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 »The United States Tells China to Kick Rocks in Central Asia
July 3rd, 2024
Via East Asia Forum, commentary on U.S. efforts to diversify its supply chain for critical minerals and reduce its dependence on China by establishing partnerships with Central Asian republics, though it anticipates various challenges. In particular, China’s restrictions on gallium and germanium exports and significant economic influence in the region raise concerns. The United States, […]
Read more »Taliban Plan Regional Logistics / Energy Trade Hub With Russian Oil In Mind
May 2nd, 2024
Via The Frontier Post, a report on the Taliban’s plans to build a regional logistics / energy trade: The Taliban has agreed with Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to build a logistics hub in western Afghanistan aimed at making the war-torn nation a major logistics point for regional exports, including oil from Russia to South Asia, the […]
Read more »Turkmenistan’s Afghanistan Policy: Balancing Risks and Untapped Opportunities
April 24th, 2024
Courtesy of The Diplomat, an article on Ashgabat’s delicate balance between hewing to its traditional neutrality and mitigating potential threats from Afghanistan: The recent delegations from the Taliban regime to Turkmenistan underscore a significant warming of relations between the two countries. On March 15, workers from Turkmenistan were scheduled to arrive in Afghanistan for three months to […]
Read more »Gulf States And Central Asian Republics
April 23rd, 2024
Via Eurasia Review, an article on growing linkages between the Gulf states and Central Asia: Trade, transit and energy topped the agenda when foreign ministers from the GCC and Central Asian republics met in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, last week for their second “strategic dialogue”, following an inaugural event in Jeddah last July. The six Gulf states […]
Read more »Reform Hopes Fade In Turkmenistan
March 11th, 2024
Via Emerging Europe, a look at Turkmenistan: Two years after Serdar Berdymukhammedov replaced his father as president of Turkmenistan, hope that the younger man would reform one of the world’s most closed societies have all but evaporated. When the eccentric Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov stepped down as Turkmen president in 2022 after 16 years in office (having […]
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.