Bangladesh, May 25 -- ]et In the heart of Eurasia, a renewed contest for influence is unfolding, drawing in major global powers. The five nations of Central Asia-Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan-long perceived as peripherally important, are now emerging as central to the new geopolitical great game. This modern iteration of 19th-century rivalry is not marked by gunboats and conquest, but by summits, infrastructure deals, diplomatic summits, and critical mineral investments.

Central Asias strategic value today stems not only from its geography-landlocked but at the crossroads of East and West-but also from its vast stores of natural resources, especially critical minerals essential to the global green and d...