Tajikistan

The combined GDP of the region’s five countries has grown by almost 2.5 times over the last eight years, whilst mutual investment has increased 5.6-fold. But even beyond the economic sphere, questions are mounting as to what unites these peoples, what they can achieve together in the face of today’s challenges, and what kind of future they envisage.

Located a few kilometres from Dushanbe, the observatory – which was once at the forefront of research into the Earth’s atmosphere – is now a destination for school groups and tourists. The old telescope has been fitted with a digital camera that transmits images to a computer. But everything else has remained unchanged since the 1980s.

Over the last three years, the number of women business owners in the country has risen by 21.5 per cent. Most operate small and medium-sized enterprises, chiefly in the retail and services sectors. Today, they can also count on a support programme promoted by Japanese development cooperation and the World Bank.

Since coming to power, there has been a shift in relations between Kabul and the countries of the region. The commercial pragmatism of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, and the greater caution shown by Tajikistan. The (future) crux of the issue: the Koshtepa Canal and the disputed use of the waters of the Amu Darya River.

New temperature records have been set in many cities across Central Asia, in some cases exceeding 50 degrees. In this region, which is particularly vulnerable to climate change, roads have warped, power cuts linked to high consumption have occurred, and measures have been put in place to protect those working outdoors.

In the first six months of the year, there was a 74 per cent increase in trade volumes. As well as investing in road improvements and logistics, Dushanbe is focusing on the digitalisation of transport services through a cooperation agreement with South Korea.

The region’s population is gradually ageing: in Kazakhstan, the number of elderly people has risen by around half a million in recent years. But the incidence of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and senile dementia is also on the rise, and families are often left to cope with them on their own.

In Tajikistan, over 50,000 people are to be resettled to make way for the construction of Central Asia’s largest reservoir. It is due to come into operation in a year’s time, but the inhabitants of the villages that will be submerged still do not know either the amount of compensation or the date of payment.

From Tajikistan to Kazakhstan, thousands of young people are currently studying at colleges and universities opened in recent years by Moscow, where teaching is conducted in Russian. The aim is to make a long-term investment in the new generation, who have no memory of the Soviet era and are increasingly exposed to Western and Chinese influences.

​​Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil facilities are also having repercussions in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, with rising prices, a shortage of aviation fuel and growing uncertainty over energy security. Meanwhile, Moscow is seeking supplies from Kazakhstan, which has restricted exports to protect its domestic market.

In Tajikistan, heatwaves with temperatures consistently above 40 degrees in summer are taking their toll on 2.5 million children, who are particularly vulnerable to water shortages. Almost a third of the country’s population is under 15 years of age; according to scientists’ data, they will have to cope with increasingly extreme temperatures throughout their lives.

EU Special Representative Stiprais is calling for an update to cooperation policies that takes account of the increasingly close ties between the countries in the region, which have been highlighted by Kyrgyzstan’s election to the UN Security Council. The “shared” Kambarata hydroelectric power station and the local satellite internet connection system are the flagship projects.