Lots of undecideds as Armenian parliamentary election campaign gets underway –

Leading off… 

As Armeniagears up for a parliamentary election in June, initial public opinion survey results contain encouraging news for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s hopes of retaining power. But Pashinyan cannot coast, as nearly four out of every 10 Armenians are either undecided, or will not divulge their electoral preference, according to a poll conducted by the International Republican Institute’s Center for Insights in Survey Research. Pashinyan’s Civic Contract party enjoys the largest share of public support at 28 percent. Three opposition entities combined enjoy about 19 percent support. The poll indicated that there is significant public backing for Pashinyan’s efforts to forge a lasting peace agreement with Azerbaijan, and almost three out of every four surveyed support the government’s efforts to forge closer ties with the European Union. At the same time, public concern remains high about the state of the Armenian economy, in particular unemployment and inflation. Given the large percentage of undecideds, the election outcome could be influenced by potential external shocks connected to the ongoing US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, Armenia’s southern neighbor. A major concern in Yerevan is that the war could spark a wave of refugees in Armenia. The IRI survey of over 1,500 individuals took place in early February and has a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.

In case you missed it in the Caucasus…

Armenia is vigorously courting American IT giants as the government pursues a plan to turn the country into a hub of artificial intelligence innovation. Armenia’s Deputy Minister of High-Tech Industry Ruben Simonyan met with top executives of Microsoft and Oracle in early March on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. The Armenian government is reportedly interested in developing professional retraining programs and joint educational initiatives with Microsoft, according to media reports. Meanwhile, Oracle reportedly pitched technology that could be used in the government’s efforts to digitalize systems and improve data management. In late 2025, US regulators approved the transfer of advanced Nvidia chips, providing a big boost for the country’s AI initiative. 

Oklahoma senator Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to become the homeland security secretary in Donald Trump’s cabinet could potentially have adverse ramifications for the Republic of Georgia. Virtually single-handedly, Mullin blocked the senate’s approval of the Megobari Act after it secured overwhelming approval in the House of Representatives in mid-2025. The legislation, which would impose additional sanctions on Georgian government leaders as punishment for making a geopolitical turn away from the West towards Russia, appeared to have flatlined in late December after failing to be included in the National Defense Authorization Act. Now, the act still faces long odds to win Senate approval. But Mullin’s departure could encourage a new push for passage.

Meanwhile, across the Caspian…

Kazakhstan is poised to have near-record harvests of wheat and barley in the 2025-26 marketing year, according to US Department of Agriculture estimates. The country is estimated to have roughly 100 million metric tons of wheat available for export in the marketing year, which began in September 2025. That figure will come close to, if not exceed the previous marketing year’s total. In addition, export of feed flour to China, generated from wheat and barley, is projected to come close to 3 million metric tons by the end of the marketing year.  

Kyrgyzstan’s National Bank has adopted a regulation requiring commercial banks to tighten control over Russian ruble transactions. The new requirements went into effect on March 1 and will be in place for at least one year. According to a March 5 report distributed by the Kaktus news outlet, commercial banks are now required to report within 24 hours to the National Bank concerning ruble transactions exceeding 5 million rubles (about $64,000). In late February, EU officials told Kyrgyz officials that the Central Asian state could face sanction imposed by Brussels unless Bishkek took swift action to inhibit the illicit movement of goods, including dual-use items used by the Kremlin to maintain its war effort in Ukraine, flowing from Kyrgyzstan to Russia.

Uzbekistan has launched an advertising campaign designed to lure IT specialists living and working in Dubai and other Gulf States to Uzbekistan. Life across the Gulf continues to be disrupted by the ongoing US-Israeli air assault on Iran. Uzbek ads now circulating on IT- and fintech-oriented platforms offer specialist wiling to relocate a wide choice of employment opportunities touting Uzbekistan’s low cost of living and salaries in the $4,000 per month range, a huge sum by Uzbek standards. The ads feature a slogan: “Move to a safe and politically neutral country!”

Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Communications convened a seminar March 5 to develop a national strategy for artificial intelligence development. The gathering included officials from the United Nations Development Programme, along with representatives of various government agencies and “public organizations.” No timeline for the publication of the AI strategy was disclosed. When finalized the strategy will become a component of the State Program for the Development of the Digital Economy in 2026–2028.

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