This week’s episode opens with a look at an intriguing, if vague, agreement between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan to jointly manage the Amu Darya river basin. Though details remain scarce, the deal suggests a growing willingness by both countries to cooperate on the region’s most urgent environmental and water management challenges.
The conversation then turns to the World Bank’s latest economic update on Europe and Central Asia (ECA), which paints a mixed picture for Central Asia. While the region may avoid the worst of the projected ECA-wide slowdown, the report identifies serious vulnerabilities, including declining trade with Russia, falling remittances, and the waning returns of the post-sanctions re-export boom. Particularly notable is the warning about the region’s “productivity trap”: too many small, inefficient firms and too little innovation. In a nod to the region’s better prospects, the episode highlights growing intra-regional trade and the potential benefits of global economic fragmentation.
For this week’s interview, we also spoke with Aynabat Yaylymova, founder and executive director of Progres Foundation. She shared sobering insights into Turkmenistan’s information black hole. The conversation explores the real-world costs of this digital repression, from public health setbacks to economic stagnation. The interview also touches on Turkmenistan’s plans for a national digital network and the state’s growing control over an increasingly isolated and unequal online space.
The episode closes with a discussion of AI-generated fake videos in Kazakhstan, particularly around Victory Day. The fakes, which featured governors from Russian-bordering provinces, highlight how generative AI is being used to manipulate sensitive historical narratives and further destabilise trust in information. While government responses have been swift, the deeper challenge lies in building a healthy media ecosystem, something Kazakhstan is still struggling to achieve.
Useful links:
Kyrgyzstan’s trade with Central Asian countries: https://capsunlock.org/publications/kyrgyzstans-trade-with-central-asian-countries-barriers-and-opportunities/
UN submission on Turkmenistan internet repression: https://progres.online/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Turkmenistan-Internet-Shutdowns-Impact-Development.pdf
RSF World Press Freedom Index 2025: https://rsf.org/en/rsf-world-press-freedom-index-2025-economic-fragility-leading-threat-press-freedom
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