Stan By Me

Kawasaki Heavy to build world's 1st gas-to-gasoline plant in Turkmenistan
6 NOVEMBER 2014 NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW YOSHIFUMI UESAKA

TOKYO (NAR) -- ... In August, Kawasaki Heavy won a roughly 150 billion yen ($1.44 billion) contract to build the world's first gas-to-gasoline plant in Turkmenistan. It will use new technology from a European company and work closely with its Japanese partner, Sojitz.  Read More

Could Iran and China Cut the US Out of Afghanistan?
1 NOVEMBER 2014 DIPLOMAT SHANNON TIEZZI

.. The question of China-India cooperation on Afghanistan has received a great deal of attention, while the potential for China-Iran cooperation has been relatively overlooked. Like China (as well as most other interested parties, including India and the U.S.), it's in Tehran's best interests to have a stable Afghan government in Kabul, one that is free of influence from the Taliban. But Iran also seeks greater political and cultural sway over its neighbor, which puts it at odds with the U.S.  Read More

Another Wrinkle in Kazakhstan-Russia Relations?
The extradition of accused embezzler Mukhtar Ablyazov could complicate an already prickly relationship.
28 OCTOBER 2014 DIPLOMAT CASEY MICHEL

... A French court in Lyon last week ruled that France had the right to extradite Ablyazov, who remains wanted for embezzling approximately $6 billion in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. As the Ukrainian government recently announced that it would not cooperate with Russian prosecutors, and as Kazakhstan and France do not maintain an extradition treaty, Russia remains the most likely destination for Ablyazov's extradition.  

.. Relations between the two nations over the past eight months have reached their lowest point in years -- perhaps their lowest in the post-Soviet period -- due to a confluence of Russian revanchism in Crimea, economic sag through the Eurasian Economic Union, and Putin's recent and remarkable slight that ethnic Kazakhs claim no statehood until the fall of the Soviet Union.  Read More

More Evidence of Economic Slowdown in Central Asia
"The bottom, it seems, has yet to come. And with closer economic integration via the Eurasian Economic Union on the horizon for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and potentially Tajikistan, this initial dip may be a signal of what to expect for the foreseeable future."
7 NOVEMBER 2014 DIPLOMAT CASEY MICHEL

... Overall, all five Central Asian states are looking at more sluggish projected GDP growth moving forward than they’ve recently known, especially for those nations most closely entwined with the Russian economy.  Read More

India, Iran, and the West
9 NOVEMBER 2014 DIPLOMAT HRISHABH SANDILYA

... If things go well, and India is able to leverage its investment to boost trade and send the supplies and aid it has promised the Afghan government, it is reasonable to assume that India will be willing to make an increased commitment to Chabahar, similar to the Chinese investment in Gwadar, in the future. Iran’s offer to make the province a free-trade zone and offer India preferential tariffs for its exports en route to Afghanistan and Central Asia is also a game-changer and bodes well for the development of Chabahar.  Read More