Rogun Dam & EU role: Tajikistan’s Rogun hydropower megaproject is drawing major EU funding as Russia’s influence in Central Asia faces pressure, with the dam’s scale and export ambitions underscoring its strategic weight. Water diplomacy in Dushanbe: A Dushanbe seminar on building trust over shared waters fed into the wider “Water for Sustainable Development” push, while multiple Dushanbe forums put glacier monitoring, gender-inclusive water governance, and women parliamentarians’ leadership front and center. Glacier monitoring push: Central Asian experts backed stronger scientific approaches to glacier monitoring and transboundary water forecasting, stressing data exchange and coordinated modeling as ice loss accelerates. Food & land resilience: A Khatlon pasture monitoring mission reported improved forage productivity from rotational grazing, restoration fencing, and pasture user unions—aimed at stabilizing rural livelihoods. Waste-to-energy plan: Dushanbe is considering a waste-to-energy facility with Chinese partners to cut landfill pressure and add electricity. Regional security training: OSCE border-security training in Dushanbe brought together Tajik and Uzbek border troops to tackle illicit arms trafficking linked to Afghanistan. Energy shock spillover: Russia’s ban on aviation fuel exports until Nov. 30 could tighten jet-fuel supplies for Central Asian states that rely on rail shipments, including Tajikistan. Tajik identity policy: President Rahmon ordered stronger teaching of the “ancestral alphabet” (Persian script) as part of national identity and cultural heritage efforts.