The current issue of the 5-Stan Podcast focuses on the past US presidential elections and their impact on politics in Central Asia. CABAR.asia editors Ermek Baisalov and Nargiza Muratalieva talk with experts from two countries: Kadyr Toktogulov, the former Kyrgyz ambassador to the United States and Canada, and Iskander Akylbaev, executive director of the Kazakhstan Council on Foreign Relations.
Are there any similarities in the electoral processes in our region and in the United States? Will Biden and his team build relations with all Central Asian countries or will they make priority ties only with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan (as some leaders in the region), as the experience of the Trump administration has shown? Will Biden, a representative of the US Democratic Party, traditionally pay more attention to promoting democracy, human rights, and freedom of speech? Is it likely that relations between Kyrgyzstan and the United States, which are going through hard times, will improve? For example, countries will re-sign the cooperation agreement denounced in 2015, the United States will remove visa restrictions imposed under Trump. These questions and more are discussed in this 5-Stan Podcast series.
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This material has been prepared as part of the Giving Voice, Driving Change – from the Borderland to the Steppes Project. The opinions expressed in the article do not reflect the position of the editorial board or the donor.