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 »Beijing Ramps Up Investment Push In Pakistan, Afghanistan, Despite Risks
October 5th, 2020
Via Radio Free Europe, an article on China’s investment activity in Pakistan and Afghanistan: China is cautiously increasing its role in South Asia by rejuvenating economic interests in Pakistan and forging closer ties to Afghanistan with peace talks between Afghan officials and the Taliban under way. The enhanced footprint for Beijing in the region comes […]
Read more »The Taliban, at Least, Are Striking Gold in Afghanistan
September 28th, 2020
Via Foreign Policy, a report on how the militant group mines almost half a billion dollars a year from Afghan soil—and wants more: For decades, Afghanistan’s untapped mineral wealth has been touted as the country’s trillion-dollar El Dorado. But while the Afghan government has never been able to monetize mountains of copper, iron ore, gold, and […]
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.