Economy
Business and investment
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.
Kazakhstan approves a national AI and digitalisation strategy to 2029
President Tokayev signed the Digital Qazaqstan strategy on 9 June, a plan to push artificial intelligence across the economy by 2029. It is the centrepiece of the year he declared the Year of Digitalisation and AI.
Remittances remain Central Asia’s clearest stability gauge
The fastest read on Central Asian stability is the money migrants wire home from Russia. In Tajikistan it equals almost half of GDP, which makes the ruble the region’s quiet budget line.
Central Asia’s critical minerals race: the deals outpace the mines
Central Asia keeps signing minerals deals with the West; China keeps taking the minerals. The gap now is bankability, power and processing.
Trans-Afghan railway advances as Russian Railways joins the feasibility study
The railway is sold as Central Asia’s own outlet to the sea. Its newest study partner is Russian Railways.
Kazakhstan and the EU line up a Middle Corridor push before a 23 June meeting
Container traffic through Kazakhstan jumped by a third in the first quarter, and Brussels is leaning in before a high-level corridor meeting on 23 June.
Mongolia is building a railway straight into China's steel industry — and it knows exactly what that means
83 million tonnes of coal exported to China in 2024. A new cross-border railway under construction since April 2025. $1.5 billion in additional annual revenue projected. The numbers are compelling. The dependency is real.
Uzbekistan breaks ground on a new Tashkent international airport this month
The current airport handles 14 million passengers a year and is at capacity. The new facility is designed for 30 million. Construction starts June 2026.
The corridor is booming. It is also far from competitive. A Carnegie reality check
Cargo volumes rose 63% in 2024. The corridor still handles 6% of the Russian route's capacity. A new Carnegie analysis maps the gap between ambition and infrastructure.
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.
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.