Posted on 11/25/2009 12:12:01 PM PST by Ghost of Jesus Gil
Central Asia faces a broad range of security challenges. Due to the region’s position at the crossroads between Russia, China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and the Caspian Sea it is confronted with a range of trans-national issues such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, organised crime and terrorism. Central Asia also encounters specific regional threats including scarcity of water resources for generating power and irrigation purposes, which is currently causing tension. On a national level the five Central Asian republics face the threat of instability due to bad governance and the harsh impact of the economic crisis.
(Excerpt) Read more at rsdreports.com ...
i really have never heard of reports that the EU has special interest in central Asia. would really be news for me... Usually Africa and the ME is europes playground.
In recent years Central Asia is growing in importance - one of the many reasons being the need for energy, included in that are the South Stream and Nabucco gas pipelines and Turkey’s role of aiming to become an energy hub with oil and gas coming in from Central Asia on its way to Europe (this also involves heavily Russia with Gazprom controlling much of the natural gas into EU
but doesn´t nabucco start somewhere in the ME? i guess Iran, Iraq is on the list.
The biggest problem that Central Asia faces is an odd one: underpopulation and cultural homogeneity. What could cause them to economically blossom, culturally evolve, and enter the world stage is something most in the West are long tired of: immigration.
Particularly, a hard working but economically deprived people who would enter their country not as slaves, and not as masters, but as enthusiastic peers. Not from anywhere in the region, but from a “second world” country on the other side of the world, rhetorically speaking.
There are several countries in South America that would be excellent “donor” nations. They could send literally millions of people, in an orderly manner over the course of decades, to set up new cities in cooperation with the native peoples, to insure maximum mutual benefit, minimum strife and hostile competition, strong economic development and national security.
In return, would likewise benefit by the introduction of South American business and industry, and to some extent valuable export commodities rare to Central Asia.
not so homogenous culturally — the Tajiks, Uzbeks are quite different from Kirghiz, Turkmen, Kazakhs. And there are lots of Russians
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