Belt and Road Weekly Investor Intelligence #91         

There’s plenty of activity in the Middle East and Central Asian regions this week to look at, as supply chains and recent regional agreements lead the focus of the Belt and Road Initiative investment party further West. It’s the Middle East as a hot spot as we discuss the Abraham Accords and what this means for Dubai and Asia overall as an investment hub. Hundreds of billions of dollars are flowing into and out of the region, yet little is known about what is occurring – except by us. 

We also look at supply chain developments and the increasing freight cargo through the Caspian routes, impacting Turkiye, Azerbaijan, Iran and Kazakhstan as well as rerouting Russian transits, and important completion news as concerns the INSTC.      

Kazakhstan’s President has been talking up Central Asian trade while we finish with our usual BRI global headlines round up.    

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Middle East

The Tehran Talks: What Russia, Iran & Turkiye Agreed 

The Presidents of Russia, Iran and Turkiyie have met in Tehran to discuss the Syria peace process, however bilateral talks also took place which impact the energy and food crisis’s, as well as discussions concerning Ukraine. We discuss what happened. 

Turkiye’s Europe-Asia Ambarli Port H1 2022 Transit Cargo Shipping Up 

The Turkish port of Ambarli handled 9.6 million tons of cargo from January through June 2022, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of Türkiye has stated, showing a significant improvement over 2021, driven by the Ukraine conflict. 

Azerbaijan Talks Up Zangazur Corridor As Transit Trade Grows 

EU energy needs may override Armenia’s geopolitical issues.  

Russia To Complete INSTC Railway Connectivity Via Oil Barter With Iran 

The Rasht-Atara and Rasht-Caspian rail routes are an integral part of Iran’s International North-South Transportation Corridor (INSTC) which links Caspian maritime trade directly via rail to Iran’s Persian Gulf ports, giving access in the Middle East, East African, India and South Asian supply chains.  

The Abraham Accords Are Attracting Chinese & Western Investment To The Middle East   

Dubai is repositioning itself as a gateway to hundreds of billions of dollars of Asian investment.

Kazakhstan’s Caspian Sea Ports Report Record Breaking Cargo Turnover Volumes In H1 2022  

Kazakhstan’s revenues from the transportation of cargo via its internal water transport infrastructure amounted to 433.8 million tenge (US$907,530) over the period from January through June 2022, an increase of over five times more than during the same period of 2021.   

Central Asia

Central Asia Has Key Growth Drivers And Potential For Tripling Regional Trade Volumes To US$15 Billion 

Kazakhstan’s President has been talking up Central Asia trade at the Central Asian Heads of State Summit In Kyrgyzstan.     

China’s Belt & Road And Beyond      

All the latest global headlines about China’s Belt & Road Initiative.      

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