Gulf States And Central Asian Republics Chart A Path Forward

Trade, transit and energy topped the agenda when foreign ministers from the GCC and Central Asian republics met in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, last week for their second “strategic dialogue”, following an inaugural event in Jeddah last July. The six Gulf states and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan share many of the same challenges and opportunities on the global stage. Both regions are an important geographical, cultural, and transit crossroads on the Eurasian landmass. Both were the focus of competition between imperial powers in the 18th and 19th centuries and each still deals with the consequences of that today. In the…