Tariq Saeedi
While much of the world spent 2025 navigating economic uncertainty and geopolitical turbulence, Central Asia quietly emerged as one of the year’s most remarkable success stories.
The five nations—Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan—achieved something increasingly rare in today’s fractured global landscape: they maintained steady growth, deepened regional cooperation, and positioned themselves as indispensable players in the evolving world order, all while avoiding the zero-sum games that have ensnared other regions.
The Art of Balance
Perhaps Central Asia’s greatest achievement in 2025 has been its masterful navigation of great power competition. Rather than being pulled into rival camps, the region has perfected what might be called “omni-alignment”—maintaining productive relationships with China, Russia, the European Union, and the United States simultaneously. This isn’t fence-sitting; it’s strategic sophistication.
At the EU-Central Asia summit in April, Brussels announced €12 billion in investments targeting infrastructure and digital connectivity, while China continued its Belt and Road commitments with substantial funding for regional projects. The United States elevated AI and critical minerals to the center of its Central Asia policy. Moscow, meanwhile, remains an important economic partner despite the war in Ukraine reshaping traditional relationships.
The genius lies in what Central Asia hasn’t done: it hasn’t forced anyone to choose sides, nor has it been forced to choose. The region has become what one might call the Switzerland of Eurasia—neutral, pragmatic, and invaluable to everyone.
Against the Tide: Economic Resilience
While global growth sputtered in 2025, Central Asia is projected to achieve 5.7% growth, outpacing even China. This isn’t luck—it’s the payoff from years of economic diversification and strategic positioning.
Kazakhstan now sees one in five citizens working in business, with SMEs contributing nearly 40% of the economy’s gross value added. That’s not just a statistic; it represents hundreds of thousands of family businesses, tech startups, and service companies creating real wealth at the grassroots level. From Almaty to Tashkent, from Bishkek to Dushanbe, entrepreneurship has become the region’s new normal.
The story in Uzbekistan is equally compelling, where reforms launched in recent years are bearing fruit in the form of rapidly expanding private sector activity. Tajikistan, despite infrastructure challenges, has announced a 15-year AI development plan and proposed hosting a regional AI center. Even in the midst of global economic headwinds, Central Asia found a way to keep the engines running.
Infrastructure as Insurance
The region’s infrastructure investments aren’t just about moving goods—they’re about building resilience against future shocks. The Middle Corridor, the Trans-Caspian route linking China to Europe, has transformed from an interesting alternative into a strategic necessity.
Transit times that once took 42 days from China to the Black Sea now take just 14 days, and they’re still improving. Kazakhstan alone has invested $26.7 billion in 17 projects focused on high-value-added production, turning the country from a transit point into a manufacturing hub. More than 1,700 kilometers of rail lines are being modernized, with 4,500 kilometers of new infrastructure under construction.
This isn’t just about trains and ports. When global supply chains fractured in recent years, the Middle Corridor proved its worth. When geopolitical tensions closed other routes, Central Asia offered alternatives. That optionality—the ability to pivot, to adapt, to provide multiple pathways—is what transforms infrastructure from a cost center into a strategic asset.
It’s insurance against the next crisis, whatever form it takes.
The Digital Leap
Perhaps most striking is how Central Asia is positioning itself for the future. While other regions talk about digital transformation, Central Asia is building it.
Kazakhstan established a Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, hosting the Digital Bridge 2025 forum as Central Asia’s largest technology gathering. The country has partnered with Perplexity AI to establish the region’s first dedicated AI research center, and joined MIT’s innovation network. This isn’t cosmetic—it’s a fundamental reorientation toward the technologies that will define the next economy.
Tajikistan declared 2025-2030 the “Years of Digital Economy and Innovation,” focusing on 5G rollout and e-commerce growth, while Azerbaijan introduced a national AI strategy. Uzbekistan has implemented over 20 AI-powered projects, from palm payment systems in the subway to digital identification platforms. Kyrgyzstan proposed creating a Regional AI Hub to foster cooperation across the region. Turkmenistan has introduced several cutting-edge technologies as dedicated disciplines in its institutions of higher learning.
The investment in education matches the ambition. With nearly 30% of Kazakhstan’s population under age 15 and a median age of just 29, the region is cultivating a generation of technology natives. Universities are integrating AI across their curricula, ensuring that tomorrow’s workforce isn’t just technology-literate but technology-fluent.
Beyond AI, the region is making serious moves in blockchain technologies, robotics, alternative energy, and precision agriculture. Smart city projects are sprouting across major urban centers. The goal isn’t to copy Silicon Valley but to build something uniquely suited to Central Asian strengths and needs.
Turkmenistan has introduced its ‘Law On Virtual Assets.’
The Road Ahead
What makes Central Asia’s 2025 story so compelling isn’t any single achievement—it’s the combination. The region has found a way to be everyone’s friend without being anyone’s pawn. It’s growing while much of the world stagnates. It’s building infrastructure that will pay dividends for decades. It’s ensuring that economic gains reach ordinary citizens through SME development.
And it’s making bold bets on the technologies that will shape the rest of this century.
This isn’t to say the path is without challenges. Infrastructure projects require sustained investment. Digital transformation demands continuous education. Maintaining balanced relationships with competing powers requires diplomatic dexterity. But Central Asia in 2025 has demonstrated something crucial: agency. These nations aren’t waiting for permission or following someone else’s playbook. They’re writing their own.
The world would do well to pay attention. Central Asia isn’t just managing the present—it’s deliberately shaping its future. And in an era when too many regions seem trapped by history or paralyzed by external pressures, that purposefulness might be the most valuable commodity of all. /// nCa, 25 December 2025