Even Toyota Seemed To Know That The Taliban Would Take Kabul
August 17th, 2021
Via Quartz, an article on the Taliban’s preference for Toyota products: When the Taliban rode into Kabul and captured the presidential palace on Aug. 15, it marked the return to power of one of Toyota’s most loyal—and most regrettable—customers. For more than a quarter-century, Toyota’s sturdiest pickups and SUVs have been the Taliban’s vehicles of choice. They’re […]
Read more »Taliban Gains Give Investors Cause For Concern Beyond Afghanistan
August 15th, 2021
Via Reuters, an article on how Taliban gains give investors cause for concern beyond Afghanistan: The Taliban’s rapid advance towards Kabul is not only causing concern about Afghanistan’s future but also about the impact on other countries in the region and their economies. Iran and then Iraq lie to the west of Afghanistan. Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are […]
Read more »BRI vs New Quad for Afghanistan’s Coming Boom
July 26th, 2021
Via The Asia Times, an article on the race to build and extend Afghanistan’s shattered infrastructure: Over a week ago the excruciatingly slow Doha peace talks between the Kabul government and the Taliban resumed, and then they dragged on for two days observed by envoys from the EU, US and UN. Nothing happened. They could […]
Read more »China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Key Roles To Play In Afghanistan’s Future
July 16th, 2021
Via Silk Road Briefing, a look at how China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization have a role to play in Afghanistan’s future: The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation has just held its Council of Foreign Ministers this week in Dushanbe, Tajikistan to discuss the current situation in Afghanistan. “A thorough exchange of views […]
Read more »China’s Belt and Road Won’t Readily Reach Afghanistan
July 15th, 2021
Via Asia Times, a look at Beijing’s hope to connect a Taliban-led Afghanistan with neighboring Pakistan overlooks rising and lethal resistance to the scheme: When suspected militants killed nine Chinese nationals in a blast that sent a bus plunging into a high mountain ravine in northern Pakistan, it marked the latest in a rising string of […]
Read more »Can Afghanistan Be Part of An Integrated Central Asia?
July 12th, 2021
Via National Interest, a look at how a more integrated and cohesive Central Asia that includes Afghanistan will bring do more than anything else in sight to make Afghanistan stable and predictable: For many in the West and worldwide, the five countries of Central Asia remain a mystery, and their role in world affairs unknown. Yet […]
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.