departure. Dushanbe has a Migrant Resource Centre where prospective migrants receive information about legal migration channels and help with preparations for departure. Kyrgyzstan has opened similar centers in Osh and Bishkek, with the Bishkek center starting operations in May 2026. A similar facility has operated in Tashkent since August 2025. Checking vacancies, signing contracts, and completing language and professional training are increasingly taking place before workers leave home. Lithuania’s closures show that Central Asia’s migration shift away from Russia will not be straightforward. New destinations are opening, but they come with tighter entry rules and fewer informal routes into work.
At the UN, Mirziyoyeva Champions “Human Dignity” as Central Asia Seeks a Greater Voice
Uzbekistan called for a more effective United Nations and sought support for its Security Council candidacy during the General Assembly’s September 23 debate. Delivering the national address, presidential administration chief Saida Mirziyoyeva urged countries to work together despite deepening international divisions.
“Our choice is human dignity,” said Mirziyoyeva. “Openness does not mean weakness.”
Speaking in Uzbek at the Assembly’s 81st session in New York, she argued that a country’s strength should be judged by its ability to protect people’s rights and interests. The message offered a basis for cooperation beyond competing geopolitical camps, with particular emphasis on young people’s opportunities to study and shape their futures.
[caption id="attachment_56825" align="aligncenter" width="1774"]
Image: Saida Mirziyoyeva/Telegram[/caption]
A Larger Role at the UN
Mirziyoyeva sought support for Uzbekistan’s candidacy for a nonpermanent Security Council seat in 2035–2036. She also highlighted the country’s forthcoming chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement in 2027, presenting it as an opportunity to widen dialogue during a period of international tension.
She backed the secretary-general’s UN80 reform initiative and an expanded Security Council, arguing that the organization needed greater capacity to prevent conflict and implement its decisions. Her appeal was for international rules that apply consistently, rather than changing with the interests of powerful states.
That concern also ran through Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov’s address, although he focused on unilateral sanctions and their impact on developing countries. The two speeches approached the issue differently, but both sought stronger multilateral protections for states with limited influence over the restrictions and conflicts affecting them.
Kyrgyzstan has already secured its first Security Council seat for 2027–2028, giving Bishkek a vote on the sanctions and security decisions Japarov criticized.
Afghanistan and Regional Cooperation
Mirziyoyeva pointed to improving relations among neighboring Central Asian states as evidence that political will can help resolve longstanding disputes. She said disagreements over borders and water had increasingly given way to cooperation, with countries coming to see one another as partners.
She applied the same argument to Afghanistan, warning against treating the country solely as a source of danger or abandoning its people to their difficulties. Her emphasis was on giving Afghans the prospect of peaceful development.
Kazakhstan’s UN agenda also extends to Afghanistan through the regional Sustainable Development Goals center in Almaty, established to serve Central Asia and Afghanistan. Alongside its longstanding nuclear disarmament priorities, Kazakhstan is promoting cooperation on water security and has proposed an international water organization within the UN system.
Measuring Progress in People’s Lives
Mirziyoyeva linked her foreign policy message to Uzbekistan’s domestic reforms, citing economic growth and wider access to education. She said the economy had expanded from $50 billion to $147 billion over a decade and that poverty had fallen to 4%, presenting the figures as evidence of improvements in living standards.
“The true value of reforms is reflected in people’s lives. Especially in children’s lives,” she said.
She outlined forthcoming discussions with the UN Population Fund on demographic stability and human capital, and an international gathering in Samarkand in October focused on children’s well-being. She also cited stronger penalties for domestic violence and support for women’s entrepreneurship as elements of the government’s reform program.
Her account of technological change followed the same theme. She called for artificial intelligence to be developed with safeguards for human rights and accountability, placing improvements to people’s lives at the center of its use.
Water, Climate and Access to Markets
The Aral Sea provided the speech’s clearest warning about the consequences of policy failure. Mirziyoyeva described its destruction as the result of decades of damaging decisions and pointed to planting on the dried seabed and water-saving technologies as part of Uzbekistan’s response. She reiterated the goal of raising renewables’ share of electricity generation to 54% by 2030.
Water diplomacy remains a wider regional priority. Tajikistan is preparing to host the 2028 UN Water Conference in Dushanbe, while Japarov has proposed a UN-backed fund to preserve Issyk-Kul, with a promised $10 million Kyrgyz contribution.
Turkmenistan, meanwhile, has been elected to chair the Group of Landlocked Developing Countries for 2027–2028. The bureau’s composition was scheduled for endorsement at a September 24 ministerial meeting in New York. Its priorities include transport and energy connectivity, issues that bear directly on Central Asia’s ability to reach overseas markets.
Mirziyoyeva’s appeal reflected a concern shared across Central Asia: countries exposed to conflicts beyond their borders want a greater say in how those conflicts are addressed. Winning a Security Council seat would give Tashkent a direct role in those decisions.
What 20 Animal Teeth Reveal About Medieval Herding Along Uzbekistan’s Silk Road
Most histories of the Silk Roads follow merchants and precious cargo, while the daily work of herders rarely enters the record. At Kafir Kala, a fortified settlement about 7.5 miles southeast of ancient Samarkand in present-day Uzbekistan, researchers examined 20 excavated molars for chemical traces of what livestock ate and where they fed. The analysis suggests that several sheep may have grazed in foothills to the south during summer and eaten millet or wild grasses in winter, while goats appear to have stayed closer to the settlement. Before Arab forces conquered Samarkand in 712, Kafir Kala’s citadel had an administrative role. After a major fire around that time and a brief abandonment, residents converted earlier structures into homes with hearths and domed ovens. The molars came from this later occupation, dating from the early eighth to the 12th century. Excavations recovered 6,009 animal remains from the citadel’s pre-Islamic and Islamic layers, nearly 80% of them from sheep or goats. The analysis was published in June in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. The work formed part of the Uzbek-Italian Archaeological Project, a long-standing collaboration between the University of Bologna and the Samarkand Institute of Archaeology, co-directed by Simone Mantellini and Samaretdin Suyunov. Proteins preserved in the teeth allowed the researchers to identify 12 as sheep and four as goats; three could be classified only as ruminants, and one could not be identified. They then analyzed chemical changes in enamel that had formed over about a year. Elena Armaroli, one of the paper’s authors, is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of the Basque Country and an adjunct researcher at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. “Sheep showed greater variability, probably reflecting access to a wider range of food and water sources, including open water,” she told The Times of Central Asia. Armaroli interpreted the pattern as possible transhumance, the seasonal movement of livestock between pastures. Many pasture plants are C3 plants, while millet and some wild grasses are C4 plants. The names refer to two ways plants use carbon dioxide to make food: the first molecule produced has three carbon atoms in one case, four in the other. The two kinds of plants leave different carbon traces in the teeth of animals that eat them. Some sheep’s teeth suggest summer grazing in the Karatyube foothills south of Kafir Kala and a different diet in winter. Oxygen values helped the researchers place the change in season. Not every sheep fit the pattern. The goats’ results were more consistent with a year-round diet of local plants and little movement away from Kafir Kala. Armaroli offered one possible reason for moving sheep. “Sheep, although generally more selective in their diet, are considered more adaptable and may be better able to exploit whatever food and water resources are available when grazing conditions are limited.” “The use of different herding strategies may have been related to the different roles that sheep and goats played in the local economy and to the different products they provided,” she explained. “It may also have helped reduce the risks associated with relying on a single species.” Asked whether millet might explain the winter signal, Armaroli replied, “Yes, millet is a serious possibility.” It had been cultivated and eaten in Central Asia since at least the Early Bronze Age, but certain wild grasses could leave the same trace. The teeth alone cannot identify which plant produced the winter signal. Strontium, an element in tooth enamel that reflects local geology, offered a way to check whether the animals had moved. The researchers compared strontium in the teeth with that in plants from around Kafir Kala and the Karatyube foothills, but the signatures overlapped, so movement between the two areas could not be confirmed. Sheep kept nearby and fed different plants with the seasons could have left a similar record. Three animals, including two sheep, fell outside the full comparison range. Armaroli said the plant samples may not capture the full local range because some cultivated fields could not be sampled. Sediment mixing and irrigation may also have blurred the chemical differences between places. The three animals may have come from nearby pastures not included in the comparison, although values from the Karatyube foothills and western Tajikistan were relatively similar. “Moreover, Kafir Kala’s strategic location along the major Silk Roads local routes makes the possibility that some animals came from more distant areas through exchange or movement a plausible one.” Initial interviews with shepherds around Samarkand recorded a preference for sheep and spring and summer movement followed by winter foddering. Armaroli described the conversations as a useful point of comparison, not the main basis for interpreting the archaeological and isotopic evidence. “Of course, we need to be cautious when comparing present-day practices with those of the medieval period. Modern pastoralism has developed within a very different social, economic and environmental context. However, contemporary practices can still help us understand what forms of animal management are possible in this environment and can provide useful hypotheses that can then be tested against the archaeological evidence.” Only four molars were identified as coming from goats, and more teeth and regional strontium data will be needed to test the interpretations. Even so, the teeth reveal how people at Kafir Kala may have managed grazing and winter feed as part of Silk Road life.
ICTWEEK Opens in Tashkent With Focus on AI and Foreign Investment
Thousands of technology executives, investors, startup founders, and government representatives have gathered in Tashkent for ICTWEEK Uzbekistan 2026, as Uzbekistan seeks to expand its technology sector and attract more foreign companies.
The four-day event opened on September 22 at the Central Asian Expo Uzbekistan (CAEx) exhibition center and runs through September 25 under the theme “Land of Startups.” Organizers expect around 25,000 visitors. More than 2,000 participants from abroad, representing 70 countries, have already arrived in Uzbekistan to attend the event, according to Rustamjon Ozodjonov, head of global marketing at IT Park, Uzbekistan’s national technology hub, which supports startups and operates a residency program for IT companies.
[video width="3840" height="2160" mp4="https://timesca.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/document_5303121082444720559.mp4"][/video]
“As part of ICTWEEK, we expect B2B meetings, international forums, agreements, and strategic panel sessions,” Ozodjonov told The Times of Central Asia.
Ozodjonov said young companies are presenting their projects to potential investors and partners at a dedicated Startup Alley.
Artificial intelligence was one of the themes of the opening ceremony. The Bravo Orchestra first performed under the direction of an AI conductor named Timur, before conductor Alibek Kabdurakhmanov took over.
Uzbekistan’s Minister of Digital Technologies Sherzod Shermatov used the experiment to question the role humans will play in the economy as AI develops.
“Everyone is thinking about what will happen with AI. What will we humans do? I hope this conversation will be real and that people will still remain in demand,” Shermatov told the audience.
He linked the issue to Uzbekistan’s young and growing population. The minister said he could not imagine a future in which “everything will be AI” and people are no longer needed.
“The most important asset we have is human capital,” he added.
Shermatov pointed to the expansion of higher education and digital skills programs, including One Million Coders and training in Python and artificial intelligence. He said Uzbekistan is also sending more young people to study at leading universities abroad.
Another goal of ICTWEEK is to connect young professionals and startups directly with international companies and investors. Shermatov encouraged participants to learn foreign languages, particularly English, and use the event to find international partners.
Uzbekistan is also seeking to attract more foreign technology companies.
“More than a thousand foreign-owned companies are already residents of IT Park,” the minister said.
IT Park is also expanding its network of overseas offices and representatives, including in the United States, Germany, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and China.
ICTWEEK also featured Enterprise Uzbekistan, a special legal jurisdiction for international technology companies.
“Enterprise Uzbekistan is a territory based on the common law of England and Wales and provides a special jurisdiction for global technology companies,” Sultonmurod Rasulov, head of strategic partnerships at Enterprise Uzbekistan, told The Times of Central Asia. “Our goal is to create one of the best jurisdictions in the world, modeled on international financial centers but designed specifically for global technology.”
According to Rasulov, Enterprise Uzbekistan aims to create a predictable legal environment for international technology companies and allow them to conduct business from Uzbekistan using legal mechanisms familiar to international investors.
One area of focus will be artificial intelligence regulation. Rasulov noted that technology is developing significantly faster than traditional legal systems.
“AI is becoming very popular now. It is growing, and technology is developing very quickly compared with the legal system, which is more fixed,” he said.
Enterprise Uzbekistan plans to establish a regulatory sandbox where AI developers will be able to test products and services under a special legal regime.
The constitutional law establishing the International Center for Digital Technologies, known as Enterprise Uzbekistan, was signed on August 19, 2026. According to Rasulov, the new system will begin operating in early 2027, when the center will be able to admit its first participants.
“Starting in February, we will be able to accept the first wave of residents or participants in the International Center for Digital Technologies, Enterprise Uzbekistan,” he said.
ICTWEEK runs through September 25. The program includes events for startups and venture investors, the Enterprise Uzbekistan Summit, an artificial intelligence ethics forum, the Startup World Cup, technology exhibitions, business meetings, and industry sessions.
Uzbekistan Opens AI Data Centers and Signs Amazon Satellite Internet Deal
Uzbekistan’s state telecoms operator Uztelecom is expanding the country’s digital infrastructure with two new data centers, a satellite internet deal with Amazon, and a high-speed network designed to move large amounts of data between computing facilities. The projects were presented on September 22, the first day of ICTWEEK Uzbekistan 2026, the country’s largest technology week, which runs in Tashkent through September 25. [video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://timesca.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/document_5303308046666082166.mp4"][/video] The new data centers have opened in Bukhara and Kokand. They operate as part of the UzCloud platform and provide computing capacity to both government agencies and businesses. The facilities have servers with graphics processing units (GPUs) for training and running artificial intelligence models, machine learning, processing large datasets, and video analytics. Bukhara and Kokand are both more than 300 kilometers from Tashkent. Distributing computing capacity across different regions makes it possible to shift workloads to another site in the event of a failure. The designs of both data centers have received Tier III certification from the Uptime Institute. This confirms that the designs allow maintenance without interrupting operations. “We are expanding access to computing resources and artificial intelligence capabilities for the government and businesses,” Umar Izbasarov, Director of Uztelecom’s Department for Advanced Development and Investment Projects, said at ICTWEEK. Uztelecom has also signed an agreement with Amazon Leo, Amazon’s satellite internet network. UZ-SAT, a subsidiary of the Uzbek operator, will act as an authorized distributor of its services in Uzbekistan. Amazon Leo is a low-Earth-orbit satellite network being built out to include more than 3,000 satellites and designed to provide connectivity in areas where terrestrial networks are difficult or expensive to build. According to Uztelecom, its infrastructure currently covers 96% of Uzbekistan’s settlements, while its fiber-optic network extends for more than 378,000 kilometers. The satellite network is expected to complement it in remote areas and at industrial sites. “The partnership with Amazon Leo will allow us to expand connectivity in areas of the country where the use of traditional terrestrial infrastructure is limited,” UZ-SAT CEO Bakhrom Azimov said. Amazon’s satellite network would add another connectivity option for remote areas alongside fiber-optic and mobile networks. The announcement does not specify when services will become widely available to customers in Uzbekistan. The third project concerns how data is transferred between data centers. Uztelecom, together with Japan’s Toyota Tsusho, NTT DOCOMO BUSINESS, and NEC, is launching a pilot All-Photonics Network, or APN. The technology keeps data traveling as light for more of its journey, rather than repeatedly converting it into electrical signals. This can make connections faster and more energy-efficient. In the first phase, APN is expected to connect two Uztelecom data centers in the Tashkent region. The planned link is designed to provide bandwidth of up to 800 Gbps and latency of less than one millisecond. In 2027-2028, the network is expected to expand to the data centers in Bukhara and Kokand. “The growing needs of Uzbekistan’s economy require new data centers and network technologies capable of connecting them into a single high-performance system,” Izbasarov said. APN is part of the IOWN, or Innovative Optical and Wireless Network, concept developed by Japan’s NTT. The aim is to move very large volumes of data quickly and with lower energy use, which could be useful for cloud computing and artificial intelligence. The new projects come as Uzbekistan is rapidly expanding its computing infrastructure. Much larger data center projects have already been announced in the country, including plans by Saudi Arabia’s DataVolt to develop facilities with a combined capacity of up to 500 MW, with planned investment of $3 billion.
Japanese Investment Tackles Uzbekistan’s Aral Sea Crisis
Until recently, the rehabilitation center in Akmangit, a settlement in Karakalpakstan, relied on sewage trucks to remove wastewater. Although it receives about 3,500 patients with disabilities each year, the center had no sewer system. In March 2025, a Johkasou system, a compact Japanese unit that treats wastewater biologically, was installed at the center. The treated water can now be reused for irrigation instead of being hauled away. Similar systems were installed at a kindergarten and a specialized school. In their first four months of operation, the three units treated more than 16,400 cubic meters of wastewater. Although these installations are small relative to Karakalpakstan’s water and sanitation needs, they illustrate Japan’s approach in Uzbekistan’s Aral Sea region through local pilot projects tied to longer-term development programs. During an October 2025 visit, a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) delegation and a representative of the Embassy of Japan in Uzbekistan saw residents using the program to introduce drip irrigation and expand small businesses. A smoked-fish producer in Samanbay employed 12 people. Since 2020, Japan has funded trials of water-saving and wastewater-treatment technologies in the region, supported climate-resilient agriculture, and introduced local business-development models. These projects draw less attention than Central Asia’s uranium, critical-mineral, energy, and transport deals. In Karakalpakstan, however, Japan has pursued influence through smaller projects intended to remain in place for years. Water and Agriculture Projects In September 2023, Japan provided $2 million for a UNDP program promoting climate-resilient agriculture in four districts of Karakalpakstan. By the program’s conclusion in 2025, more than 7,700 residents had gained access to clean drinking water. The Johkasou units were among the program’s most visible elements. Developed in Japan in the late 1940s amid sanitation problems, the decentralized systems offer an alternative where centralized sewer networks are impractical. Their treated water can be reused for irrigation. The program tested another Japanese technology on the dried Aral Sea bed. In 2024, UNDP planted 1,000 saxaul seedlings using a superabsorbent polymer (SAP) that retains moisture around plant roots. Saxaul, a desert shrub or small tree, helps stabilize sand and limit the spread of salt and dust from the former seabed. The 1,000 seedlings formed part of UNDP’s Green Aral Sea initiative. Between 2020 and March 2025, the program planted 823,000 trees across 658.2 hectares. In February 2026, Japan and UNDP launched a $4.6 million project scheduled to run through 2028. Its work includes irrigation rehabilitation, digital water monitoring, wastewater reuse, and desalination powered by renewable energy. More than 1,000 farmers and households are expected to benefit. Local Business Models Japan has paired these technologies with models for local economic development. One is the One Village, One Product Movement (OVOP), which began in Japan’s Oita Prefecture in 1979. Under the model, communities develop marketable products based on local resources and skills. In Karakalpakstan, OVOP has been applied to agriculture, handicrafts, and food processing, including the small businesses visited by the delegation in October 2025. Another Japanese approach is kaizen ("continuous improvement"). It seeks to improve production and management through a series of incremental changes rather than an abrupt overhaul. In October 2024, representatives from Uzbekistan traveled to Japan to study OVOP, kaizen, water-saving agriculture, and Johkasou production in Chiba Prefecture. Project coordinators visited Kyrgyzstan in May 2025 to study its experience with OVOP. With support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Kyrgyzstan had developed the initiative since 2006 and designated it a national project in December 2022. Kyrgyzstan’s experience illustrates how Japan has adapted the same local-development model across Central Asia. Water Projects in Kazakhstan Japan’s programs directly tied to the Aral Sea crisis remain concentrated in Uzbekistan, but it has financed other water projects in Kazakhstan. In March 2025, Japan and UNDP launched a $2 million project to improve dam safety and flood preparedness in Kazakhstan. It includes dam monitoring and the development of early-warning systems. In May 2026, Japan and UNDP launched a separate $3 million program addressing falling water levels in the Caspian Sea. It will improve monitoring in affected areas and support cooperation among Caspian littoral states. Scale and Visibility These projects received far less attention than the first Central Asia plus Japan Dialogue (CA+JAD) summit, held in Tokyo in December 2025. Wastewater systems and saxaul trials are less likely to attract headlines than uranium contracts or multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects. Japan’s role in Uzbekistan is not confined to small grants. In 2015, JICA signed an ¥11.87 billion loan, valued at about $100 million at the time, to help rehabilitate the Amu-Bukhara irrigation system, a network of canals and pumping stations that carries water from the Amu Darya toward Bukhara. Karakalpakstan’s smaller projects follow a consistent model in which Japanese technologies and management practices are adapted to local conditions and implemented through UNDP, government institutions, and communities. In the Aral Sea region, Japan’s presence may ultimately be judged less by ceremony than by whether these projects endure.
Central Asia at the UN: Iran Threats and Sanctions Disputes
U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to “annihilate” Iran brought the vulnerability of Central Asia’s southern trade routes into focus as the UN General Assembly’s general debate opened in New York. Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov challenged unilateral sanctions, while diplomacy over Ukraine raised the prospect of a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure.
For landlocked Central Asia, these developments carry consequences far beyond the speeches. Iranian ports provide access to overseas markets, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan rely heavily on fuel from Russian refineries, and restrictions on international payments can complicate commerce even where transport links remain intact.
Iran and Access to the Sea
Addressing the General Assembly on September 22, Trump presented a choice between reaching an agreement with Tehran and carrying out his threat to “annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly.” He also predicted that an agreement could follow the U.S. midterm elections, while defending U.S. military action against Iran.
[caption id="attachment_56719" align="aligncenter" width="1774"]
Image: UN[/caption]
That framing leaves Central Asian countries facing costs regardless of their position on Tehran. Iran provides overland connections to ports serving the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. Damage to Iranian infrastructure can therefore disrupt trade between Central Asia and countries that are not parties to the conflict.
Uzbekistan’s exposure illustrates the distinction. According to its Ministry of Economy and Finance, goods worth $3.9 billion entered Uzbekistan through Iran in 2025. That represented about 9% of total imports, including approximately $1 billion in technological equipment. Uzbek exports transiting Iran were worth another $1.4 billion.
Those figures measure transit, not simply purchases from Iranian suppliers. Pressure intended to isolate Tehran can also obstruct Uzbekistan’s access to equipment and customers elsewhere.
Kazakhstan has also sought a larger southern outlet. A 27-year agreement provides for a Kazakh transport and logistics terminal at Shahid Rajaee Port in Bandar Abbas. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Trade says the project would expand access to Gulf markets and destinations in Asia and East Africa.
The risks differ by port. Bandar Abbas faces the Strait of Hormuz, while Chabahar sits on the Gulf of Oman, outside the strait. Both depend on Iranian infrastructure and remain exposed to the wider conflict and sanctions environment. Developing alternative routes does not make these southern connections dispensable.
Nor is exposure uniform. Kazakh officials have emphasized the limited existing role of Persian Gulf shipments in the country’s logistics. For Astana, the threat concerns future diversification as well as current trade. For Uzbekistan, the transit figures show a substantial flow already at risk.
Tajikistan, meanwhile, has sought 2.55 million tons of Iranian crude oil and fuel following shortages in Russian supplies. Its search for an alternative leaves Dushanbe exposed to two conflicts, with attacks on Russian refineries disrupting its established supplier, and the conflict involving Iran threatening a potential replacement.
Japarov Challenges Sanctions
In his General Assembly address, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov argued that unilateral sanctions harm smaller developing states and can become instruments of political pressure.
“The right to impose sanctions against a particular state should, in our view, belong exclusively to the United Nations,” he said, calling for advance scrutiny of sanctions and regular reviews of their consequences.
[caption id="attachment_56718" align="aligncenter" width="1774"]
Image: Kyrgyz presidential service[/caption]
Japarov also thanked Trump for cutting funding to nongovernmental organizations, claiming the move had reduced interference in developing countries.
The issue of sanctions carried into his September 22 meeting with European Council President António Costa. According to the Kyrgyz presidential administration’s account, Japarov expressed concern over restrictions despite regular exchanges with European officials. He cited a May 2026 order for 50 companies to cease activity after the authorities identified heightened sanctions risks.
His message combined opposition to unilateral restrictions with an effort to demonstrate that Bishkek was responding to compliance concerns.
Japarov’s remarks followed his U.S. business meetings. Those talks concerned access to international finance and railway equipment, highlighting the practical relationships Bishkek wants to expand while contesting Western sanctions policy.
Japarov also proposed a UN-backed fund to preserve Issyk-Kul, saying Kyrgyzstan was ready to contribute $10 million from its budget. He linked the initiative to climate pressures on the lake.
Ukraine’s Energy Offer
Separately, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said after meeting Trump that Kyiv was ready for an energy ceasefire if Russia reciprocated. The offer concerned halting attacks on energy facilities. It did not establish that Moscow had accepted the terms or that a functioning ceasefire would come into place.
Any sustained reduction in refinery attacks could ease one source of uncertainty for Central Asian fuel importers. Russian diesel deliveries recovered sharply in August after a summer slump. Kyrgyzstan received more than 72,000 tons, against 4,400 tons in July. Tajikistan’s deliveries rose from 16,000 to more than 56,000 tons.
However, the rebound did not remove their dependence on Russian supply decisions. A ceasefire covering energy infrastructure could reduce physical disruption, but would not itself guarantee export volumes or lower prices.
Other Regional Initiatives
Uzbekistan’s delegation, led by presidential administration chief Saida Mirziyoyeva, pursued commercial discussions alongside the UN proceedings. Her September 23 meeting with Google Vice President Karan Bhatia included talks on introducing YouTube monetization in Uzbekistan.
Mirziyoyeva is due to deliver Uzbekistan’s national address on September 23.
New partnerships can widen Central Asia’s options, but they cannot quickly replace Iranian transit routes or Russian fuel supplies. Decisions made in New York could therefore affect whether Central Asian countries can keep trade moving and secure reliable fuel supplies.
Short Stories from the Region
