From Backwater to Beacon: Kazakhstan’s Identity as a Middle Power
July 15th, 2024
Via Modern Diplomacy, a look at the shift in Kazakhstan’s identity on the global arena: On March 23, 2024, Kazakhstani President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visited Singapore, marking the first official state visit in over 20 years. Tokayev, who previously served as a diplomat in Singapore during the 1970s, also delivered the 46th Singapore Lecture on May 24th at the […]
Read more »Can Russia Help Cash-Strapped Pakistan?
July 15th, 2024
Via The Diplomat, a look at how Russia and Pakistan expand cooperation: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s recent summit in Astana on July 3-4, 2024. On the sidelines of the summit which gathered the SCO’s leaders, Sharif met multiple world leaders including China’s President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, […]
Read more »Indonesia’s EV Drive Faces Geopolitical Headwinds
July 13th, 2024
Via Nikkei Asia, a look at how Jakarta is betting big on producing electric vehicles, but so are much larger powers: Indonesia is determined to capitalize on the green industries of tomorrow, but its path to success is being complicated by the reemergence of industrial policy and economic protectionism. The recent imposition of tariffs by the U.S. […]
Read more »Too Hot To Handle: How Orano is Fighting to Keep Its Last Uranium Mine in Niger
July 11th, 2024
Courtesy of The Africa Report, an article on how Orano is fighting to keep its last uranium mine in Niger: The French nuclear group, having just lost its operating permit for the Imouraren project, faces difficulties with SOMAIR in the Arlit mining complex, in its latest standoff with the Nigerien junta. The French group Orano (formerly Areva) […]
Read more »Rise of Chinese Surveillance Tech in Africa: Development or Espionage?
July 11th, 2024
Courtesy of The Africa Report, commentary on the growing deployment of Chinese CCTV equipment in African cities: Chinese technology companies like Huawei and ZTE are contributing to smart city development on the continent, but analysts warn that their tools provide authoritarian governments with the means to spy on citizens and promote repression. More than a […]
Read more »Diversifying Investment in Indonesia’s Mining Sector
July 11th, 2024
Via CSIS, a report on Indonesia’s mining sector: Indonesia is the world’s largest nickel producer and produces significant quantities of copper, cobalt, tin, and gold. In 2023, mining contributed to 11.9 percent of Indonesia’s gross domestic product. Over the last 15 years, Indonesia has imposed—and at times loosened—bans on raw resource exports and local ownership requirements. While […]
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.