Central Asia Gains as War Shakes Energy Markets and Trade Routes

Central Asia, once treated as a geopolitical backwater, is seizing the spotlight as international capital flows and foreign powers compete for access to its vast mineral and energy wealth.

While the Iran war has disrupted commodity supplies and threatened to spark global inflation, much of Central Asia looks resilient, with most economies growing about 5% to 6% and asset sales luring investors. Governments from the US and Europe to Russia and China are vying for influence and access to the region’s abundant reserves of oil and gas, gold, rare earths and uranium.