Central Asia: The Once and Future Heart of Eurasia
July 4th, 2024
Via Geopolitical Monitor, a report on Central Asia: In recent decades, the portrayal of the five former Soviet Central Asian states—collectively known as the “stans”—in Western media and policy discourse has often been overly simplistic, neglecting their unique identities, historical legacies, and rich cultural diversity. These nations are frequently depicted as objects in a larger […]
Read more »Chinese Megaprojects Back In Fashion In Central Asia’s Poorest States
June 30th, 2024
Via Radio Free Europe, a look at Chinese mega investments in Central Asia: For most of the last two decades, China has been the most obvious source of foreign direct investment for the countries of Central Asia. But for the two poorest countries of the region — Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan — truly strategic investment from […]
Read more »China Springs BRI Surprise On U.S.
June 10th, 2024
Via Indian Punchline, commentary on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project: The report of the death of China’s Belt and Road Initiative [BRI] was an exaggeration, after all. Within days of the US President Joe Biden’s acerbic remark during an interview last week with the Time magazine that the BRI has “become a nuisance graveyard initiative,” a trilateral […]
Read more »Could Iran be a Gateway for Central Asia?
June 7th, 2024
Courtesy of The Diplomat, a look at how connecting with Iran may be tempting for Central Asian countries like Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan – but increased relations with Tehran may ultimately be counterproductive: The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project may finally get underway, according to Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov. At the 8th annual Trans-Caspian Forum, organized by the Caspian […]
Read more »China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Construction to Begin in October
May 7th, 2024
Via The Diplomat, an article on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway for which construction is to begin in October, a railway that Kyrgyzstan hopes will make it “a transit country for the world”: Construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan (CKU) railway will begin in October, according to Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov. Speaking during a working trip to Osh on May […]
Read more »Kyrgyzstan: The Weak Link of the Southern Corridor
May 6th, 2024
Via Geopolitical Monitor, a report on Kyrgyzstan’s role in the planned Southern Corridor: Transportation corridors across Eurasia are not new. China announced the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, and the project has been described as the New Silk Road. Moreover, when the war in Ukraine commenced, the Trans Caspian International Route, or Middle […]
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.