Welcome to Central Asia in Focus, a newsletter offering insight and analysis on events shaping the region’s political future. I’m Bruce Pannier. In this week’s edition: Uzbek authorities detain young men who planned on joining the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, Kyrgyzstan signs agreement to build its first floating solar electric stations, and more.

In the Region

Uzbek Authorities Detain 17 Young Men Who Planned to Join ISIS

Uzbek law enforcement detained 17 young men in the Tashkent Province who were planning on joining the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group. 

Uzbekistan’s Interior Ministry released a statement on November 27 that said a 17-year-old identified only as “K.I.” had “fallen under the influence of extremist ideas on the Internet.”

The Interior Ministry said the young man and 16 of his “close associates” were preparing to leave Uzbekistan and join IS.

All 17 face charges of “rioting.”

News of the detentions comes after a court in Jizzakh Province convicted a 27-year-old Uzbek citizen in mid-November for disseminating material and providing financial support for a terrorist organization.

Earlier in November, a court in the city of Kokand sentenced 11 men to prison terms ranging from 6-12 years for providing support to the Tavhid va Jihad Katibasi terrorist group.

Why It’s Important: The Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP) terrorist group operating in Afghanistan has increased its propaganda targeting ethnic Uzbeks and Tajiks inside Afghanistan, and in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

ISKP claimed responsibility for the attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall in March 2024 that left more than 140 people dead.

Most of the suspects Russian law enforcement apprehended in connection to the attack were Tajik nationals.

Tajik citizens have been involved in several recent terrorist plots in Europe and terrorist attacks in Iran and Afghanistan.

Authorities across Central Asia have ramped up their watch over their majority Muslim populations since the Taliban returned to power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021.

While the vast majority does not support militant groups such as ISKP, these groups do appear to be finding some support recently among young Central Asian males.

Kyrgyzstan Signs Deal for Floating Solar

On November 27, Kyrgyzstan signed an agreement with a group of international companies to build the country’s first floating solar electric stations.

Kyrgyz Energy Minister Talaybek Ibraev signed an investment deal with representatives of Czech company Sonnenenergie, Germany’s AB Progressio and LTI ReEnergy CleanTech Project Development UG, and Kyrgyzstan’s SES Toktogul and Toktogul KG.

The floating solar project will be constructed at Kyrgyzstan’s massive Toktogul reservoir where the Toktogul hydropower plant (HPP) is located.

The Toktogul HPP produces some 40 percent of Kyrgyzstan’s domestically generated electricity. After recent upgrades, output is now some 1,320 megawatts (MW).

The two floating solar plants will add a combined 1,224 MW of electricity when completed.

The agreement calls for the project to be finished within four years.

Details of the project emerged in early August.

The solar panels of each of the two stations will cover an area of 2.3 square miles, about five percent of the surface area of the Toktogul reservoir, which would make them the largest floating solar power stations in the world.

The project’s estimated cost is $1 billion.

Why It’s Important: Central Asia is not only short of energy, but the region is also running short of water.

Floating solar helps with both problems, as it provides additional electricity, and the panels shade the water beneath, reducing evaporation.

Other Central Asian countries have been looking at the potential for use of floating solar on a smaller scale, by covering canals that bring water to agricultural areas. 

Majlis Podcast

The latest Majlis podcast looks at how Central Asians view Chinese influence in their region.

The Central Asia Barometer recently released the results of a survey conducted over the course of several years.

The survey analyzes the opinions of Central Asian citizens toward various spheres of interaction with China, including the presence of Chinese workers in the Central Asian countries.

The guests on this podcast are:

• Kasiet Ysmanova, director of the Central Asia Barometer, and survey research practitioner based in Bishkek;
• Frank Maracchione, a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the School of Politics and International Relations, University of Kent, working on Sinophobia in the Global South; and
• Irna Hofman, a rural sociologist specializing in social and agrarian change in Central Asia, who has followed Chinese presence in rural Tajikistan ethnographically for 15 years. 

What I’m Following

Kyrgyz Citizen Rescues Russians from Burning Building, Gets Deported

Sultan Abdumalikov was passing a medical clinic in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg on November 18 when a fire broke out.

Abdumalikov, a migrant laborer from Kyrgyzstan, aided in the evacuation of the building, helping escort elderly patients out and assisting staff trying to extinguish the blaze.

Abdumalikov eventually lost consciousness due to smoke inhalation.

On November 19, police summoned him for questioning.

Abdumalikov was working as a taxi driver in Yekaterinburg without proper documents.

On November 21, a Yekaterinburg court found him guilty of violating the rules for staying in Russia and ordered him to be deported.

The irony is, Central Asian citizens who get caught for document violations can join the Russian military to fight in Ukraine and, if they survive, receive Russian citizenship, but Abdumalikov is being deported after saving Russians in Russia.  

Turkmen Railway Failures Affect Regional Trade

The condition of Turkmenistan’s railway system is being described as deplorable.

RFE/RL’s Turkmen Service, known locally as Azatlyk, received photographs showing cracks in the rails and in the railway ties.

Azatlyk reported trains are forced to slow down to speeds of 12 to 19 miles per hour on some sections of the railroad due to unsafe conditions for traveling at normal speeds.

A dilapidated railway is bad news for more countries than just Turkmenistan.

Turkmenistan is part of major trade and transport routes such as the Middle Corridor that aims to boost trade between China and Europe via Central Asia and the Caucasus.

There is also the North-South route that envisions boosting trade between Russia and Iran, and from Iranian Persian Gulf ports to the Middle East and India.

That route passes through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. 

Fact of the Week

Kazakhstan met its 2024 target figure of exporting 1.2 million metric tons of oil to Germany via the Transneft pipeline system in the first 10 months of the year.

Kazakh Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliev said Germany has requested boosting Kazakh oil exports via the pipeline to 2.5 million metric tons annually.

Thanks for Reading

Thanks for reading Central Asia in Focus! I appreciate you sharing it with other readers who may be interested.

Feel free to contact me on X, especially if you have any questions, comments, or just want to connect about topics concerning Central Asia.

Until next time,
Bruce

P.S. – If you enjoyed this newsletter and don’t want to miss the next edition, subscribe here.