Asset Ordabayev

November 17, 2020

Iran-China Relations within the Framework of A Possible New 25-Year Agreement

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced in July 2020 that they were negotiating on a deal with China that represented as 25-year strategic agreement. Although the details of this agreement is not disclosed to public but according to news circulating in media this deal includes mainly economic and energy […]

November 5, 2020

European Union – China Cooperation: Values versus Trade

On September 14, 2020, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Council President Charles Michel, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen conducted negotiations with Chinese President Xi Jinping via video conference. This high-level online meeting took place instead of a summit to be held in Leipzig, where the leaders of […]

November 5, 2020

Shinzo Abe’s Legacy: Political and Economic Dimensions

At the end of August 2020, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced his resignation due to the deterioration of his health caused by chronic ulcerative colitis. As Abe explained, he did not want his worsening health to affect important policy decisions and therefore stepped down [BBC, 2020]. Abe was in […]

October 25, 2020

Australia, India, and Indonesia: The Likelihood of a New “Union” in the Indo-Pacific Region

In recent years, uncertainty has grown in the Indo-Pacific region associated with the declining role of the United States and the growing ambitions of China. These circumstances demonstrate the limitations of the existing bilateral and multilateral security mechanisms, which have long been under the U.S. security “umbrella”. At the same […]

October 25, 2020

Malaysia: Political Turbulence and Uncertain Future

Since February 2020, a very complicated political crisis has been dragging on in Malaysia, the outcome of which is still not clear. The main reason for the conflict was a dispute over the transfer of power from former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to Anwar Ibrahim, who has been trying to […]

October 25, 2020

The EAEU Development Strategy: Work in Progress

On May 19, 2020, a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council was held via videoconference. The focus of the discussions was on the development strategy of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) until 2025. The summit was held on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the union and against […]

October 25, 2020

COVID-19 and Its Impact on China’s Belt and Road Initiative: The Case of Central Asia

When, in mid-January 2020, President of China Xi Jinping paid a visit to Myanmar, where he signed agreements on new infrastructure projects, it seemed that nothing could interfere with the Chinese Belt and Road initiative (BRI) [Koh, 2020]. Then, the probability of a global pandemic was low and China was […]

October 24, 2020

Future of Integration in Post-COVID-19 World

The world, by all indications, is experiencing a moment that can be called a great crisis. We can assume that it will be a turning point in modern history. For several months since the advent of COVID-19, analysts have been discussing what the world will be like after the pandemic. […]

October 24, 2020

Pompeo’s Eurasian Tour: Expectations and Reality

From January 30 to February 3, 2020, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited four post-Soviet countries – Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. The trip was planned back in early January but was postponed due to worsening relations between the United States and Iran. The confrontation escalated when, by order […]

October 24, 2020

Parliamentary Elections in Uzbekistan through the Eyes of the Observer

On December 22, 2019, the parliamentary elections were held in Uzbekistan for the the first time after President Shavkat Mirziyoyev succeeded the country’s long-serving leader Islam Karimov who passed away in September 2016. The author of this article participated in the elections as an observer, and this analysis is based […]