Turkey's increasing presence in Central Asia

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 18 Jun 2021 by Alex Teddy
On June 9 the Kyrgyz President visited Turkey. The Turkish-Kyrgyz Business Forum was addressed by him. A Turkish-Kyrgyz citizen was recently kidnapped by Turkish intelligence. Japarov did not broach the issue. He did not wish to offend his hosts, and his own intelligence service might have been more than complicit.Turkish companies are very conspicuous in Central Asia. These including Turkish Airlines, Pegasus, Turkcell and Calik Holding. There are plenty of Turkish schools in these countries. The Turks are very prominent in construction. This is a sector and a region where bribery is rife. Turkish companies are willing to pay bribes because it is part of the business culture in Turkey. Western companies find it hard to compete since such behavior is criminal at home even if the bribe took place abroad. Turkey perceives Central Asia as its backyard. The Turkicm Council was founded for countries that speak languages related to Turkish. Ankara is eager to note that countries that speak Turkic languages are Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In Turkey they often display the flags of all the Turkic nations.The late President of Turkmenistan was close to the CEO of Calik Holding, one of Turkey's biggest conglomerates. Turkey provides a route to the sea for these landlocked countries. It is also a counterweight to the other two major powers in Central Asia, China and Russia. Both maintain good relations with Turkey. The Turkish silence on the Uyghur issue has been deafening. The Uyghurs are Turkic speaking Muslims but Turkey does not dare upset China. Turkey is a NATO country. It has troops in Afghanistan. Some of these will remain there after N...

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