New accusations against relatives of former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev raise the issue of the cult of personality surrounding local leaders. Azattyk Asia's analysis: “The sudden transformation of the fathers of the nation into figures to be forgotten reflects the very meaning of political loyalty in our region.” The cases of Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

The new restrictions introduced by Beijing to control exports of precious minerals essential for sophisticated weapons and artificial intelligence applications raise the issue of deposits in Central Asia. Astana claims to have opened a new mining production line for over 20 million tonnes. But transport and infrastructure shortages make international investment uncertain and risky.

One of the consequences of rapid urbanisation is the proliferation of huge landfills in contexts where only a small percentage of waste is recycled. In Tajikistan alone, over 2 million tonnes of waste accumulate every year, occupying a total of over 300 hectares of land.

At the Dushanbe summit, discussions developed on the route that would directly connect Russia to India and Iran. Moscow is unable to offer Central Asia the large investments that China and Europe can, but it is trying to catch up in terms of transport and logistics infrastructure.

The disputed 40 kilometres between the Azerbaijani border and the Nakhchivan enclave through Armenian territory are of fundamental importance for the entire region. The Corridor will not only reunite Azerbaijani territories through Armenia, but will also significantly shorten the entire Eurasian and Trans-Caspian Corridor route, which is essential for transport that must avoid sanctions against Russia.

According to an analysis by the Eurasian Development Bank, it will take another thirty years for the poorest of the Central Asian countries to stop the exodus of its young people in search of work. But even in Dushanbe, demographic changes and xenophobic tensions in Russia are beginning to slow down the phenomenon, with changes that could begin to be seen within a decade.