Our quarterly regional theme to be published in full on 20 December analyses trade and investment relations between the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) and Turkey. It highlights the inroads Turkey has been making into MENA economically since 2002, while also noting recent rifts between the two sides.

President Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin marked the completion of the offshore section of TurkStream on November 19 in Istanbul.

The government of Uzbekistan plans to hand over 300,000 hectares of land to private businesses, expecting them to increase yields.

The EBRD has published its Regional Economic Prospects report, predicting an ebb in Central Asian growth.

There's a piece of news we find far more important than all the visits, pipelines, satellites, and billion-dollar contracts, but we'll try to build suspense first.

The US has reimposed trade sanctions on Iran, barring it from buying US dollars and trading gold, metal and cars with the outside world. The rial is down to half its previous worth; prices are up by half their previous worth; and the political elites are fuming.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to Uzbekistan advised the government to raise utility prices, lest service providers end up at a loss from all the purchasing they’ve been doing. The rise might come at a cost, and authorities are advised to soften the blow for vulnerable groups. Perhaps it’s about time for public utilities to become private.

The main news of the week is the rising power of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). However, let’s start with other news first.

Speaking to local news eNCA on Sunday, Radebe said: “The submission of that intergovernmental agreement of Russia, US and South Korea was put to test in the High Court in South Africa where the court decided that the submission of those was unconstitutional and unlawful and we are back to square one… which has now been set aside by the court.

Facing growing demand for wood and shortages in domestic supply, Chinese authorities are pushing for greater imports from Russia, ignoring the fact that its neighbour will cease to be a reliable supplier within a decade.