The Latest Breaking News from Central Asia

Organ transplantation in Kazakhstan relies heavily on living donors due to distrust in the system and religious beliefs. Only 10 out of 86 families consented to donation after death in 2024.

Tajikistan, home to the majority of Central Asia's glaciers, is urging global action as climate change accelerates glacier melt. At a high-level international conference in Dushanbe, President Emomali Rahmon proposed launching a major glacier study.

Uzbekistan is Slovenia's second-largest foreign trade partner in Central Asia, and the two plan to increase trade turnover to €500 million by further expanding the exchange of goods and services.

Afghanistan is building a 285-kilometre waterway at an accelerated pace to irrigate its drought-ridden northern regions. Central Asian states maintain that decisions regarding transboundary water use should be made collectively.

Strengthening connectivity will create a true win-win scenario. Most importantly, it will provide a powerful impetus for building a unified regional space, laying the foundation for lasting peace, sustainable development, and long-term stability across the region, Dr Eldor Aripov writes.

The Termez Dialogue in Uzbekistan aims to create a permanent platform for Central and South Asian cooperation, emphasising connectivity and economic integration.

Hiking in Kyrgyzstan? This idyllic trail passes through hundreds of miles of Central Asian wilderness

The spotlight turns to Central Asia this time.

China has been developing closer ties with countries in central Asia over recent years. Trade between China and the central Asia region grew to US$89 billion (£69 billion) in 2023, an increase of 27% on the previous year. Chinese trade rose with every country there except Turkmenistan.

With Europe searching for trade routes that bypass Russia, eyes have turned to the region.

Slower growth looms over Eastern Europe and Central Asia as inflation, weak external demand, and structural inertia take hold. The World Bank urges bold reforms to unlock productivity and avoid the middle-income trap.