centralasia

The Middle Corridor – Where The EU’s Global Gateway Meets the Belt and Road Initiative: What Potential for Complementarity?

The role of infrastructure in contemporary global politics is shifting and gaining growing attention. Aiming to increase global connectivity, the European Union’s Global Gateway (GG) strategy and the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are at the centre of attention as infrastructure investment programs. Between the two, the Middle Corridor emerges as an area of potential increased future consortium, both geographically and strategically. What are the GG’s goals, principles, and financial mechanisms and how does it compare with China’s BRI? How do both strategies relate to the Middle Corridor and its potential for complementarity between the two initiatives? The path forward requires refinement, but the momentum is there and the potential for collaboration lies ahead.

EIAS Participation in the online event on “Migration in Central Asia and its implication for Europe”

On Wednesday, 24 April 2024 EIAS Director Lin Goethals moderated the Online Event on “Migration in Central Asia and its implication for Europe”, organised by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. In view of the growing importance of the relationship between the EU and Central Asia, the Year Book on Migration in Central Asia 2022-2023 was presented by Tatiana Zlobina, Coordinator of the projects on human rights and migration at the TianShan Policy Center of the American University of Central Asia (TSPC AUCA) in Bishkek. Julian Plottka, Researcher at the Universities of Bonn and Passau, spoke about cooperation between the EU and Central Asia. The event was opened by Dr Thomas LEEB, Director of the Hanns Seidel Foundation in Brussels and closed by Dr Max Georg MEIER, Head of Projects in Central Asia, Hanns Seidel Foundation.

The Middle Corridor Initiative – Where Europe and Asia Meet

Over the past two years, geopolitical shifts in Eurasia have significantly impacted global supply chains, alongside various political and economic dynamics. The repercussions of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Houthi attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea have led to serious discussions on the liability of different transport routes. There has been a visible redirection of cargo flow from northern to southern routes in the East-West direction, rendering traditional transport paths less relevant and sought for. Amidst the diminishing significance of the New Eurasian Land Bridge (NELB) or ‘Northern Corridor,’ a demand for alternative transport routes has emerged, with particular attention drawn to the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also called the ‘Middle Corridor.’

Forging Sustainable Transport Connectivity: Enhancing EU-Central Asia Transportation Through the Trans-Caspian Corridor

The EU-Central Asia Investors Forum 2024 is the latest significant development in the EU’s commitment to improve connectivity in Central Asia. Most notably this includes the development of competitive intermodal transport, logistics networks, and to encourage sustainable development initiatives throughout the region. Bringing together high-level leaders and stakeholders from the EU, Central Asian states, the Caucasus, Türkiye, and other international partners, the Forum served as a platform to discuss future prospects for investment and collaboration in various connectivity sectors including digital, energy, and transports. These future investments and collaborations aim to pave the path for innovative methods and strategic partnerships.

Shifting Migration Patterns in Central Asia – The Path Towards Resilience?

While the EU’s Central Asia strategy places an emphasis on human security, the issue of migration is a key pillar in the pursuit of resilience and should not be viewed solely through the lens of security. This Op-Ed examines migration patterns in Central Asia and the EU‘s strategy for the region in light of the war in Ukraine, providing three key focus points.

Recalibrating the EU’s Approach to Civil Society in Central Asia to Local Resilience

Since the European Union (EU) launched its New Strategy on Central Asia in 2019, the EU has been striving to play a role of greater significance in the area. The EU is committed to forging a stronger security and economic partnership with Central Asian states whilst encouraging the region’s development into a more resilient, prosperous, and closely interconnected political and economic space.

The Growing EU Engagement in Central Asia: Challenging the Russian Predominance in its Traditional Backyard

On 18 November 2022, Samarkand hosted the “EU-Central Asia Connectivity Conference: Global Gateway”. Preceded by the late October 2022 visit to Astana by European Council President Charles Michel, the summit confirmed a new and more vigorous European push towards the Central Asian region, historically located in the backyard of the Russian Federation.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s 22nd Annual Summit: A Timely Reminder of the Importance of Central Asia’s Role in Geopolitics

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) held its 22nd annual summit on 15-16 September 2022 in Uzbekistan’s historical city of Samarkand. The summit gathered its member’s leaders in person for the first time since 2019. In light of the current global political and economic uncertainties, the gathering attracted worldwide attention while hitting the international headlines.

EU-Central Asia Relations and Beyond: The Orientation of Energy Policies in Kazakhstan.

Following Kazakhstan’s Referendum on Constitutional Amendments of 5 June 2022, the country is headed for a series of political reforms in a rapidly changing international environment. Kazakhstan seems to have oriented its foreign policy toward opening up to countries other than Russia and decreasing its economic and political dependence on its historical neighbor.