The Dostyk-Moyinty railroad: a second line, and two routes
According to data for 2023, up to 50% of rail freight on the China-Russia-Europe route was carried along the railroad leading from PRC to Russia via Kazakhstan. This proportion is equal to the total volume of freight carried along the routes across the Russian-Chinese border and Mongolia. Moreover, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev estimates that the total volume of freight carried through Kazakhstan in 2023 was 29 million tons…
Ovoot-Erdinet and the Northern Railway Corridor: Prospects and Challenges
The Ovoot-Erdenet railroad line is currently under construction in Mongolia. This railroad line is one of the key sections of the so-called “Northern Railway Corridor” – a rail highway to connect Western Siberia with the PRC, the possibility of which is envisaged in the 2016 Russia-Mongolia-China Economic Corridor Project List. The length of the Ovoot-Erdenet line is 542 kilometers and the tracks run through areas with very difficult terrain and minimal power and road transport infrastructure…
Macron, Sullivan and now Cameron are the agents of Russophobia and Chinaphobia in ’Inner Asia’
D. Cameron’s trip, which took place in the last decade of April 2024, was the first ever consecutive visit of the UK Secretary of State for Foreign…
Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan: Cooperation instead of Competition
On April 5, 2024, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev arrived in Uzbekistan at the invitation of the head of that republic, Shavkat Mirziyoyev. It is reported that the leaders of the two states held a substantive discussion of topics related to further strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries, which can be considered a direct continuation of the talks between the President of Uzbekistan and the new Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Oljas Bektenov, held on March 15, 2024…
Kazakhstan-Armenia: An Historic Visit, Mediation and Corridor-building
On April 15, 2024, the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev paid an official visit to Armenia. These two states are partners in a number of international organizations – the CSTO (despite turbulence related to the attitude of the Armenian leadership to this organization), the EAEU, the CIS, and the OSCE. Bilateral trade is developing dynamically: trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Armenia increased by 23% from $43.1 million to $53.1 million at the end of 2023 compared to the beginning of the year…
Blinken-Nurtleu: Simple Meanings of Complex Formulations
On March 26, 2024, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu held negotiations with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington. The two chief diplomats discussed a wide range of processes in bilateral relations and exchanged views on the partnership between both countries in a number of sectors and areas. Washington’s special attention to Kazakhstan is no longer a novelty – Kazakhstan is the only country in Central Asia…
China-Kazakhstan-2024: Building on the best features of the past year
Last year saw a number of significant developments in China-Kazakhstan relations, including two official visits to China by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, multi-billion dollar contracts, the promotion of transport and infrastructure initiatives, and an unprecedented 30 per cent growth in bilateral trade. Kazakhstan accounts for half of China’s trade and investment in the region, with trade turnover between Kazakhstan and China reaching an impressive $31 billion. By 2023, the volume of cargo between the two countries will have increased by 22 per cent to nearly 30 million tonnes…
Gender equality: the faux pas of Americanizing Mongolia
When the word “Mongolia” appears in media reports from the past two or three weeks, the reader is typically directed to numerous headlines about the recent visit of Mongolia’s Prime Minister, Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene, to the United States of America. What’s even more intriguing and potentially productive is that the Mongolia-US talks have recently taken place within Mongolia. For instance, the Trans-Altai Sustainability Dialogue was held in Ulaanbaatar in the first half of June this year. The Ban Ki-moon Foundation and Shorenstein APARC collaborated to organize the event. Its stated goal is to coordinate SDG action through establishing new research…
US interests in Mongolia: the official myth and the secret reality
In the official statements by senior representatives of the United States Mongolia is generally presented as a friendly nation and US partner. Ever since 1991, when US Secretary of State James A. Baker described the US as “Mongolia’s third neighbor”, official statements about Mongolia have been impressively consistent and unambiguous. For example, during his 2011 visit to the country, Joe Biden defined Mongolia as “an emerging leader in the worldwide democratic movement, and … a close friend and partner of the United States.” The US currently sees Mongolia as an “Important Partner…