The Fate of China’s Rail Line to Uzbekistan Likely to Be Decided in Kyrgyzstan
November 19th, 2021
Via The Jamestown Foundation, a report on how the fate of China’s rail line to Uzbekistan will likely be decided in Kyrgyzstan: As a part of its Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese plans to construct a railway from Xinjiang through Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan and onward to Turkmenistan has been under discussion for two decades. If realized, […]
Read more »China’s Belt and Road Chugging Along in Central Asia
November 17th, 2021
Via the Asia Times, an article on BRI activity in Central Asia: The information war is so intense nowadays that unsung melodies are often more alluring than the sung ones. The lines from English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley’s famous ode To a Skylark come to mind: “In the broad day-light / Thou art unseen, but yet I […]
Read more »Uzbekistan To Discuss Construction of Trans-Afghan Railway With Taliban
October 8th, 2021
Via The Frontier Post, an article on the exploration of trans-Afghan railway: Uzbekistan and the Taliban movement (recognized as terrorist and banned in many countries) will soon hold talks in the Uzbek city of Termez on the construction of the Termez-Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway. This was reported by the press service of the Uzbek Foreign Ministry following […]
Read more »Uzbekistan’s Rapid Growth Draws International Investors
September 29th, 2021
Courtesy of The Financial Times, an article on how Uzbekistan’s booming population is fueling its ambitions to become Central Asia’s biggest economy: Just five years ago, Uzbekistan’s economy was not ready for investment. Today, economic growth has attracted investors from across the world. One problem was currency. In 2016, those with a few dollars to […]
Read more »China’s Gas Shortage Boosts Central Asia’s Role
September 11th, 2021
Via Eurasia Review, an article on how Central Asia producers may help solve China’s gas shortage: China’s growing demand for natural gas has been driving closer engagement with Turkmenistan, renewing questions about Russia’s role in Central Asia, once regarded as Moscow’s backyard. Soaring gas prices appear to be the main motivator behind China’s agreement to […]
Read more »Has Uzbekistan’s Time Finally Come?
August 28th, 2021
Via Geopolitical Futures, commentary on Uzbekistan in light of the U.S. decision to withdraw from Afghanistan: In our 2019 Annual Forecast, we said we expected Uzbekistan to challenge Kazakhstan as the dominant power in Central Asia. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed any progress toward that end, but now that the world seems to be getting past the […]
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.