Kabul’s Plan to Realize Afghanistan’s Geographic Dividend
December 10th, 2017
Via The Diplomat, a look at the Afghan government’s efforts to turn the country’s landlocked location into an asset: Back in 1776, Adam Smith observed that “all the inland parts” of Africa and Asia were the world’s least developed areas. Even today, well over two centuries later, most of these landlocked countries are still trapped in poverty. Countries without […]
Read more »Uzbekistan: A Quiet Revolution Taking Place
December 8th, 2017
Via Eurasia Review, a detailed look at Uzbekistan: Islam Karimov, the authoritarian strongman of Uzbekistan since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, was officially announced dead on September 2 last year. Six days later, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the country’s prime minister since 2003 and Karimov’s protégé, was appointed Uzbekistan’s Interim President by a joint […]
Read more »Belt and Road A ‘Great Opportunity’ For Uzbekistan
December 7th, 2017
Via China Daily, an interesting look at Uzbekistan’s potential in light of China’s BRI initiative: Uzbekistan, a country in the center of the ancient Silk Road, is actively cooperating with China under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, said Khatamjon Ketmonov, the president of one of the largest parties in the Central Asian […]
Read more »Chabahar Port: A Game Changer in India-Afghanistan-Central Asia Trade?
December 7th, 2017
Courtesy of STRATFOR (subscription required), a look at the recently inaugurated Chabahar port project: On December 3, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated the first phase of the Chabahar port development project on the Gulf of Oman, with the participation of senior Afghan and Indian ministers, including the Indian Minister for External Affairs Mrs. Sushma Swaraj. […]
Read more »China Funded Lapis-Lazuli Transport Corridor Unites Caucasus & Central Asia
December 6th, 2017
Via Silk Road Briefing, an article on the Lapis-Lazuli Transport Corridor: China’s reach into Central Asia and the Caucasus has taken a major step forward with a new initiative poetically known as “The Lapis-Lazuli Transit, Trade & Transport Route” (or the “Lapis Lazuli Corridor”). This aims to enhance regional economic cooperation and connectivity between Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, […]
Read more »Uzbekistan And Afghanistan Sign Railway Deal
December 6th, 2017
Via Times of Central Asia, a report on a new agreement between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan: During Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani’s official visit to Tashkent on December 5, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan signed an agreement to extend a railroad connecting the two countries in a move which may eventually give landlocked Uzbekistan a direct link to sea […]
Read more »Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.