Central Asia: Chinese-led development bank locked in competition with Western rival Eurasianet China-Central Asia Monitor: Feb. 27- March 5, 2026.

Eurasianet China-Central Asia Monitor: Feb. 27- March 5, 2026. Bne IntelliNews #CentralAsia #China #DevelopmentBank #Eurasianet #EconomicCompetition

From rivalry to recognition: The OTS's evolving approach to Tajikistan A Eurasianet partner post from the Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst.

A Eurasianet partner post from the Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst. Bne IntelliNews #Tajikistan #Eurasianet #CentralAsia #ForeignPolicy #InternationalRelations

Armenia: Nvidia chip transfer approved, major AI project “confidently” moving forward An Armenian $500-million initiative to develop an artificial intelligence and supercomputer hub has taken a major step forward after US regulators approved the transfer of advanced Nvidia chips. The project is being developed by Firebird, an AI startup launched in June with offices in San Francisco and Yerevan, in collaboration with the Armenian government. At a November 20 news conference, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan revealed that he personally lobbied US President Donald Trump for help in expediting the chip-transfer approval process, framing the matter as part of the provisional peace deal brokered by Trump and signed by Armenia and Azerbaijan in August at the White House. “I am glad and grateful that the White House responded quickly and appropriately. As a result, the project will now confidently move forward,” Pashinyan told journalists. The Armenian AI hub will receive Nvidia Blackwell GPUs, which the company describes a chip that “defines the next chapter in generative AI with unparalleled performance, efficiency, and scale.” Also on November 20, Michael Dell announced via social media that his company will be supplying PowerEdge servers. Dell lauded the venture as “advancing responsible AI innovation across both nations.” Pashinyan, meanwhile, has characterized the Firebird project as having “significant strategic importance” for Armenia’s economic development by establishing the country as an AI and IT leader in the Caucasus. In the national security realm, the AI project could potentially help Armenia regain strategic parity with Azerbaijan, after Baku, via its superiority in the use of battlefield drones, inflicted a decisive defeat on Armenia during the Second Karabakh War. According to a statement issued by Firebird, the venture aims to blend “entrepreneurial vision, world-class infrastructure, and global collaboration to unlock new opportunities for innovation and growth.” The project’s first phase is expected to launch in mid-2026. The 100-Megawatt data center will consume an annual amount of electricity equivalent to that used by a city of roughly 120,000 residents. Such a facility can also require over 500,000 gallons of water per day for cooling. The parent company of Telecom Armenia and Ireland’s Imagine Broadband are involved in creating the infrastructure for the data center. Firebird does not have much of a track record. The Afeyan Foundation for Armenia is listed in the company’s statement as “the founding investor.” The foundation’s “principal” is a venture capitalist, Noubar Afeyan, who played an important role in launching of the biotech firm Moderna. Sign up for Eurasianet's free weekly newsletter. Support Eurasianet: Help keep our journalism open to all, and influenced by none.

Armenia: Nvidia chip transfer approved, major AI project “confidently” moving forward #Eurasianet #Armenia

US takes action to accelerate TRIPP talks The United States has announced the formation of working groups in Armenia and Azerbaijan to accelerate efforts to get the trade route known as TRIPP across the finish line. During visits to Yerevan and Baku respectively, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker announced the establishment of working groups to flesh out details of TRIPP’s construction timeline and planned operations. Sonata Coulter, Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, has been tapped to oversee the working groups’ functions. TRIPP, or the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, is projected to comprise a railway, pipeline and power transmission lines, connecting Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave, traversing Armenian territory. Projected to be the lynchpin of the emerging Middle Corridor trade network, TRIPP is a central feature of the provisional peace deal signed in August by Armenia and Azerbaijan, brokered by the US president. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan predicted earlier in November that work on TRIPP would commence in late 2026, but a wide array of issues – including border delimitation and leasing terms for the firms that will administer and provide security for the route – remain to be settled. The working groups intend to expedite negotiations on a general agreement. Pashinyan revealed that Armenia was considering granting either 49- or 99-year leases to build and operate TRIPP on Armenian territory. Financial considerations will have more weight than political factors in the decision-making process, the prime minister added, while insisting that Armenia will retain full sovereign rights over TRIPP. “Investments will be made there [in TRIPP] and the investor must have a certain guarantee that he will get his investments back,” Pashinyan told the audience at a November 14 economic conference in Yerevan. “We do not see a political component there for a simple reason, there is no political component there, there is a financial component there: who will invest how much, and what is the calculation of how long these investments can be repaid with a certain profit.” Work on connecting TRIPP to Europe’s rail network is already underway, according to Azerbaijan Railways chief Rovshan Rustamov. The Report.az outlet cited Rustamov as saying a feasibility study on upgrades to the railroad system in Nakhchivan has been completed and technical details to expand and modernize existing infrastructure is “ongoing.” “After this stage is completed, construction will begin and a new railway network in Nakhchivan that will be built to modern standards,” Rustamov is quoted as saying. He added that a Turkish spur to connect Nakhchivan to the rest of Turkey’s rail network is more than two-thirds finished, with a target completion date of late 2026. Meanwhile, a State Department senior advisor, Jonathan Askonas, who accompanied Hooker in Yerevan and Baku, made a side trip to Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, for discussions on trade and connectivity issues. Georgian government officials used the occasion to complain about the “the current level of relations.” The US House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved legislation that would impose additional sanctions on Georgian leaders, and effectively freeze US diplomatic engagement with Tbilisi, in response to the Georgian Dream government’s rapid embrace of authoritarian practices. The legislation, known as the MEGOBARI Act, is stalled in the Senate. Sign up for Eurasianet's free weekly newsletter. Support Eurasianet: Help keep our journalism open to all, and influenced by none.

US takes action to accelerate TRIPP talks #Eurasianet #Armenia

Quick Hits # 20: A roundup of recent developments in the Caucasus and Central Asia #Eurasianet #Armenia

Georgia skids downward in latest Freedom House report on Internet freedom #Eurasianet #Armenia

Armenian PM says TRIPP construction to start in 2026 #Eurasianet #Armenia

Quick Hits #19: A roundup of recent developments in the Caucasus and Central Asia #Eurasianet #Armenia

US to set up working groups with Armenia, Azerbaijan to work on TRIPP details – report #Eurasianet #Armenia

Central Asia: Bringing Afghanistan in from the cold Stronger ties a win-win for all involved.

My latest with @joannalillis.bsky.social for #eurasianet Central Asia: Bringing Afghanistan in from the cold | Eurasianet share.google/xDgtYrry5BRS...

On the sidelines of the recent #Astana International Forum, #Eurasianet had the opportunity to pose questions about private equity’s place in #Kazakhstan’s overall investment picture to Didar #Karimsakov, QIC’s board chair.

🔗 eurasianet.org/private-equi...

Timed with the #COP29 climate conference in Baku, the UN released a report on environmental challenges in the #Caucasus, highlighting global warming’s impact on health, food security, and economies. #Eurasianet interviewed Levan Tielidze about the issues: eurasianet.org/caucasus-gla...