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Moody’s lifts Kyrgyzstan to B2 with a stable outlook, the cabinet saysMongolia’s budget revision goes back to committee as the ruling party sets 20 OctoberTajikistan plans an 800 MW Hutalon dam between Rogun and Nurek at $2.25 billionGeorgia’s 2027 budget reaches committee at 37.56 billion lari and a 2.5% deficit

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

BTK goes full throttle: the 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.

The SCO at 25
China FactorAnalysis2 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

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

The First Country: what happened after the EU made an example of Kyrgyzstan
PoliticsBrief2 Jun

The first country: what happened after the EU made an example of Kyrgyzstan

Brussels activated a tool it had never used. Six weeks later, Bishkek shut down 50 companies. The experiment is being watched across the region.

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.

Oyu Tolgoi
EconomyAnalysis1 Jun

Mongolia vs Rio Tinto: the copper mine at the centre of the world

Oyu Tolgoi is producing record copper, heading for fourth place globally, and generating a political crisis. Ulaanbaatar wants a renegotiation. Rio Tinto cannot afford to walk away.

 Nikol Pashinyan Vladimir Putin
PoliticsBrief1 Jun

The train to Brussels runs on Russian rails

Armenia wants to end Moscow’s monopoly on its railways, electricity and gas. The 7 June election will determine whether it can

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

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