The Rise of Uzbekistan and Central Asia: The Great Game 2.0

Two hundred years ago, Britain and Russia competed for territory and influence over Central Asia in the “Great Game.” Today the game is back, with China, Russia, the United States, Europe, and the Gulf states competing for access to the region's trade corridors, energy reserves, uranium, and critical minerals.

This time, however, the five nations of the region, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, together home to 83 million people, are the active players rather than the chessboard.

Central Asia has entered the world stage in a serious way. Kazakhstan is the world's leading uranium producer. Uzbekistan is the top seller of gold globally and, since opening its borders and media in 2017, has pushed through rapid economic reforms, including a $604 million London IPO for its national investment fund, UzNIF. Between 2023 and 2025, the region hosted its first-ever summits with the leaders of China, the EU, and the US, and the Silk Road is being rebuilt as the modern “Middle Corridor.” The region is also producing its own global brands, from SAG carpets to Kaspi.kz, the fintech superapp used across the region.

In this talk, Sayyora Ayupova, Independent Board Director and CEO of Montfort Eurasia, will map out this new round of the Great Game, drawing on her professional experience inside Uzbekistan's boardrooms, and her family's 150-year history crossing this same terrain across five generations. The conversation will be moderated by Karine Hirn, Partner and Co-founder of East Capital Group.

This event is part of the Nardone Family Seminar Series at the Center for Emerging Markets. Registration is required to receive the link to this online event.

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About Sayyora Apuyova and Karine Hirn

Sayyora Apuyova is an independent board director and CEO of Montfort Eurasia, with 29 years of executive and corporate-governance experience across Central Asia, Russia, Türkiye and the Caucasus in the FMCG, banking and agro sectors. She serves on the boards of three state-owned enterprises in the portfolio of UzNIF — the Uzbekistan National Investment Fund managed by Franklin Templeton — SQB Bank, the Uzbekistan Commodity Exchange (UZEX) and Uzbekinvest, chairing the audit committees of the latter two, and has held independent-director roles at Inarctica PJSC and Alfa-Bank Kazakhstan.

Sayyora's executive career includes 18 years with Procter & Gamble, culminating as General Manager for Central Asia, and senior leadership roles with Coca-Cola HBC in Russia and Armenia. Holding the IoD (UK) Diploma in Company Direction with distinction, she was named Non-Executive Director of the Year in Russia (2020) and General Director of the Year in Kazakhstan (2014). Based in Tashkent, she advises private companies across the region on corporate governance as the engine that makes reform sustainable.

Karine Hirn is a Partner and Co-founder of East Capital Group. Established in Sweden in 1997, East Capital has expanded its reach from being a pioneer investor in Russia and Eastern Europe, and one of the largest investors in this region, to offering global emerging and frontier market strategies.

Born in France and currently based in Hong Kong, Karine is CEO of East Capital Asia Ltd, Chief Sustainability Officer for the East Capital Group as well as a member of East Capital Public Equity Investment Committee. She is also the Chairperson of the Luxembourg-domiciled management company and fund structures. Previously, Karine was China Chief Representative in Shanghai and CEO of East Capital in Sweden. Karine is a French Trade Advisor and an honorary member of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce. She is an independent non-executive director of Lion Finance Group (BGEO). Prior to East Capital, she worked in the banking industry and as a financial consultant in Nizhny-Novgorod and Moscow. She holds a Master's Degree in Business Management from EM Lyon, a Post Graduate Degree in Eastern European Studies from S