The agreement on creating a Free Trade Zone between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union stressed the rising diplomatic and economic efforts that Tehran and Russia are sustaining to counter Western sanctions and find alternative solutions for their economies and import-export activities.
The recent Russia-Turkmenistan business forum attended by the Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin confirmed Kremlin's strategy in Central Asia and Moscow's desire to deepen economic and diplomatic cooperation with Ashgabat to avoid any further external interference by the European Union, China, or the United States.
The Kremlin's project to evaluate the opportunity to implement Islamic banking in Russia might support the national economy, attract foreign investors from the Arab-Muslim world, and counter the consequences of Western sanctions imposed against Moscow due to the Ukraine conflict.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has sparked economic sanctions, which are meant to cripple the economy while detracting from Russia's ability to wage war. This paper will analyse the sanctions' impact, the war on the Russian economy and possible future implications.
In a phone call, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon discussed bilateral relations with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov and the delimitation of the common border necessary to resolve Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan territorial disputes which in the past have erupted in border clashes.
The pandemic crisis, the interruption of the supply chain, and the war in Ukraine with soaring fuel prices and shortages of flour and corn have put a strain on Egypt's economic stability. In 2022, the Egyptian government adopted measures which resulted in harsher conditions for companies and local citizens, which Cairo currently hopes to overcome with the support of the International Monetary Fund.
The Islamic State terrorist attack against the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Afghanistan in Kabul stressed the unstable situation in the country and the Taliban's inability to face terrorism and jihadist groups. Although the Taliban claimed that they had upgraded the national security situation since they took power in August 2021, the number of violent attacks and bomb blast have increased.
Recent counterterrorism military drills in Tajikistan highlighted Dushanbe's necessity to upgrade its readiness and expertise in facing terrorist threats inside the country and jihadist activities from neighbouring areas of Afghanistan.
In 2023, military escalations, domestic political turmoil, and economic crises might increase Iran and the Caucasus' geopolitical risk and threaten regional security, whose consequences might broadly destabilise the Eurasian strategic chessboard.
In 2023, foreign actors’ interests, terrorism, authoritarianism, and economic slowdown might threaten Central Asia and AfPak’s security and stability and increase regional geopolitical risk.
This report stems from the research project titled “Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence and Challenges to Psychological Security in Northeast Asia” (21-514-92001) and jointly funded by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS).