Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan are advancing plans for a new energy corridor beneath the Caspian Sea that could carry renewable electricity from Central Asia to Europe, linking the region's growing clean energy sector with European markets.
With its EU accession talks frozen and its strategic partnership with Washington suspended, Tbilisi has formalised a new alliance with Astana centred on trade, transport and a shared vision for Eurasia's next major trade corridor.
Kazakhstan has not received an official request from Russia for petrol supplies, Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said, as fuel shortages and sales restrictions in Russia raise concerns over fuel supplies across Central Asia.
Russia is in talks with Kazakhstan over possible petrol imports after refinery disruptions tightened domestic fuel supplies, four industry sources told Reuters.
Kazakhstan secured agreements and investment commitments worth $12 billion during President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's official visit to Brussels on 22–23 June, underlining the growing economic importance of ties between the European Union and Central Asia's largest economy.
Ukraine said its forces had struck key energy installations inside Russia, including a gas processing plant and a helium facility in the Orenburg region, as drone assaults increased across multiple areas.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev arrived in Brussels for talks with EU leaders as Kazakhstan seeks to expand its partnership with Europe beyond energy and raw materials, with a growing focus on technology, connectivity and industrial cooperation.
Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy, Serik Zhumangarin, met senior Afghan officials in Kabul during a three-day visit aimed at expanding political, trade, transit and investment cooperation.
Russia is seeking to expand cooperation with Central Asian countries in the exploration, extraction and processing of rare earth metals, underlining the region's growing importance in the global race for critical raw materials.
The Caspian Sea has retreated by up to 35 kilometres along Kazakhstan's coastline since 2006, raising fresh concerns about the future of the world's largest inland body of water and the communities, industries and ecosystems that depend on it.
Kazakhstan and Iran have agreed to accelerate cooperation on transport corridors, giving Kazakhstan access to key Iranian ports in a move aimed at strengthening trade routes and reducing reliance on transit routes through neighbouring countries.
Kazakhstan will begin routing selected government expenditures worth more than 100 million tenge ($190,000) through its digital tenge platform, expanding the use of the central bank digital currency to strengthen oversight of public spending.
Kazakhstan has signed a $10 billion agreement with Firebird and NVIDIA to build one of Central Asia's largest AI computing hubs, as governments increasingly compete for the infrastructure needed to power artificial intelligence.
The Trans-Caspian East-West International Transport Corridor, commonly known as the Middle Corridor, is a multimodal trade route linking China and the European Union via Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus and Türkiye.
Trade routes through Afghanistan took centre stage in Almaty as the European Union, Central Asian states and the United Nations discussed the country's role in shaping regional security and economic connectivity.
Kazakhstan’s ruling Amanat party has announced it will merge with a party launched only a month ago by allies of the country’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Domestic economic conditions are playing a growing role in shaping the outlook for Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, according to global financial services group ING.
The U.S. is deepening engagement with Central Asia on critical minerals as global competition for strategic resources intensifies. The issue dominated talks in Astana between Washington and the five Central Asian states.
The European Union’s proposed 21st sanctions package against Russia could affect companies in Central Asia, including firms in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, as Brussels moves to tighten controls on sanctions circumvention.
Kazakhstan will require major businesses to introduce five-year water-saving plans as authorities warn that worsening shortages could threaten not only the environment but also the country's economy.
For much of the post-Soviet era, Russia and Kazakhstan have maintained one of Eurasia’s most stable bilateral relationships. Deep economic ties, shared history and strategic geography continue to bind the two neighbours together, but Astana is increasingly pursuing a more independent path.
Kazakhstan has invited Cyprus to take an active role in the Trans-Caspian transport route, with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev saying closer cooperation could link Kazakhstan’s land infrastructure with Cyprus’s maritime network and boost trade between Central Asia and the Mediterranean.
Kazakhstan has used a high-level visit by Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee to promote itself as a gateway to Central Asia, offering investors access to industrial projects worth more than $100 billion and a growing regional market.
Kazakhstan has restored oil production after an accident at the Tengiz oil field briefly disrupted output last week, while also signalling its readiness to increase crude shipments through the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline.
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