Regional governments are eager for job-creating export industries, especially in agriculture. Market access gives Beijing more leverage than debt ever could.
While the hydrocarbon field that Baku and Ashgabat will jointly develop isn’t itself a gamechanger, it could finally open up Turkmenistan’s massive gas reserves for European markets.
Spraying chlorine, new infrastructure on the Afghan border, and claims of a naturally occurring COVID vaccine. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan bulletin.
Ashgabat may hope expending energy to attain international respectability will improve its chances of tapping global financial institutions for investment.
