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 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.
Pakistan and Iran are accelerating efforts to transform their shared border from a historically volatile frontier into a hub for trade and investment, as both countries advance plans for a special economic zone and pursue a target of $10 billion in bilateral trade.
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.
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.
Uzbekistan and five partner countries have signed a protocol to further develop the CASCA+ railway corridor, a growing transport route linking Central Asia, the South Caucasus and Türkiye that provides an alternative connection between Asian and European markets.
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.
For decades, Central Asia has stood on the front line of a climate emergency that much of the world is only beginning to understand. Stand at the edge of a glacier in the Tien Shan today and the crisis is no longer abstract.
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.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has warned ahead of World Environment Day that Afghanistan's worsening water crisis is disproportionately affecting women and girls, who bear much of the responsibility for securing water for their families.
Artificial intelligence, digital innovation and youth engagement in environmental governance took centre stage at Eco Expo Central Asia 2026 in Samarkand, as experts and young leaders explored new approaches to climate resilience and sustainability.
Afghan and Uzbek business officials have discussed ways to expand trade, ease transit bottlenecks and address customs challenges facing traders, according to the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI).
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.
International organisations, investors, environmental experts and business representatives gathered in Samarkand for the opening of Eco Expo Central Asia 2026, one of the region's largest environmental events focused on green growth, climate resilience and sustainable development.
Central Asia is facing growing water stress after five consecutive years of drought, with rising temperatures, depleted soil moisture and shrinking groundwater reserves placing increasing pressure on the region, according to a new EU report.
Kazakhstan has reiterated that no existing route can replace the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which carries more than 80% of the country's crude oil exports through Russia to the Black Sea.
Tajikistan is hosting the Fourth International Conference on the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development” in Dushanbe from 25 to 28 May, bringing together more than 2,500 participants from governments, international organisations and financial institutions.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has called for closer security coordination between Central Asia and China, warning that expanding trade and infrastructure links are exposing the region to increasingly sophisticated cross-border threats.
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are negotiating summer water allocations as rising temperatures, agricultural demand and pressure on shared rivers intensify water security concerns across Central Asia.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev is participating in the informal summit of the heads of state of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in Turkistan, Kazakhstan, on 15 May. The summit focuses on regional cooperation, digital development and transport connectivity.
Central Asia is entering a period of acute water stress as glacier melt accelerates and ageing infrastructure wastes up to 40% of water supplies, fuelling concerns over food security and regional stability.
A new multimodal trade corridor through Central Asia is expected to cut cargo transit times between China and Afghanistan from 55 to 30 days, offering an alternative to increasingly unstable maritime shipping routes.
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