Tag Archives: Central Asia

The tiny independent region of Karakalpakstan is one of many places chafing against arbitrary borders imposed by former empires.

A southbound logistics corridor via the Gwadar Port can increase regional connectivity and trade, offering Central Asian states direct access to the deepsea port. Plans are also afoot to connect Uzbekistan with Pakistan via Afghanistan through railway.

A relaxation of long-standing regional tensions was the most noticeable process in Central Asia in 2018. If the trend continues, individual countries will be better positioned to muddle through domestic problems and deal with complex international relations and security issues in 2019 and beyond.

The magic of the Belt and Road Initiative is not the economic benefits it will offer Turkey or China. Rather, it is how the BRI taps into Ankara’s desperation to find alternatives to its economic and strategic partners such as Germany and the United States, and how it supports China’s desire to establish its own economic architecture.

Can an apologetic policy towards the Afghan Taliban really help Pakistan end its global isolation and put it on the path to development?

Iran’s Chabahar port is challenging the significance of Pakistan’s Gwadar deep sea port. The project is strategically important particularly for India due to its land access to Afghanistan and Central Asia which is otherwise blocked by the territory of Pakistan.

China, Russia and the U.S. each have visions to connect Central Asia with the rest of Eurasia.

Advice from China­ to Pakistan­ is unequivocally clear and categorical: develop consensus on the proposed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

China wants to counterbalance Russian influence in Central Asia by expanding its economic activities, trade and transport projects in the region. As Russia suffers recession and the political isolation due to the conflict in Ukraine, its influence in Kazakhstan and Central Asia may decrease.

India needs subtle strategies to contain and counter “threats” from Pakistan. The jingoistic and threatening rhetoric in a section of Indian media in response to each “provocation” from Pakistan does India no good. India’s power ought to be felt by its adversaries and not flaunted.