Author: Jaasir al-Rahman

At the recent China–Central Asia summit on May 18 and 19, Beijing presented a comprehensive plan for expanding cooperation with the Central Asian states that would usurp Russia’s position in the region (Newscentralasia.net, May 20). The convening of this summit underlined the fact that, at least in Central Asia, the repercussions of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine are now making themselves felt. It has been clear for some time that Russian power, influence and leverage in the region has been on the decline. While this hardly means that Russia has lost all means of influencing local governments, the erosion in its…

The European Union is heading for intense talks in the coming days over how to further curb Russian revenues from exports of oil and petroleum products, and strengthen sanctions to hit President Vladimir Putin’s war machine. EU diplomats are due to start discussions on Friday about a review of a price cap on Russian crude oil exports to third countries that the Group of Seven and the EU put into place late last year. They also need to decide price levels for new caps on petroleum products, including diesel, by early February. The thresholds on Russian oil exports to third countries are meant…

Almaty will host the second European Union – Central Asia Economic Forum on May 18-19 to discuss ways forward on policy, programs and investment needed to develop a more integrated and interconnected regional market engagement, according to the EU Delegation to Kazakhstan. Photo credit: asiatv.kg. The forum will focus on three key priority areas – a green and digital transition, a better business environment, and trade and connectivity. The participants will also discuss measures to strengthen sustainable connectivity and promote regulatory approximation in the economic area between the EU and Central Asian countries. The forum will provide recommendations for engagement…

Indonesia plans to intensify talks with China and other Southeast Asian countries to finalize a code of conduct (COC) for the disputed South China Sea, its foreign minister said on Saturday, amid escalating tensions in the strategic waterway. Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi was speaking in Jakarta at the close of a meeting between foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the 10-member regional bloc chaired by Indonesia this year. “ASEAN’s outlook on the Indo-Pacific was central to the discussion,” she said. “We also discussed about the COC, the commitment of members to conclude the negotiation of the…

U.S. President Joe Biden will meet leaders of Australia and Britain in San Diego on Monday to announce a way forward for Australia to receive nuclear-powered submarines in Canberra’s biggest-ever defense project. The three countries announced the so-called AUKUS plan in 2021 as part of efforts to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region. However, questions remain over strict U.S. curbs on the extensive technology sharing needed for the project and about the length of time it will take to deliver the submarines. Australia is expected to buy up to five U.S. Virginia class nuclear-poweredsubmarines in the 2030s as part of the landmark agreement to be revealed in…

Kazakh Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, Zulfiya Suleimenova, discussed Kazakhstan’s plans for sustainable water resources management with the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, at the UN Headquarters in New York on March 24. The Secretary-General commended Kazakhstan’s efforts, emphasizing the active position taken by the country in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They also discussed Kazakhstan’s initiative to establish the UN Regional Hub on SDGs in Almaty for the Central Asian countries and Afghanistan. Suleimenova headed Kazakhstan’s delegation at the 2023 UN Water Conference, held from March 22 to 24 in New York, which is the first global…

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Saturday said that it would not take much time for terrorism to go to other places beyond Pakistan if the interim Afghan government did not demonstrate the “will and capacity” to take on militant groups operating from its territory. Addressing the Munich Security Conference in Germany, the PPP chairman said the most important issue regarding Afghanistan in the region was the “security and terrorist threat emanating out” of the country, adding that there was a whole “alphabet soup” of terrorist organisations that were based out of Afghanistan. He rued that not enough seriousness was…

A Saskatoon teen who escaped Afghanistan is now in the running for a $100,000 scholarship to a Canadian university. Banin Arjmand was selected as a finalist for the Loran Scholar award. Over 4,800 people applied for the award, which includes 36 scholarships that are set to be handed out. Arjmand said she couldn’t believe the news once she heard. “It is very big and I never ever thought that I could make it this far.” The youngest of eight siblings, Arjmand came to Canada with her parents in 2021. “You need to fight for your life for that journey. It…

Afghanistan has offered to export high calorific value coal and base metals like copper and rare earth minerals to India. “There is $3 billion worth of untapped trade potential between India and Afghanistan. Indian companies can export heavy machineries, textile, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and fertilizers, while Afghanistan can export high quality coal, precious and semi-precious stones, gems, copper and rare earth minerals,” said Farid Mamundzay, Ambassador of Afghanistan to India. India can import coal of high calorific value (upto 12,000 kCal/Kg) at affordable cost from Afghanistan, instead of relying on distant countries such as Indonesia and Australia, said the ambassador of…

If Australia sleepwalks into a war with China, as many analysts fear is happening right now, then amid our strategic slumber we should at least ask one question: what would war with China mean for Australia? Put bluntly, the repercussions of Australia joining the US in any war with China over the status of Taiwan — or any other issue — may have catastrophic consequences. Of all the uncertainty and conflict in the world at the moment, for Australians this surely is one of the most important discussions we must have. There are still hundreds of diplomats and politicians around…