Turkmenistan

“When the international community ignores a country like Turkmenistan, it sends a message that some lives – and some struggles – matter less.”

Due to global turmoil, the importance of the Middle Corridor has grown exponentially. However, the Caspian Sea continues to pose a significant obstacle to the realization of the corridor’s economic potential.

The Taliban authorities say that around 3 kilometers of the pipeline has been completed, out of more than 770 km needed to bring Turkmen gas to the Pakistani border.

Central Asia’s evolving geopolitical role is not just about balancing external actors; it is about leveraging these partnerships to pursue their own national and elite interests. 

For the second year in a row, Central Asia’s leaders are making the trek to Moscow to mark a holiday of fleeting relevance in the region.

Ashgabat has a delicate balance to maintain between hewing to its traditional neutrality and mitigating potential threats from Afghanistan. 

Yet again, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan – alongside Saudi Arabia and Pakistan – have been granted waivers from sanctions related to their religious freedom violations.

USAID Administrator Samantha Power announced an additional $14.3 million in regional programing, plus $18.7 million to boost collaboration in Uzbekistan, specifically.

The region’s search for language, historic memory, cultural heritage and – above all – dignity received a new impetus from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

An interview with Chinese diplomacy researcher Giulia Sciorati.

The summit produced the clearest iteration of Chinese interests in and commitments to Central Asia to date, but there's no "new blueprint" for relations.

Although they don’t share a border, budding autocratic dynasties Turkmenistan and Tajikistan are close political neighbors.