There has been a little time to digest the summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, the first of its kind, bringing together all five Central Asian heads of state and the two presidents of the European Union on April 4. The participants may still be literally digesting the rack of lamb andContinue Reading
On April 3-4, delegations from the European Union and the five Central Asian nations will convene in Samarkand for the first-ever Central Asia-European Union Summit. This landmark gathering takes place amid a complex new phase in international relations, characterized by growing unpredictability, erosion of international norms, economic weaponization, and intensifyingContinue Reading
On March 31, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev, and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov met in Khujand, Tajikistan, for a first-of-its-kind trilateral Central Asian summit. The summit came on the heels of a historic March 13 deal settling the borders between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, achieved less than threeContinue Reading
Last month’s U.N. General Assembly 11th emergency special session – dedicated to the resolution of the war in Ukraine – illuminated a shift in support from the United States. The U.S. seems to have had a change of heart with the re-election of President Donald Trump and voted against Resolution ES-11/7,Continue Reading
On March 31, the first trilateral summit between the leaders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan will take place in Khujand, Tajikistan. The meeting is of historical importance not only because it is the first of its kind, but because it is a sign of changing times in Central Asia. ForContinue Reading
The Trump administration is terminating almost all foreign assistance grants to Central Asian countries, according to a document reportedly sent to the U.S. Congress this week outlining canceled and retained U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs. If the document matches reality, it not only marks a devastating blow toContinue Reading
On March 25, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) held a launch event for its annual report. The event, held in a Senate office building on Capitol Hill, featured 10 current members of Congress. The strong Congressional showing and repeated emphasis on USCIRF’s independent and bipartisan roots belied theContinue Reading
Last week, and for the first time, Kyrgyzstan extradited an individual facing federal criminal charges to the United States. Danhong “Jean” Chen, also known as Maria Sofia Taylor, had been on the run from U.S. authorities since October 2018 after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civilContinue Reading
President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan is scheduled to make a state visit to the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, on March 12-13. Rahmon’s visit this week to Kyrgyzstan comes in the wake of the settling of a final border agreement between the two countries and ahead of an expected trilateral summitContinue Reading
Government officials from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan at last finalized a border delimitation agreement during a meeting at the Ala-Archa state residence in Bishkek on February 21. The meeting, spearheaded by Saimumin Yatimov, the head of Tajikistan’s security services, and Kamchybek Tashiev, the head of Kyrgyzstan’s security services, “occurred in anContinue Reading
