Leading off… An investors’ forum in Uzbekistan, held November 27 under the auspices of the European Union’s Global Gateway program, produced several deals aimed at expanding the Middle Corridor trade network in Central Asia.
Among the higher profile announcements, the EU and EBRD announced two loans of 35 million euros each to expand the Port of Aktau in Kazakhstan and improve the KarabaltaChaldovar highway connecting Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
In addition, the EU announced funding for preparatory studies and technical assistance to identify new infrastructure needs and modernize existing systems.The EU’s European Investment Bank is also preparing a 100-million-euro loan to expand Uzbekistan’s A380 highway, a major transit artery.
On November 26, the third EU-Central Asia economic forum, also held in Tashkent, yielded several comparatively minor agreements, while confirming “the growing alignment between EU and Central Asian priorities particularly in areas such as critical raw materials, digital transformation, energy infrastructure and governance reforms,” according to an EU statement.
Perhaps the most notable agreement was a 7.5-million-euro EU commitment to “modernize geodata systems and improve access to geological information.” In case you missed it in the Caucasus… A rebellion is brewing within the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Ten church archbishops and bishop have signed on to a petition calling for the removal of the church’s leader, Catholicos Karekin II, alleging widespread failures in upholding his oath.
They accuse Karekin II of “erroneous, arbitrary governance, orders, appointments, unjust punishments [and] unnecessary interventions and dismissals.” The petition is circulating amid an ongoing feud between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Karekin II, who opposes the government’s modernization program, known as Real Armenia.
Pashinyan, who has accused the church leader of fathering a child in violation of his vow of celibacy, tacitly endorsed the petition’s signatories, saying “this statement first of all shows that our Church has clergymen who are committed to fulfilling the Church’s spiritual mission.” While the EU continues to mull measures to punish the Georgian government’s rapid embrace of authoritarian practices, individual member states are taking punitive measures.
Poland has adopted new rules that make it more difficult for Georgians to obtain work permits.Polish officials cited “the political situation in Georgia” as the reason for the change.
Meanwhile across the Caspian… Ukrainian attacks on CPC pipeline infrastructure in Russia are stoking tension with Kazakhstan, which depends on the route for its oil exports.Following the latest Ukrainian drone strike on November 29, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry issued a statement protesting what it described as the “third act of aggression against an exclusively civilian object” in and around the Russian terminal at Novorossiysk, adding that Astana “consistently advocates for maintaining the stability and uninterrupted supply of energy resources.” Ukraine fired back immediately, emphasizing that attacks on CPC were legitimate efforts “directed at repelling full-scale Russian aggression within the framework of the implementation of the right to self-defense.” The Ukrainian statement also noted that “against the backdrop of today’s concerns, we separately draw attention to the absence of previous statements by the Kazakh side condemning the Russian Federation’s strikes on civilians in Ukraine.” Two jailed journalists in Kyrgyzstan affiliated with the Kloop news outlet have been released on probation.
Kloop videographers Joomart Duulatov and Alexander Alexandrov were sentenced to five-year prison terms in September on charges of calling for mass public disorder.Watchdog groups condemned the prosecutions as politically motivated, part of a government effort to muzzle critical news coverage.
Tajikistan is imposing energy-saving measures similar to those already implemented in Kyrgyzstan to mitigate expected shortages of heating and electricity this winter.The Asia-Plus news agency reported November 29 that the state-connected electricity supplier has issued instructions for lights to be switched off at all state-run enterprises from 6pm until the start of the next work day.
Among other conservation measures, “street lighting not related to strategically important facilities must be switched off,” according to the instructions.Neutralny Turkmenistan, the official organ of the Turkmen leadership, published a law on November 28 legalizing and regulating the use of crypto currency in the country.
Temperatures in Uzbekistan have risen almost twice as fast over the past half century as the world average, according to the recently published UN Atlas of Environmental Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
The document goes on to describe the western autonomous region of Karakalpakstan, site of the shrinking Aral Sea, as the hottest spot in the country, characterizing it as the area of the country “most vulnerable to climate change.” Meanwhile, the State Committee on the Environment and Climate Change says 2025 has so far been the second driest year in Uzbekistan’s history since records started being kept in 1868.