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Central Asia

Kazakhstan

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  1. EBRD and Kazakhstan sign a five-year cooperation agreement in Riga
    EconomyBrief8 Jun

    EBRD and Kazakhstan sign a new five-year cooperation agreement in Riga

    The enhanced partnership framework runs to 2030. Private sector development, low-carbon transition, and Middle Corridor infrastructure are the three priorities.

  2. Kazakhstan · China · Technology · Finance
    EconomyBrief5 Jun

    Tencent is now a Kaspi.kz shareholder: what a $518 million bet on Kazakhstan means

    The deal closed in April. The implications are still unfolding. China's largest consumer tech company has a stake in Kazakhstan's dominant super app.

  3. EBRD Annual Meeting opens in Riga: what Central Asia is watching
    EconomyBrief5 Jun

    EBRD Annual Meeting opens in Riga: what Central Asia is watching

    The bank's 35th gathering runs June 5–7. The Governors' plenary is June 6. The updated Regional Economic Prospects drop June 7. Central Asian finance ministers are in the room.

  4. GITEX Came to Astana
    EconomyBrief4 Jun

    GITEX Came to Astana. Here Is What It Revealed About Central Asia's Tech Ambitions

    600+ exhibitors, 60 countries, 10,000 professionals over three days. Kazakhstan hosted the first GITEX Central Asia & Caucasus. The event closed June 4.

  5. Cyprus on the Middle Corridor: Tokayev recruits a Mediterranean shipping hub
    EconomyBrief4 Jun

    Cyprus on the Middle Corridor: Tokayev Recruits a Mediterranean Shipping Hub

    A Kazakhstan–Cyprus Business Forum in Astana. An EU–Kazakhstan transport seminar the same day. Both pointed at the same June 23 meeting.

  6. What the EBRD Is Bringing to Riga — and What Central Asia Should Watch
    AnalysisAnalysis3 Jun

    What the EBRD Is Bringing to Riga — and What Central Asia Should Watch

    The Bank's 35th Annual Meeting opens Thursday. For the region, three things matter: the new Regional Economic Prospects, the Aktau port investment, and the signal on Trans-Caspian financing.

  7. BTK goes full throttle: upgraded Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway enters operation
    EconomyBrief3 Jun

    BTK Goes Full Throttle: Upgraded Baku–Tbilisi–Kars Railway Enters Operation

    Capacity jumped from 1 to 5 million tonnes a year. The Middle Corridor's western spine is no longer a bottleneck.

  8. The SCO at 25
    AnalysisAnalysis2 Jun

    The SCO at 25: A Quarter-Century of Summits, Zero Kilometres of New Railway

    The anniversary session in St. Petersburg today will celebrate what the organisation has become. The Central Asian members are more interested in what it might finally build

  9. SPIEF 2026
    EconomyAnalysis2 Jun

    The Level of the Delegation Is the Message

    Central Asia is in St. Petersburg this week — but not equally. What each country’s roster says about where the relationship with Russia actually stands

  10. Kazakhstan sells 3.4 billion yuan in debut sovereign Panda bond
    China FactorBrief2 Jun

    Kazakhstan Sells 3.4 Billion Yuan in Debut Sovereign Panda Bond

    Demand was twice the supply. The Ministry of Finance calls it proof of Chinese investor confidence in Kazakhstani macroeconomics.

  11. Putin Ends Astana Visit
    PoliticsBrief1 Jun

    Putin Ends Astana Visit with Ukraine Warnings and EAEU Posturing

    The Russian president used the Eurasian Economic Forum platform for some of his sharpest public language on Ukraine in months — delivered from Kazakhstan’s capital

  12. Baku–Supsa Pipeline Returns
    EnergyBrief1 Jun

    Baku–Supsa Pipeline Returns: Kazakhstan Oil Joins the Rerouting

    A deal signed during Kobakhidze’s Baku visit on 18 May restores a dormant Caspian export route — and Astana is already looking at it

  13. Putin & Tokayev
    OpinionOpinion29 May

    The Tsar, the Steppe, and the Very Friendly Lunch

    What Vladimir Putin’s second state visit to Kazakhstan really said — and what everyone agreed not to say out loud

  14. EAEU Summit Convenes: Armenia in the Room, Pashinyan Not
    PoliticsBrief29 May

    EAEU Summit Convenes: Armenia in the Room, Pashinyan Not

    The Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meets today to discuss, for the first time, a member state's EU trajectory — with the Armenian elections nine days away

  15. Middle Corridor in Focus
    China FactorBrief27 May

    Tokayev and China's Zhao Leji Discuss Expanding Partnership — With Middle Corridor in Focus

    The call follows Kazakhstan's record $48.7bn trade with China in 2025 and comes as Beijing seeks to deepen its position in Kazakh infrastructure

  16. Kazakhstan Is a Key Partner in Nuclear Safety
    EnergyBrief27 May

    IAEA Chief: Kazakhstan Is a Key Partner in Nuclear Safety — and in the West's Uranium Strategy

    Grossi's Almaty visit underlines Kazatomprom's central role as Western buyers reduce exposure to Russian supply chains

  17. Kazakhstan's National Railway Eyes Triple Listing as Middle Corridor Bet
    EconomyBrief26 May

    Kazakhstan's National Railway Eyes Triple Listing as Middle Corridor Bet

    KTZ plans simultaneous IPO in London, Hong Kong and Astana — framing $10.4bn debt burden as a growth story

  18. Central Asia's Sanctions Week
    AnalysisAnalysis21 May

    Caught in the Net: Central Asia's Sanctions Week

    Kyrgyzstan shuts down 50 companies, Kazakhstan sues Rosatom, Georgia's elites move assets offshore — three stories, one pressure front

  19. Tokaev and Erdogan hold meeting in Astana
    Turkish FactorAnalysis14 May

    The Turkic Moment: What Erdogan's Astana Visit Reveals About Kazakhstan's Strategic Choices

    Thirteen agreements, a record trade surge, and a new medal — but Ankara and Astana are reading the partnership through different lenses