Uzbekistan Forges Ahead, Deepening Relations With Taliban-ruled Afghanistan
August 21st, 2024
Via The Diplomat, a report on a growing relationship between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan: On Saturday, August 17 Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov became the highest-ranking foreign leader to visit Afghanistan since the Taliban’s 2021 return to power. The $2.5 billion in trade and investment deals signed between the two sides, just days after the third […]
Read more »Central Asia’s Energy Drive Spurs Regional Integration
August 19th, 2024
Via The Lowy Institute, an article on Central Asian efforts to be more closely integrated and less reliant on Russia: For decades, Russia, China, and the West have been vying for influence in Central Asia. But in spite of their ambitions to bolster their presence in this strategically important region, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and […]
Read more »Capital Markets of the Silk Road: Uzbekistan
August 17th, 2024
Via The Opus, a report on I recently visited Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as part of the research trips I am conducting for my Imperium work. The Uzbek portion of the trip was organized by a local fund that manages a domestic public equities fund which was set up in 2021 on the back of the reforms Uzbekistan’s president […]
Read more »Can Central Asia Deepen Multilateral Cooperation Without Institutionalization?
August 14th, 2024
Via The Diplomat, a report on the sixth consultative meeting of the Central Asian leaders concluded without a major breakthrough, but recent Kazakh-Uzbek bilateral agreements could be the key to deepening cooperation in the region: In 2024, Astana became a hub for a series of pivotal meetings that each marked as a significant “first” in […]
Read more »How Does Central Asia Cooperate With Iran to Access World Markets?
August 3rd, 2024
Via The Diplomat, an article on how the countries of Central Asia – particularly Uzbekistan – see an opportunity to diversity trade routes via Iran: Iran holds a pivotal role in bridging the geographically closed Central Asian region with the Middle East, South Asia, and the Caucasus, as well as Europe. As Uzbekistan’s economic growth […]
Read more »Uzbekistan: Liquorice Production Flourishes In Salty Soils of the Dried-Up Aral Sea
July 23rd, 2024
Via The Economist, a report on the emergence of Karakalpakstan as the sweet root’s new production hub: They put liquorice in their vodka in Karakalpakstan. Its sweetness softens the local liquor, Qarataw (named for the nearby mountain range), making it a surprisingly palatable tipple. Karakalpakstan itself offers no such respite. The vast autonomous republic in western […]
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.