Eurasianet

Letters from Washington, cybersecurity cooperation with China, and negotiating with a bankrupt Taliban. This and more in our weekly briefing.

Middle-class Afghans with the means to navigate Tajikistan’s bureaucracy see the country as a springboard to the West.

That sets them apart from Afghanistan’s other post-Soviet neighbor, Tajikistan.

In our weekly briefing: doing business with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. Plus, it’s reprimand season.

While clumsy on COVID-19, Turkmenistan is being more sure-footed, or consistent at least, on the Afghanistan front. Plus, unsustainable agriculture. Our weekly briefing.

The government signals it is taking COVID a bit more seriously, without admitting the virus is running rampant. And Ashgabat gets down to business with the Taliban. This and more in our weekly briefing.

Iran and Georgia considered as alternatives.

There has been a surge in the number of Pakistanis visiting for tourism.

Despite ambitions for Karabakh reconstruction, the government's overall construction budget has barely budged.

Tajik officials no longer speak about the militants with complete disdain.

The losses to tax revenues will hit the de facto Nagorno-Karabakh government even harder than Yerevan.

The state has set up three “voluntary” funds for Azerbaijanis to cover post-war needs. But widespread reports suggest that people are being forced to contribute.

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.