Crossroads Asia

A row over the Kumtor mine, featuring corruption and environmental catastrophe, threaten Kyrgyzstan’s ability to attract investment.

Kyrgyzstan’s diplomacy with regard to the Taliban has never been as robust as that of neighboring Uzbekistan, but Bishkek is taking a practical approach to dealing with the new leaders in Kabul.

A new report catalogues the use of forced psychiatric detention to repress human rights activists in Uzbekistan, laying out the cases of six individual to illustrate the abusive practice.

In late July, a Tajik official said the country had the capacity to accept 100,000 Afghan refugees. Since then, Dushanbe has fallen into the broader, anti-refugee Central Asian line.

After adding Tehran to its ranks, the SCO will face its biggest test yet: maintaining stability in Afghanistan.  

The increased energy demand could be met by a long-awaited nuclear power plant. 

Kyrgyzstan will finally hold parliamentary elections in late November, more than a year after a botched election spun the country into political turmoil.

Mongolia’s strategic partnership with South Korea once again shows its foreign policy strength.

In dealing with the situation in Afghanistan, Dushanbe and Tashkent have taken different approaches toward dealing with a Taliban-ruled country.

With Uzbekistan under pressure, those who landed in Termez are being moved to the UAE. Those in Tajikistan are waiting. 

As the world adapts to a “new” Afghanistan, there is much work to be done to help Afghans in need. From its temporary base in Almaty, UNAMA will continue to work toward this goal.