The World Trade Organization (WTO) General Council has included Uzbekistan as a priority candidate for accession at the next Ministerial Conference, set to take place in March 2026, in Cameroon. After decades of limited progress, the accession process was officially revived in

A government commission in Uzbekistan has put forward native-language alternatives for 30 foreign loanwords, including commonly used terms such as "selfie," "cashback," and "challenge." The initiative aims to promote the use of Uzbek over borrowed words from English, Russian and

Read Macro-Advisory's CEO Chris Weafer's comments to EuroNews Business in the article linked below; Which countries will lose the most if tensions reignite around Iran? euronews.com/business/2025/… #IranIsraelConflict #OOTT #Oil #Russia

Its August Chris Weafer takes his annual look at whats in store Anything that is going go wrong in Russia usually goes wrong in August: war, devaluation, coups, natural disasters... you name it. Even Prigozhin's fatel plane crash happened in August....

September 1st is the traditional start to a new investment season. I marked it by appearing on CNBC’s morning show to talk about the increasing political and trade relationships between #China, #India & #Russia and what this means for the prospects of a multi-polar world. #BRICS

A shift not just for gas flows but for global alignments. #Russia and #China have signed an MoU to move ahead with Power of Siberia 2 through Mongolia with a capacity of 50 Bcm and roughly the same as either Nord Stream 1 and NS2. But price remains unclear. Chris Weafer Tatiana Mitrova

Russia and China have finally signed an agreement to move ahead with Power of Siberia 2 (#PoS2). The route will be through #Mongolia and will have a capacity of 50 Bcm and roughly the same as either NS1 or NS2. When complete, Russia’s total gas exports to #China will be 94 Bcm,

The authorities in #Turkmenistan have directed that any “cultural performers” who fail to lose weight will be banned from performing on stage or on TV. The performers are said to have been given a strict deadline to shed weight and "look presentable" in time for the nation's

There is considerable intrigue about recent events in #Kazakhstan which may have some implications for future political stability. On Sept 4, Kazakh media outlet ORDA reported that Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu, businessman Gadji Gadzhiev & senior KNB officers were arrested

Kazakh officials reacted fast to the controversy. Culture Minister Aida Balayeva warned against spreading fake news and the KNB issued a statement denying arrests. The MFA called the reports a breach of ethics. But ORDA doubles down, citing “siloviki” sources. That has led to

Over the past weekend, ORDA co-founder Maksat Ganiyev, said he is suing ORDA’s editor, Gulnar Bazhkenova. He accuses her of financial opacity & spreading falsehoods. On Sun, Sept 7, Bazhkenova concedes and issued a story titled “Nurtleu is free and will attend Tokayev’s address

Kazakh officials react fast: Culture Minister Aida Balayeva warns against spreading false info, KNB issues a statement denying arrests. MFA calls reports a breach of ethics. But ORDA doubles down, citing “siloviki” sources. gov.kz/memleket/entit… #Kazakhstan

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Mon, Sept 8 – Nurtleu appears in parliament, surrounded by reporters. He insists he worked as usual during the rumors: “Kazakhstan is a secular, law-based state. Relevant authorities deal with such matters.” On why he was targeted: “God is on the side of the honest. This too is a

Ukraine has been hit by some of the largest drone strikes of the war while it attacks Russian energy facilities. What's happened to diplomatic efforts to end the conflict? 🎧 #InsideStory, Peter Zalmayev, Chris Weafer and Steven Erlanger discuss: aj.audio/InsideStory

Confirmation that relations between #Azerbaijan and #Armenia really are improving was evident this weekend. At the Silk Way Star music competition in #Kazakhstan, the Azerbaijani jury awarded the Armenian performer 10 points, while the Armenian judge awarded the Azerbaijani

The annual summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) is taking place today in in Gabala, #Azerbaijan. The OTC has been reinvigorated by Turkish President Erdogan who wants the OTC to evolve into a closer cultural and trade organisation and to extend Türkiye’s soft power

Is there a thaw in the cold relations between #Moscow and #Baku? Today is President Putin’s 73rd birthday and President Aliyev marked it with a telephone call to congratulate the Russian leader. Apart from a handshake in Beijing (early September) this is the first major contact

Kazakhstan’s President has dismissed international climate initiatives as a “massive fraud” and advocating greater reliance on coal. Speaking at a meeting of the National Science and Technology Council, he approvingly quoted President Trump: “I don’t like wind, I like coal.”