Economy
Business and investment
Tashkent's forum closes, and the number that matters is the conversion rate
TIIF-2026 wrapped on 18 June. The closing headline figure was still not public as this pack went out, but a more telling number did surface: about 35% of the deals signed at last year's forum are already in implementation.
Oyu Tolgoi exports resume a day after protesters blocked the road
Rio Tinto restarted copper concentrate shipments from its giant Mongolian mine on 18 June, a day after the Radical Reform movement blocked the export road. The protest lasted under a day. The grievance behind it has lasted years.
Tashkent's investment forum closes on its deal-making day
TIIF-2026 ends on 18 June with the Foreign Investors Council session that turns three days of pitches into commitments. The benchmark to beat is last year's $30.5 billion. The closing tally is expected later today.
Protesters block Oyu Tolgoi road and halt copper exports to China
Mongolia's Radical Reform movement blocked the main transport road from Rio Tinto's Oyu Tolgoi mine at 09:00 on 17 June, stopping copper concentrate trucks heading for the Chinese border. Rio's shares fell 1.6% in London. The dispute is about who gets how much from one of the world's largest copper deposits.
Uzbekistan's Wednesday: plenary stage, two supertankers, and the Azteca
In a single day Uzbekistan ran its largest investment pitch, watched the first Iranian oil leave through Hormuz since the blockade, and sent eleven men to play the World Cup at the Estadio Azteca. Each is a separate story. Lined up, they describe a country that is having a moment.
Mirziyoyev opens TIIF with an invitation and a framework; Germany and Tajikistan respond
Mirziyoyev told nearly 4,000 delegates Uzbekistan's doors will always remain open and framed investment as a partnership, not a capital transfer. Germany's president arrived for a bilateral focused on industry and labour. Tajikistan set a $2 billion trade target.
A good week to be pitching Central Asia
TIIF in Tashkent, the IsDB in Baku, and the Iran deal ticking toward Geneva have converged in a single week. The timing is not accidental. Central Asia has a window, and Uzbekistan in particular is spending it hard.
Islamic Development Bank opens its annual meetings in Baku with $2.8 billion in approvals
The IsDB's 51st annual gathering opened in Baku on 16 June under the theme of regional integration. The bank approved $2.8 billion in financing at its board meeting and signed trade finance agreements with Tajikistan on the sidelines.
Iran deal inches toward Friday's signing, Hormuz still barely moving
The US–Iran framework agreement is on track for a Geneva ceremony on 19 June, but the Strait of Hormuz remains close to shut. Three days of pre-implementation talks in Doha separate the region's energy markets from any real relief.
Mirziyoyev opens the investment forum his country has been building toward
The fifth Tashkent International Investment Forum opened its plenary on 17 June with €75 billion in projects on the table. Uzbekistan is pitching itself as Central Asia's investment hub in front of more than 8,300 delegates from 100 countries.
Two forums, one pitch: the region sells resilience as the war premium fades
In the same week, Tashkent and Baku are both courting global capital on a promise of stability and integration. The timing is telling: with the Iran war ending, the region has to win capital on fundamentals again, after a season when someone else’s crisis did the selling.
Baku opens the Islamic Development Bank’s annual meetings as Gulf money eyes the region
The Islamic Development Bank Group opened its 51st annual meetings in Baku on 16 June under the banner of regional integration. For Central Asia’s member states, it is a week to court Gulf and Islamic capital close to home.
Tashkent opens its biggest investment forum yet, with a new financial center as the prize
Uzbekistan opened the fifth Tashkent International Investment Forum on 16 June, with 3,423 delegates from 100 countries and a new common-law financial center at its core. The pitch is stability and reform, sold to capital that has grown choosier about where it goes.
Kyrgyzstan and Georgia reach for a Black Sea link as the China railway advances
On the first visit to Bishkek by a Georgian head of government, Prime Minister Kobakhidze and President Japarov agreed to connect the new China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway to Georgia’s Black Sea ports. The bet is that the Middle Corridor outlasts the war that briefly made it fashionable.
Kyrgyzstan extends its timber export ban, eyeing Russian re-exports
Bishkek prolonged its ban on exporting timber outside the Eurasian Economic Union for another six months, a recurring move aimed partly at blocking the re-export of duty-free Russian wood.
Tajikistan is the EBRD’s fastest-growing regional economy, with one big catch
The EBRD’s new report puts Tajikistan among the region’s fastest growers, with first-quarter investment up 34 percent on the back of Rogun and state spending. Its weak point is the familiar one: dependence on Russian remittances.
Kazakhstan touts its titanium and pledges $470 million for exploration
On the sidelines of the Astana mining congress, officials said Kazakh titanium supplies about a fifth of the global aerospace market and pledged some 470 million dollars for geological exploration through 2028.
The US and Central Asia open a critical minerals dialogue in Astana
American and Central Asian officials gathered in Astana this week to turn last year’s framework deals into actual mines and processing plants. US Under Secretary Jacob Helberg is there. So are Chinese exhibitors.
Turkmenistan and Georgia push trade and transit ties in Tbilisi
Turkmen and Georgian officials met in Tbilisi on 10 June to expand trade, investment and transit, with Georgian Railway and Black Sea ports at the centre of the talks.
Tajikistan breaks ground on an IT hub and a regional AI centre in Dushanbe
Tajikistan laid the foundation on 9 June for IT Hub Dushanbe, a complex housing an IT park, a business centre and a regional AI centre. The project is fronted by Rustam Emomali, the president’s son and presumed successor.