Turkmenistan, Afghanistan Open New Rail and Power Links
January 14th, 2021
Via The Frontier Post, an article on new rail and power links between Turkmenistan and Afghanistan: Turkmenistan and Afghanistan have inaugurated new transport, power and communications links, Turkmenistan said Thursday, as the ex-Soviet republic touts its role rebuilding Afghanistan’s conflict-torn economy. A trio of Turkmen foreign ministry statements said Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Turkmen leader Gurbanguly […]
Read more »Winter Energy Woes Bedevil Central Asia
January 12th, 2021
Via The Diplomat, a look at how Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have all suffered in recent months from shortages and blackouts, leaving their citizens to experience cold nights and darkened lights: As the new year was just beginning, the lights went dark in Kabul. Afghan media reported last week that in one 24 hour period late in the […]
Read more »Iran’s Railway Ambitions Stretch Beyond Afghanistan
January 5th, 2021
Via The Frontier Post, a report on Iran’s railway ambitions: The first train departs Khaf’s rail station in Iran during the inauguration of the Herat-Khaf railway operations connecting Iran and Afghanistan. via Reuters The first railway between Iran and Afghanistan was launched in December 2020, linking the Iranian northeastern city of Khaf to Afghanistan’s western city of […]
Read more »The Source of The Taliban’s Money
December 12th, 2020
Via The Conversation, a report on where the Taliban get their money: The Taliban militants of Afghanistan have grown richer and more powerful since their fundamentalist Islamic regime was toppled by U.S. forces in 2001. In the fiscal year that ended in March 2020, the Taliban reportedly brought in US$1.6 billion, according to Mullah Yaqoob, son of […]
Read more »China and Afghanistan In A Belt & Road Context
December 11th, 2020
Via Asia Power Watch, an article on China’s economic influence in Afghanistan in a Belt & Road context: As the historic intra-Afghan negotiations continue and the withdrawal of US troops is now in sight, there are plausible concerns about the future of Afghanistan, especially about China’s willingness to expand and consolidate its engagement in the country. […]
Read more »For Future Prosperity, Afghanistan Must Look North
November 9th, 2020
Via Arab News, commentary on Afghanistan’s economic future via linkages to the north: When the international community talks about a “regional solution” for Afghanistan, mostly it is referring to the situation in Pakistan. Sometimes the regional solution is expanded to include India and China. Until recently, it was rare for the Central Asian republics to […]
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.