Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov delivered a keynote speech at the UN General Assembly on September 25, indicating that Ashgabat wants to “open up” to the outside world and build a more durable environment to further its economic interests. Praising the role of the UN in... MORE

The steeply rising price of bread in all regions of Kazakhstan, coming in the wake of controversial parliamentary elections, has fueled popular discontent with the ruling Nur Otan party and become an embarrassment for the government. Recently a group of protesters picketed the Almaty office... MORE

The Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan has just finished a series of anti-terror exercises staged by Russia's National Anti-Terror Committee and the Federal Security Service (FSB), codenamed “Baikonur-Anti-Terror 2007” (Itar-Tass, September 26). Established by the USSR in 1955, Baikonur is the world's oldest and largest continuously... MORE

Following Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s decree to hold a constitutional referendum on October 21, most political forces in Kyrgyzstan are almost certain that the referendum will lead to snap parliamentary elections as early as December 2007 or January 2008. The current constitutional draft presented by... MORE

Talks held in Bishkek on September 18 between Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon produced wide-ranging commitments to deepen bilateral cooperation. Significantly, both sides agreed step up cooperation involving their intelligence and law-enforcement agencies in order to combat terrorism, extremism, human and... MORE

While Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are relatively poor in hydrocarbons compared with the petro-rich former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, they both possess abundant quantities of an even more valuable resource -- water. The two countries are slowly coordinating their water policies in a manner... MORE

Kyrgyzstan's constitution will be changed yet again through a national referendum to be held October 21. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev scheduled the referendum following the Constitutional Court's September 14 cancellation of constitutional amendments endorsed in November and December 2006. While the referendum will secure the legitimacy... MORE

Harvest yields below projected levels combined with rising prices have analysts watching events in Central Asia, wondering if increased food prices might trigger civic protests. Poor weather has combined with the U.S. demand for ethanol bio-fuel to affect global grain prices. Because the United States... MORE

As food prices continue to rise in Kyrgyzstan, the potential for another political crisis is rising. Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev recently threatened to sack ministers who failed to foresee and prevent the 30% inflation rate for wheat prices in the past three months. If... MORE