The Belt and Road Initiative could exacerbate Central Asia’s water tensions, a new paper argues, and Beijing seems to have thought little about the risks.
Regional governments are eager for job-creating export industries, especially in agriculture. Market access gives Beijing more leverage than debt ever could.
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.