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Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Turkmenistan. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio addresses a dinner attended by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and members of the American-Uzbek Business and Investment Council in Samarkand on Monday. Photo: AFP
US-China relations

Rubio pitches US business in Central Asia, says China ties need not suffer

Washington and five Central Asian nations outline plans for cooperation on minerals, transport and technology during Rubio’s Uzbek visit.

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US-China relations

US wants to ‘compete’ in Central Asia, ambassador says ahead of Rubio visit

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China's military weapons

Turkmenistan grows its arsenal of Chinese air defences as Russia’s role shrinks

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India

Why India’s missile deals in Central Asia matter to Russia and China

By supplying Akash missile systems, New Delhi offers Central Asian nations a cheap, reliable alternative.

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Akash missile systems are seen at India’s 76th Republic Day parade in New Delhi last year. Photo: Anadolu/Getty Images/AFP
Banking & finance

HKMA licenses Bakai Bank, city’s first from Central Asia

Bakai Bank, one of Kyrgyzstan’s largest lenders, set up in Hong Kong as China and Central Asia’s trade links are increasing.

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Central Asia

China rallies Central Asian police chiefs on terrorism threats, energy and trade

Security ministers from five nations back Beijing initiative targeting extremism, border order and telecoms fraud.

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Education in Hong Kong

Hong Kong emerges as leading Asian study destination for Kazakhstani students

Hong Kong universities attracting growing number of students from Central Asian country, with enrolment up by 408 per cent in eight years.

CityU students Islam Seitzhanov (left) and Assem Kanabek. Photo: Edmond So
China trade

China’s Central Asia push

China has become Central Asia’s top trading partner, with two-way trade surpassing US$100 billion last year on the back of increased oil and gas imports.

China economy

Opinion | China is growing its export channels with railways through Central Asia

Beijing is seeking to diversify its export channels as geopolitical tensions destabilise maritime trade hubs.

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Central Asia

Opinion | In today’s ‘great game’, Central Asian nations are no longer prizes to be won

Instead of being caught between great powers, the five Central Asian nations are using hegemonic rivalries to advance their own interests.

People walk past the Nur-Astana Mosque, the third largest mosque in Central Asia, in Astana, Kazakhstan, on May 25. Photo: AFP
China trade

China opens new Central Asia rail link to strengthen supply chain resilience

Beijing’s push to develop a transcontinental rail network has reduced exposure to naval chokepoints, analyst says.

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The new route comes as China continues to expand its overland trade network across Central Asia and beyond. Photo: Handout
Asia travel

It’s finally opening up but is the ‘world’s weirdest country’ worth the trip?

After decades of isolation, Turkmenistan is easing visa barriers and courting visitors to Ashgabat, the ruins of Nisa and the Darvaza crater.

Malaysia

Malaysia’s nationwide diesel subsidy gets citizens all pumped up

Diesel is currently US$1.05 per litre in Peninsular Malaysia, compared to a subsidised price of 50 US cents in Sabah and Sarawak.

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Diplomacy

Outside In | Central Asia is finally coming into its own

The region’s five countries, inadvertent beneficiaries of Chinese infrastructure investment, then wars and tariffs elsewhere, are finding their feet.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee (second left) visits the Centre for Islamic Civilisation in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on June 5. Photo: Handout
Hong Kong economy

Direct flights between Hong Kong and Uzbekistan to launch this year, sources say

Direct flights between Hong Kong and Tashkent to start as talks begin on reciprocal 30-day visa-free stay agreement to boost trade, tourism and regional ties.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee alongside Uzbekistan’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Bakhtiyor Saidov. Photo: Handout
Central Asia

China’s expanding footprint in Central Asia

From addressing critical water security fears to driving a regional green tech revolution, Beijing is cementing its role as an indispensable partner to Central Asia. This three-part series investigates China’s expanding influence in the region amid global geopolitical uncertainty, exploring how new investments and diplomatic ties are reshaping the Central Asian landscape.

US, Israel war on Iran

As Iran war stokes water security fears, Central Asia could turn to China

Nations facing chronic water shortages might look to Chinese investment to upgrade their creaking Soviet-era infrastructure, observers say.

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China energy security

Putin is pushing for a ‘serious’ new energy deal in China. Will he get it?

The Russian leader arrives in China days after Trump in search of an energy deal, with yuan settlements, pricing potentially on the table.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Middle East

‘Structural shift’: new routes for Middle East freight to bypass Hormuz

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE lead a push for a new trade architecture with multiple nodes linking the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea.

China energy security

China turns to central Asia as US blockade in Hormuz chokes global energy flows

Chinese vice-premier to visit major gas field in Turkmenistan as Beijing aims to shore up energy security and diversify away from volatile maritime routes.

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Central Asia

Opinion | Why China is looking to Central Asia as Middle East grows riskier

The region’s strategic value as a corridor of resilience is becoming harder to ignore.

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An oil and gas industry worker operates a drilling rig at the Zhetybay field in Kazakhstan’s Mangystau region, on November 13, 2023. Photo: Reuters
Central Asia

Afghanistan wants US$10 billion in trade deals with Central Asia

Central Asia’s typical trade routes through Russia are hampered by heavy sanctions, while the Taliban is trying to trade with the world despite international sanctions.

Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi (centre, back), along with representatives from Central Asian states, takes part in the Afghanistan-Central Asia Consultative Dialogue at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Kabul on Sunday. Photo: AFP
Central Asia

Beyond a ‘buffer zone’: how the Iran war is recalibrating Central Asian ties

The former Soviet republics are leveraging diplomatic fallout from conflict to assert autonomy and balance major powers, observers say.

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Food and Drinks

Why horse meat and nomadic tea rituals anchor this new eatery in Central

For the Kazakh founders of Yurt, opening the new Central Asian restaurant was written in the stars.

Hong Kong transport

Hongkong Post’s airmail services to 24 countries affected by strikes in Middle East

Public postal service suspends airmail to Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, affecting ‘services transiting through these locations’.

Residents mail parcels at the General Post Office in Central in May 2025. Photo: Elson Li
Central Asia

Trains through the Taliban: Central Asia’s plan to bypass Russia and Iran

The Soviet Union severed Central Asia’s ancient trade routes to the Indian subcontinent. The region’s modern-day leaders want them back.

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A Taliban guard walks along railway tracks near a TAPI pipeline construction site at the Afghanistan-Turkmenistan border in 2024. Photo: AFP
China-Russia relations

As Central Asia builds ‘smart cities’ with China, is it moving away from Russia?

Lack of Russian involvement in the mega-projects is seen as part of a broader structural shift as the region moves ‘closer to the world’.

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Japan

Steppe in the right direction? ‘Japan is back’ in Central Asia with new summit

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the leaders of five Central Asian nations are expected to establish a new framework for cooperation in AI.

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