Central Asian Literature, Alatau City & EU–Central Asia Cooperation

In this episode of the Steppe Ahead podcast, Jonas shares impressions from the Leipzig Book Fair, noting 300,000 visitors and discussing Central Asian literature, including classic writers Mukhtar Auezov and Chingiz Aitmatov, and the Kazakh Library translation project, The conversation then shifts to Kazakhstan’s plan to build Alatau City near Almaty to relieve overcrowding, traffic, and pollution, with ambitions for a finance and business hub, special economic zone incentives, major construction partners, earthquake-mitigation technology, and targets of millions of residents, tourists, and jobs by 2050. They also discuss innovative mobility ideas such as air taxis linking Almaty, mountain resorts, and Alatau. Finally, the hosts examine EU–Central Asia relations, contrasting EU free trade momentum elsewhere with enhanced partnership agreements in Central Asia and highlighting visa facilitation talks, while noting hurdles like differing regulations and Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union.

00:00 Mic Check and Welcome

00:26 Leipzig Book Fair Highlights

01:44 Central Asian Authors to Know

03:52 Book Picks and Kazakh Library

06:56 Why Central Asia Is Underrepresented

09:06 Alatau City Vision

11:27 How Alatau Will Work

16:01 Funding Targets and Realism

17:53 Almaty Traffic and Air Taxis

21:16 EU and Central Asia Trade Talks

26:23 Visa Facilitation and Fairness

32:07 Wrap Up and Goodbye