Protests in the autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan against proposed amendments to the Constitution of Uzbekistan raised the question of Karakalpak's complete independence from the Uzbek central government.
The constitutional referendum in Kazakhstan marked a historical event aimed at consolidating the final transition from a super-presidential form of government to a presidential republic with an influential parliament and an accountable government.
Iran and Tajikistan marked a significant step in their bilateral relations after the meeting of the Iranian and Tajik presidents and the signing of 16 cooperation agreements which stressed Tehran's cultural diplomacy in Central Asia and Dushanbe's attempt to diversify its foreign partners.
Italy recently discussed further cooperation with Uzbekistan, showing Rome's attempt to play a more influential role in Central Asia by being engaged in a strategic market where Italian companies might export their know-how and products while the Italian authorities might diversify trade and energy imports.
As part of the SpecialEurasia project "Geopolitika Evrazija", we attended a round table at the Kazakh embassy in Rome to get acquainted with the constitutional reforms and the upcoming referendum that will be held in Kazakhstan on June 5th, 2022.
Recent clashes in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, border security problems with Afghanistan and the last Islamic State terrorist attack have underlined the problematic situation that Tajikistan needs to manage to guarantee national stability and security.
In the last couple of months, Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP) and its local Central Asian militants have been increasing their propaganda output by directly targeting regional countries (especially Uzbekistan), calling for attacks against local governments and jihad in Central Asia.
Geopolitical Report ISSN 2785-2598 Volume 18 Issue 2 - Recently, representatives of Italy held a series of meetings with colleagues in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, dedicated to the issues of enhancing cultural cooperation, confirming Rome's interests in Central Asia.
Kyrgyzstan and Italy recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations. Recent official meetings between Italian and Kyrgyz political and business representatives underlined Italy's interest in deepening cooperation with central Asian markets.
The recent Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) meeting underlined the Kremlin's strategy to strengthen its influence in Eurasia through military cooperation and diplomacy. In the aftermath of the Ukrainian Crisis and with the increasing influence of China's Belt and Road Initiative, Russia confirms its desire to be the principal player in Eurasia.
Sauri Arabia and Kyrgyzstan discussed investments partnership confirming Riyadh's desire to improve its economic presence in the Kyrgyz market and Central Asia and Bishkek's necessity to diversify its financial partners and foreign investors.