Steppe Ahead
The Central Asia column by Thorsten Gutmann, accompanying the Steppe Ahead podcast.
Central Asia
Kazakhstan will withdraw approximately $14.3 billion from its National Fund by 2029 to fund hospitals, schools, power plants, and transit corridors, putting pressure on the fund’s $100 billion target.
Central Asia
Tajikistan's capital investments rose by 44.9% to approximately $3.2 billion over nine months, driven by the government and the energy sector centered around Rogun.
Central Asia
Kyrgyzstan's GDP grew by 10.8% over nine months; the IMF raised its annual forecast to 9%; and President Japarov set a long-term target of 8% for the country through 2030.
Central Asia
At the KGIR Investment Forum in Shymkent, Kazakhstan signed 22 agreements totaling $4.8 billion, a third less than in 2025.
Central Asia
Uzbekistan and the U.S. signed 54 economic agreements worth $12 billion in Samarkand, ranging from GE Aerospace to BlackRock, with critical raw materials at the core.
Central Asia
Ahead of the OGT 2026 Oil and Gas Conference, which will bring together 1,700 delegates from 75 countries, Türkmengaz reports that construction on the first section of the TAPI pipeline is 80% complete and declares the Trans-Caspian Pipeline a priority.
Central Asia
The IMF now expects Tajikistan to grow by 7.3% in 2026 instead of 6.0%, while the World Bank has raised its forecast to 7.5%: The October round of forecasts is more favorable for Dushanbe than for any other country in Central Asia.
Central Asia
Kazakhstan's economy grew by 4.2% over nine months, even though oil production fell by 8.3% to 69.4 million metric tons: industry and private investment are picking up the slack.
Central Asia
During government-level talks in Tashkent, Germany pledged 71 million euros to Uzbekistan for vocational training, power grids, and social protection; in 2024, that figure had risen to as much as 176 million euros.
Central Asia
The World Bank has raised its 2026 growth forecast for Kyrgyzstan by 3.5 percentage points to 9.6 percent—the highest rate in all of Europe and Central Asia.
Central Asia
Tajikistan's parliament has ratified a World Bank grant of $300 million for the Rogun hydroelectric power plant: The 3,780-MW project is expected to mobilize up to $3 billion in preferential financing.
Central Asia
Kazakhstan's current account balance posted a surplus of $2.4 billion in the first half of 2026, with exports rising 27.1% to $48.5 billion.
Central Asia
At the 2026 Turkmenistan Investment Forum, Ashgabat unveils some rare macroeconomic figures to 850 delegates from around 50 countries: a GDP of 77.4 billion U.S. dollars, 6.3% growth, and 3% external debt.
Central Asia
Kazakhstan has harvested 19.9 million metric tons of grain from just 83% of its total acreage and has announced six processing projects worth $4 billion.
Central Asia
As of September 1, Uzbekistan’s Statistics Agency counted 21,490 foreign companies, 6,436 of which are Chinese-owned: With year-over-year growth of 44.5%, the People’s Republic is growing faster than any other investor.