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…
US Treasury Secretary's visit to China as an element of Washington's crisis management of relations with Beijing
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s week-long visit to China, the second in less than a year, which began on 3 April, represents a remarkable development in relations between the world’s two leading powers. Among other things, it is noteworthy because it came almost immediately after the telephone conversation between the two leaders, which was the first contact between them since they met in San Francisco on the sidelines of the next APEC summit in November 2023. In the six months since then, the long process of accumulation of various kinds of negativity in the bilateral relationship has continued…
The role of Kazakhstan’s partnership with Russia in the realization of its socio-economic priorities, as outlined by K-J. Tokayev
On March 21, 2024, in a formal event held at Astana Square in Almaty, the President of Kazakhstan, Kasym-Jomart Tokayev, congratulated all Kazakhstanis on the holiday of Nauryz. In his speech in the square, the President announced four strategically important national development projects, the promotion of which he designated as a key socio-economic priority for the republic in 2024. These are the reconstruction and modernization of the country’s transport infrastructure and heat and power network…
BRICS maintain growth, global minority forced to watch
The BRICS countries are certainly strengthening their positions on the global stage. And this, both on the geoeconomic and geopolitical levels. Without regard to the opinion of the world minority represented by Western regimes and certain others. Today, these processes are forced to be recognized by a number of analysts in the United States and Japan, while the representatives of Brussels Europe continue to live in the illusions of a bygone era…
Chinese Foreign Minister visits New Zealand and Australia
Between 17 and 21 March, Wang Yi, a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party and China’s Foreign Minister, visited New Zealand and Australia (for the first time since 2017) at the invitation of his counterparts, Winston Peters and Penny Wong. And while the motivation for Wang Yi’s visit to the first of these countries contained its own intrigue, the main component of the entire tour was undoubtedly related to the second half…
India-Africa: the evolution of co-operation - from independence to the present day
The trend in recent years and even months to talk more and more frequently and actively about the Global South as such, and about Africa in particular, may in some cases be seen as a fashionable, superficial fad, but it is not without a significant practical component. Even a cursory analysis of the dynamics of bilateral meetings and summits with an “African focus” is the most vivid illustration of the “turn to Africa”…
Could a trans-Caspian pipeline become a reality?
Turkey, currently strengthening its position in the international arena, is seeking to bring about a multipolar world, with itself as the leader of the Turkic pole. As part of its Turan project, Ankara is now focusing its attention on the southeastern area of the post-Soviet space. Technically, it could be said that the relevant international pan-Turkic structure already exists, in the form of the Organization of Turkic States…
Mongolian Prime Minister in Davos: Meetings and their outcomes
The Prime Minister of Mongolia, Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene, attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, from 15 to 19 January. This article provides an overview of the Mongolian representative’s activities at the event – with a slightly more detailed analysis of the objectives of the official meetings he held during these four days. On 4 January 2024, it became known that the country’s Prime Minister would be attending the Davos Forum: the announcement of this decision…
The Saudi-Iranian agreement in Beijing: on the anniversary of its conclusion
A joint Saudi-Iranian-Chinese trilateral statement was signed in Beijing on 10 March last year. In the statement, Riyadh and Tehran agreed to resume diplomatic relations and open their official missions. They were suspended in 2016 following attacks on Saudi institutions in Iran during protests against Riyadh’s execution of cleric Nimr al-Nimr on terrorism charges. The terms of the agreement also included the unblocking of cooperation in various fields, which was signed 20 years ago. The March agreement came as a surprise, with a number of Middle East experts describing it as “historic”…
The Horn of Africa in the quagmire of geopolitical rivalry Part Four: Abu Dhabi's invisible influence and the position of its immediate neighbours
According to The Economist, the UAE, which maintains close ties not only with Addis Ababa but also with Somaliland, played a mediating role in the signing of the memorandum discussed by all. From this point of view, an Ethiopian military base in Somaliland could be another step forward in strengthening Abu Dhabi’s influence in the Horn of Africa and the Persian Gulf region in general. It should be noted that Abu Dhabi has been addressing this issue for a number of years…
Japan's fake support for Ukraine
From the very beginning of the Special Military Operation, Japan has taken one of the harshest anti-Russian positions, imposing several sets of sanctions, regularly updating them and adding new ones (curiously, there is currently no postal communication between Russia and Japan). At the same time, Japan has repeatedly condemned our country’s Special Military Operation and emphasised its commitment to fully support Ukraine and the Zelenskyy regime. But is everything so unambiguous?
Turkish Plans in Libya Hang in the Balance...
Libya’s favorable geographical location (primarily access to the Mediterranean Sea) and rich oil and gas resources attract many key global and regional players, and Türkiye is no exception. Ankara is known to show special attention to Tripoli in the context of strengthening its regional position and gaining access to Libya’s oil and gas resources. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan chose the president’s side in the civil conflict between…