With Russia's doors increasingly closed due to nationalist tensions, nurses, labourers and bricklayers are now looking to Germany thanks to agreements signed by Berlin with the government in Tashkent. Meanwhile, the Uzbek population is set to reach 40 million, with a severe shortage of jobs at home.

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.

From the FIFA president to Jennifer Lopez and Andrea Bocelli, the list of international personalities honoured in Tashkent is growing. Uzbekistan is also seeking to exercise a form of soft power at the international level, invariably associating the Mirziyoyev family members with these “personalities”.

At the session marking the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, all five heads of state emphasised in their speeches how this region, torn apart by border conflicts for centuries, is now one of the most peaceful in the world, with growing economic cooperation. There was also a common position on Afghanistan, calling for an end to its isolation through pragmatism without official recognition of the Taliban.

Perfect posture, white smile, smooth face paired with thick grey or shiny black hair: from Turkmenistan to Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan, heads of state always appear in perfect shape and full of vitality in official images. Some even use Photoshop to add a few centimetres so as not to look out of place next to Donald Trump's stature.