One of the consequences of rapid urbanisation is the proliferation of huge landfills in contexts where only a small percentage of waste is recycled. In Tajikistan alone, over 2 million tonnes of waste accumulate every year, occupying a total of over 300 hectares of land.

At the Dushanbe summit, discussions developed on the route that would directly connect Russia to India and Iran. Moscow is unable to offer Central Asia the large investments that China and Europe can, but it is trying to catch up in terms of transport and logistics infrastructure.

According to an analysis by the Eurasian Development Bank, it will take another thirty years for the poorest of the Central Asian countries to stop the exodus of its young people in search of work. But even in Dushanbe, demographic changes and xenophobic tensions in Russia are beginning to slow down the phenomenon, with changes that could begin to be seen within a decade.

Perfect posture, white smile, smooth face paired with thick grey or shiny black hair: from Turkmenistan to Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan, heads of state always appear in perfect shape and full of vitality in official images. Some even use Photoshop to add a few centimetres so as not to look out of place next to Donald Trump's stature.

Although more than half of Central Asia's water resources come from the mountains of Tajikistan, most of the country's residents still do not have access to drinking water. Now the government in Dushanbe has launched a programme to provide it to 72% of the population by 2029. But the question remains as to which international donors will actually be able to finance this plan.

President Emomali Rakhmon recently awarded his daughter Ozoda the honorary title of ‘Exemplary Worker of Tajikistan’. This is yet another example of the habit of Central Asian satraps to generously bestow high honours, medals and awards of all kinds on members of their own families.