https://www.scmp.com/rss/523293/feed Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the President of Kazakhstan since 2019. Previously, he held key roles including Prime Minister and Chairman of the Senate. As Director-General of the UN Office at Geneva, he championed nuclear non-proliferation and promoted Geneva as a diplomatic hub. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Letters Letters Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words. The United Arab Emirates’ decision to withdraw from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries effective May 1 has an immediate and practical explanation. Hemmed in by production quotas that cap output well below the UAE’s stated ambition of 5 million barrels per day... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3352162/uaes-opec-exit-reflects-complex-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3352162/uaes-opec-exit-reflects-complex-world?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 May 2026 03:30:09 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Amid the rubble of the US-Israel war on Iran, a new Middle East appears to be taking shape as a constellation of regional powers jockey for a seat at the table. Led by Turkey and Saudi Arabia, the grouping stretches from the Gulf across the Caucasus to Central and South Asia, binding together countries with overlapping interests, interlocking partnerships and a shared conviction: that the post-war order should not be dictated exclusively by the US-Israel alliance or Iran and its battered but... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3351335/middle-easts-new-power-brokers-pakistan-turkey-saudi-arabia-egypt-unite?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3351335/middle-easts-new-power-brokers-pakistan-turkey-saudi-arabia-egypt-unite?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Apr 2026 05:30:08 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Friday that the war in Iran had laid bare the urgency of long-delayed UN reforms, arguing that the world body must be strengthened if multilateral diplomacy is to help restore global peace and security. “We have been talking about that for a long time, but only talking happens,” Tokayev told the fifth Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey. “Everybody is feeling the impact of the Iran war and everybody is suffering.” At the three-day summit ending... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3350505/un-reforms-cant-wait-any-longer-kazakhstans-tokayev-says-amid-fragile-iran-truce?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3350505/un-reforms-cant-wait-any-longer-kazakhstans-tokayev-says-amid-fragile-iran-truce?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Apr 2026 11:43:43 +0000 Cao Jiaxuan Cao Jiaxuan Central Asian governments are leveraging the diplomatic fallout from the US-Israel war on Iran to assert their autonomy and reinforce their long-standing strategy of balancing major powers, according to analysts. For decades, the five former Soviet republics have been seen as Russia’s “backyard”. However, as the conflict in Iran deepens, these nations are moving to recalibrate their geopolitical ties, signalling a shift away from their role as a passive buffer zone for great powers. The shift... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346611/beyond-buffer-zone-how-iran-war-recalibrating-central-asian-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346611/beyond-buffer-zone-how-iran-war-recalibrating-central-asian-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2026 06:00:14 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Central Asia has long been someone else’s crossroads. Squeezed between an overbearing Russia to the north and an increasingly unstable Iran to the west, the region’s landlocked ex-Soviet republics have settled on a different solution: send railways south, through Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, all the way to the Arabian Sea. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan – Central Asia’s two largest economies – have in recent months struck preliminary multilateral agreements for the construction of two... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3344798/central-asias-plan-bypass-russia-and-iran-railways-through-afghanistan-and-pakistan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3344798/central-asias-plan-bypass-russia-and-iran-railways-through-afghanistan-and-pakistan?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Feb 2026 02:00:14 +0000 Genevieve Donnellon-May Genevieve Donnellon-May Central Asia’s water insecurity may seem a distant concern. But its rivers underpin Eurasian trade corridors, sustain global food markets and power regional energy systems. As water stress worsens, this is no longer just an environmental issue but a strategic threat across Eurasia – demanding urgent attention in Beijing, Brussels and beyond. Central Asia is warming twice as fast as the global average, accelerating glacier retreat in mountain ranges that act as natural reservoirs. As a result,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3341896/why-china-and-europe-should-care-about-central-asias-water-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3341896/why-china-and-europe-should-care-about-central-asias-water-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Feb 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US President Donald Trump on Thursday inaugurated his “Board of Peace” to lead efforts at maintaining a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas, insisting that “everyone wants to be a part” of the body that could eventually rival the United Nations – despite many US allies opting not to participate. In a speech at the World Economic Forum, Trump sought to create momentum for a project to map out a future for the war-torn Gaza Strip that has been overshadowed this week, first by his threats to seize... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3340873/world-trump-launches-his-board-peace-some-see-rivalling-un?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3340873/world-trump-launches-his-board-peace-some-see-rivalling-un?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jan 2026 11:43:33 +0000 Ralph Jennings Ralph Jennings Recent moves by the United States – including President Donald Trump’s meeting with leaders of resource-rich Central Asian countries and the expansion of a US government critical minerals list – signal an urgency in Washington to reduce its reliance on rare earths from China before tensions with Beijing flare up again, analysts said. Despite China’s Ministry of Commerce on Sunday suspending export controls on “dual-use items” related to several key minerals for a year as part of the US-China... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3332221/us-stepping-global-rare-earths-hunt-despite-china-trade-agreement-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3332221/us-stepping-global-rare-earths-hunt-despite-china-trade-agreement-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Nov 2025 15:00:10 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Kazakhstan’s decision to join the US-brokered Abraham Accords marks a symbolic victory for Israel, but analysts say the larger motivation for Astana is “currying favour” with Washington and deepening US engagement in minerals-rich Central Asia. The accords, a series of agreements normalising relations between Israel and several Muslim-majority states, date back to 2020. But Kazakhstan and Israel established diplomatic ties in 1992. Still, by formally linking itself to the landmark accords,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3332182/why-did-kazakhstan-join-abraham-accords-if-israel-wasnt-reason?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3332182/why-did-kazakhstan-join-abraham-accords-if-israel-wasnt-reason?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Nov 2025 08:30:16 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump on Thursday called critical minerals a key priority as he hosted the leaders of five Central Asian nations at the White House, emphasising his administration’s efforts to expand and secure US supply chains through new global agreements. The meeting with leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan came as Washington sought to expand its influence in a resource-rich region long dominated by Russia and increasingly courted by China. Trump... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3331856/trump-hosts-central-asian-leaders-us-eyes-sources-critical-minerals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3331856/trump-hosts-central-asian-leaders-us-eyes-sources-critical-minerals?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Nov 2025 02:17:17 +0000 Kandy Wong Kandy Wong While Kazakhstan is cooperating closely with China on the digitalisation of trade, a government official from the Central Asian country said this week that more infrastructure investment is needed – including along the Middle Corridor trade route – for it to realise its aim of becoming a bridge between Asia and Europe. Exporters turned to the Middle Corridor – which connects China and Europe via Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey – as an alternative to the northern route of the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3328371/kazakh-official-urges-investment-help-country-connect-china-and-europe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3328371/kazakh-official-urges-investment-help-country-connect-china-and-europe?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Oct 2025 13:00:15 +0000 Danielle Popov Danielle Popov The founder and CEO of diversified investment group Freedom Holding, Timur Turlov, sees a boost in cross-border e-commerce activity between China and Kazakhstan, following a recent cooperation agreement signed in Beijing. Freedom Bank, part of Nasdaq-listed Freedom Holding, last week entered into an agreement with virtual payment provider Verum Payments and UnionPay Business, a unit of the Chinese state-owned financial services firm UnionPay, to support the development of Kazakhstan-China... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3325080/china-kazakhstan-economic-cross-border-e-commerce-ties-grow-freedom-holding-ceo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3325080/china-kazakhstan-economic-cross-border-e-commerce-ties-grow-freedom-holding-ceo?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Sep 2025 23:00:08 +0000 Josephine Ma Josephine Ma China crowned a busy week of grand diplomacy with a spectacular military parade on Wednesday, sending a message to the world that it has the determination and strength to champion a multipolar global order as geopolitical challenges rise. Flanked by Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and leaders from 26 countries, President Xi Jinping gave a keynote speech on top of the Gate of Heavenly Peace in Beijing to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the war against... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3324233/china-parades-statecraft-and-hardware-world-faces-critical-choices?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3324233/china-parades-statecraft-and-hardware-world-faces-critical-choices?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Sep 2025 14:01:03 +0000 Ralph Jennings Ralph Jennings Investments under China’s Belt and Road Initiative surged in the first half of the year – particularly for projects in Central Asia related to metals and mining – leading some analysts to conclude Beijing is seeking access to critical natural resources as a precaution against escalatory trade restrictions from the United States. The 150 countries taking part in the global infrastructure initiative received a combined US$124 billion in investments and construction contracts from January to June,... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3323354/china-steps-belt-and-road-initiative-funding-focus-central-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3323354/china-steps-belt-and-road-initiative-funding-focus-central-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Aug 2025 15:00:09 +0000 Stefan Antić Stefan Antić Amid escalating geopolitical tensions including the Israel-Iran conflict and renewed strife between India and Pakistan, China is leaning on regional diplomacy to safeguard its strategic interests. Central Asia stands out as a zone of stability, offering Beijing both geographic proximity and strategic opportunity. On June 17, the leaders of China and five Central Asian states gathered in Astana, Kazakhstan’s capital, for the second China-Central Asia Summit. It marked another milestone in... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3316511/why-central-asia-plays-growing-role-chinas-strategic-calculus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3316511/why-central-asia-plays-growing-role-chinas-strategic-calculus?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Jul 2025 21:30:07 +0000