After much anticipation and anxiety about the presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan, there is a feeling of relief that Almazbek Atambaev won the contest with an overwhelming majority, making a second round of elections unnecessary. The presidential race passed off without violence and unrest, which many in Kyrgyzstan consider an achievement in itself. The scale of Atambaev’s majority took many commentators by surprise as some had predicted a low turnout and a strong oppositional challenge. But according to the Central Electoral Commission, the turnout was 61.28 percent and Atambaev gained 63 percent of the votes. The elections were observed by 792 international observers from 56 countries. Although international observers have criticized electoral irregularities, pointing to incomplete voter registrations and ballot stuffing, overall the elections were assessed as encouraging.

Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister, Karim Massimov, once referred to energy cooperation as the ‘core’ of relations between his country and the European Union (EU). Indeed, there is great mutual interest in this area. Six percent of the EU’s crude oil imports and 16 percent of its uranium imports come from Kazakhstan. And around 80 percent of the latter’s oil exports go towards Europe. For Kazakhstani producers, access to European lucrative and reliable markets is of utmost importance. Over the last several years, the thrust of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy was aimed at increasing the capacity of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) that pumps Kazakhstani oil to Europe. Moreover, Kazmunaigaz’s (KMG) – the national oil and gas company – major external investment was in the Romanian oil company Rompetrol.

The autonomous region of Gorno-Badakhshan (GBAO) in Tajikistan offers one of the world’s most impressive landscapes. The Pamir Mountains with peaks of up to 7,500 meters is second only to the Himalayas. Culturally the region also has much to offer with a variety of well-preserved traditions and numerous languages. GBAO, which makes up 45 per cent of Tajikistan’s territory but only 3 per cent of its population, is however extremely isolated. From Dushanbe there are adventurous but irregular flights in late spring, summer and early autumn but most travellers will need to take a bumpy 17 hour car journey. Other options to reach GBAO are equally challenging, either mountain passes from China’s Xinjiang region and the city of Osh in Kyrgyzstan or crossing the Panj River from northeast Afghanistan where a few bridges have been built.

Central Asia today holds much strategic interest for India as an emerging 21st Century regional and global power. Despite being a latecomer in what some see as a new ‘Great Game’, New Delhi is keen to reconstruct the ‘Silk Route’. While Indo-Central Asian relations go back to antiquity when cultural, commercial and political ties thrived, post-independence India was physically cut off from Afghanistan and West Asia. It remained embroiled in domestic preoccupations and the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, all of which led to a limited foreign policy until the early nineties and a belated rediscovery of the region.

The EU seems to move towards a regional focus in supporting civil society in Central Asia. This while the most urgent challenges of NGO's in the region are found in their national environment. Recent history and current developments explain why support for civil society initiatives on a national basis are needed more than ever in Central Asia.

On 14 July European development ministers met in Sopot, Poland. Among a host of development related matters Central Asia was on the agenda and European Union Special Representative Pierre Morel and Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs were invited to give political and development assistance oriented background to the European ministers. The Polish Presidency wants to devote special attention to EU development assistance to this often over-looked region, which the EU has traditionally viewed predominantly through a foreign policy lens. Development strategies to Central Asia need to be discussed in the context of the five year old political strategy, set to be reviewed this coming autumn.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) held its 10th anniversary summit in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, on 15 June to celebrate its achievements over the last decade and guide its future development. Contrary to the negative predictions that it would prove to be a paper tiger, over the past ten years the SCO has developed into a full-fledged organisation with a structure capable of managing its wide-ranging cooperation on security, economy, transportation, disaster relief, law enforcement, culture, etc.

The Kyrgyz town of Kara-Suu lies on the border with Uzbekistan, some 25 kilometres from Osh, the city most affected by the conflict between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks on 10-17 June 2010. With a population of around 21,000, of which 67% are ethnic Uzbek, Kara-Suu also serves as the administrative centre of the Kara-Suu district, which includes the village of Nariman, with a predominantly Uzbek population and notorious as the scene of several high-profile and brutal murders, as well as suburbs of Osh.

In recent years, terrorist actions have increased in Central Asia, especially in the two weakest states, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and on the Uzbek side of the Ferghana Valley. The killing of Osama bin Laden by US special forces has raised fears of a possible backlash from his supporters and a new wave of terror across a large area surrounding Afghanistan. Now the Taliban have warned Kazakhstan - Central Asia's most successful economy and largest oil producer which has to date avoided the Islamist violence that has affected its Central Asian neighbours - of the dangers of entering the war on Afghanistan after the Kazakh parliament decided to send troops to join the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) war efforts.

After months of delays, leaks and rumours, the Kyrgyzstan Inquiry Commission (KIC) has finally published on 3 May its report looking into the events of 10-15 June 2010 in the Kyrgyz oblasts of Osh and Jalalabad, which led to the death of 470 people, 74 percent of them ethnic Uzbeks. The Kyrgyz authorities have reacted to this report arguing that the report's authors relied too much on accounts by Uzbeks and that the research was incomplete.

The Kazakhstani political landscape will not be shaken by similar tremors to those that have rocked North Africa and the Middle East in recent months. President Nazarbayev who has been at the helm of Kazakhstan's political architecture since the fall of the Soviet Union is destined to stay. This is in spite of hopes that economic development coupled with the 2010 OSCE Chairmanship would spur the democratisation of the oil-rich state and lead to the rise of a natural successor for the 70 year old leader.

Recent data show that Kazakhstan is on course to become the world's largest producer of uranium in 2009. Total output in Kazakhstan is anticipated at around 14,000 tonnes in 2009, making it the largest producer in the world, and the authorities have ambitious targets to push output up further. Uzbekistan also seeking to increase output, while increased global demand might even make hitherto unexploited mines in Kyrgyzstan viable. The ambitions don't stop there, with both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan seeking to move beyond simply extracting uranium.

The EU's most recent aviation blacklist bars all of Kyrgyzstan's airlines from entering the Union's air space, and all but one from Kazakhstan. The blanket ban reflects EU concern at safety deficiencies in the oversight system. Reflecting their Soviet-era legacy, a combination of weak financial resources, outdated legislation and lax regulatory requirements has affected development of the aviation sector in these countries. To meet EU requirements, substantial modernisation of the sector will be required.

The destruction of the Central Asia-wide electricity grid has demonstrated the fragility of energy arrangements in the region and the lack of political co-operation among regional states in general. At the same time, the destruction of the regional distribution network may have drastic consequences for all the countries in the region.

On the eve of its chairmanship, Kazakhstan seems to be entering a systemic crisis. The old development paradigm does not work anymore. Internal problems have accumulated and are challenging the current status quo. How will that affect the country's performance in OSCE?

Officially, the Central Asian states continue to have the same literacy rates as under the Soviet regime, which is about 99 % of the population. The reality of the situation is altogether different. Figures provided by UNICEF reveal a significant drop in enrolment in primary schools in over little more than a decade. It will weigh heavily on the future of Central Asia in a world in which the mastery of knowledge is one of the drivers of economic development.

As the European Union sets out an ambitious agenda in its Central Asian strategy, its support for education may be used to raise awareness of Europe and help states create national cadres capable of sustaining the desired dialogue. A number of universities in Kyrgyzstan have already introduced European studies into their curricula. While it is far too early to take stock, some preliminary impressions can already be discussed.

The EU-Kazakhstan and EU-Tajikistan civil society seminars on the themes of the judiciary and detention organised at the end of June in Almaty and in mid-July in Dushanbe, demonstrate how difficult it is to improve the situation in these key areas of the rule of law and human rights protection.

As the world considers how best to regulate the 'virtual reality' of online information exchange and communication, Kazakhstan has taken a tough and clearly disproportionate step to tighten its grip on the internet. The main target of public indignation was the equation of blogs, chat-rooms and other websites, which used to be deemed a user's private territory, with mass media outlets, imposing the same liability for libel, calumny, violation of privacy and other breaches, which are subject to criminal prosecution in Kazakhstan.

As expected, Kurmanbek Bakiev won the presidential elections held on July 23rd in Kyrgyzstan by huge margin. This presidential election is a new step in the process of concentration of power by Kurmanbek Bakiev and the growing consolidation of a 'simulated democracy' system, far from the expectations generated during the early 1990s. The opposition, headed by Atambaev (8% votes), has denounced the validity of the entire process and has organised some public protests, although only a few people have appreared on the streets.

EUCAM, in cooperation with Asian Development Bank, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Wolfensohn Centre for Development (Brookings Institution), organised a conference on Regional Cooperation and Development in Central Asia. The event was hosted by CEPS on March 2-3, 2009. The gathering was marked by a broad range of perspectives on the constellation of interests, capacities and motivations regarding a more integrated Central Asia. Water resource issues that largely define the relationships between the Central Asian states were discussed from various angles by Central Asian and international experts and representatives of major donor agencies (Aga Khan Development Network and UNDP)