Introduction
Central Asian states are rich in resources, especially natural gas. Different countries of the world have developed an increased interest in the region and are actively forming ties and agreements with the region. China, Russia and the U.S. are particularly keen on forming major economic and strategic relations with these countries, and are involved in competition with each other over these countries. This region shows a lot of potential for growth and development and has shown increased productivity and increasing markets. The political set-up is still shaky and there have been incidents of political instability, and China’s Xinjiang’s province’s instability also affected this regions stability.
Points to Ponder
International ties are of great importance to this up-coming and rich region. Different countries, especially USA, EU, Russia and China are clamoring to establish mutually beneficial ties with these countries nowadays. We see these growing ties with the rest of the world in many news reports, like how Washington will host the Azerbaijan-US military consultations in late July, how the Turkish investment in Azerbaijan has hit more than $6 billion, and how Kyrgyzstan has signed an agreement allowing the United States allowing U.S. to continue using a key air base serving its interest in Afghanistan. Similarly, Petrolinvest, a Polish company exploring for oil in Kazakhstan held talks to form a joint venture with China’s biggest refiners. Further more Tajik-Latvian negotiations resulted in the signing of three cooperation documents, and Tajik Fm and a UK official discussed bilateral cooperation issues. Is this resource-rich and relatively under-developed region poised to become a region of great foreign interest and competition?
China’s Western region on Xinjiang was a source of great worry for Central Asian states, and was prominently in the headlines in the region. Chinese and Kazakh officials agreed to suspend visas to Kazakh citizens for the Xinjiang region of China. Similarly Kyrgyzstan evacuated its citizens from the Xinjiang area of China due to the rising instability in the region. Similarly events in other regions and countries affected these countries in many other ways. For instance, Kyrgyzstan is highly vulnerable and exposed to terrorist groups from Afghanistan and Pakistan.
This region has been affected by the global recession, but has still managed to register some economic growth and seems on its way to further growth. For example, the productivity of these countries can be seen from the news report that Azerbaijan generated nearly 10.1 billion kilowatt hour of energy in the first quarter of the year. Similarly, grain growers from the Tashkent region of Uzbekistan fulfilled their contractual obligations and produced more than 302,829 tons of grains. Is this region on its way to become more integrated and influential in the global arena?
Central Asian states are rich in resources, especially natural gas. Different countries of the world have developed an increased interest in the region and are actively forming ties and agreements with the region. China, Russia and the U.S. are particularly keen on forming major economic and strategic relations with these countries, and are involved in competition with each other over these countries. This region shows a lot of potential for growth and development and has shown increased productivity and increasing markets. The political set-up is still shaky and there have been incidents of political instability, and China’s Xinjiang’s province’s instability also affected this regions stability.
Points to Ponder
International ties are of great importance to this up-coming and rich region. Different countries, especially USA, EU, Russia and China are clamoring to establish mutually beneficial ties with these countries nowadays. We see these growing ties with the rest of the world in many news reports, like how Washington will host the Azerbaijan-US military consultations in late July, how the Turkish investment in Azerbaijan has hit more than $6 billion, and how Kyrgyzstan has signed an agreement allowing the United States allowing U.S. to continue using a key air base serving its interest in Afghanistan. Similarly, Petrolinvest, a Polish company exploring for oil in Kazakhstan held talks to form a joint venture with China’s biggest refiners. Further more Tajik-Latvian negotiations resulted in the signing of three cooperation documents, and Tajik Fm and a UK official discussed bilateral cooperation issues. Is this resource-rich and relatively under-developed region poised to become a region of great foreign interest and competition?
China’s Western region on Xinjiang was a source of great worry for Central Asian states, and was prominently in the headlines in the region. Chinese and Kazakh officials agreed to suspend visas to Kazakh citizens for the Xinjiang region of China. Similarly Kyrgyzstan evacuated its citizens from the Xinjiang area of China due to the rising instability in the region. Similarly events in other regions and countries affected these countries in many other ways. For instance, Kyrgyzstan is highly vulnerable and exposed to terrorist groups from Afghanistan and Pakistan.
This region has been affected by the global recession, but has still managed to register some economic growth and seems on its way to further growth. For example, the productivity of these countries can be seen from the news report that Azerbaijan generated nearly 10.1 billion kilowatt hour of energy in the first quarter of the year. Similarly, grain growers from the Tashkent region of Uzbekistan fulfilled their contractual obligations and produced more than 302,829 tons of grains. Is this region on its way to become more integrated and influential in the global arena?
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Business and Politics in the Muslim World (BPM)refers to the project entitled, "Globalized Business and Politics: A View from the Muslim World.' This project has been undertaken and developed by the Gilani Research Foundation as a free resource and social discussion tool.
Wow, interesting idea!
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