On January 22 in the Swiss city of Davos, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed the Charter of the Board of Peace, initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump. The charter was also signed by heads of state, prime ministers, and foreign ministers from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Argentina, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan,
A new report shows that despite the ongoing efforts to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in all spheres of life, Central Asian countries still lag significantly behind the world leaders in AI adoption. Kazakhstan is Central Asia’s leader in AI use, ranking 72nd among 147 countries, with 13.7% of the working age population
In 2026, KazMunayGas-Aero LLP, an aviation fuel supply subdivision of national oil and gas company KazMunayGas, has begun “into plane” aircraft refueling at airports in Almaty and Astana. The Ministry of Transport has provided KazMunayGas-Aero with direct access to the infrastructure of Kazakhstan’s airports, including regional ones. The company plans to increase the scope of direct
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) says it is extending a €61.7 million sovereign loan to Kyrgyzstan to help it modernize its electricity grid. The loan, complemented by an investment grant of up to €3 million and technical cooperation funds of €3 million, will help to finance critical upgrades to the national electricity transmission
Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar, a global clean energy leader, has announced the signing of a collaboration agreement with Emirates Utilities Development Company (EUDC) and Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy relating to the development of a gigascale round-the-clock clean energy project in the Central Asian country. The collaboration brings together Masdar’s clean energy
From January to November 2025, Uzbekistan exported 14,800 tons of rice to 11 foreign countries, generating a total revenue of $6.4 million, Dunyo information agency reported citing data from the National Statistical Committee. The largest volumes of Uzbek rice were exported to Central Asian countries and neighboring states. Kazakhstan was the largest importer with 8,000
Kazakhstan’s Cybernet AI startup has unveiled an automatic speech recognition (ASR) model for Turkic languages. This is the first-ever AI model designed specifically for the Turkic language group, not adapted from existing English-language solutions, according to the Kazakh Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development. The project was implemented with the support of the Astana
The National Statistical Committee of Kyrgyzstan has published data of the country’s economic development in 2025. In 2025, gross domestic product (GDP) growth was 11.1%. Industrial production grew by 10.6%, driven by a 1.7-fold growth in pharmaceutical production, increase in the production of rubber, plastic, and construction materials by 35.7%, wood, paper, and printing products
Kazakhstan registered 4,400 new companies or branches with foreign participation in 2025, driven primarily by businesses from China and Uzbekistan, Kursiv reported citing data from Kazakhstan’s Bureau of National Statistics. As of January 1, 2026, Kazakhstan had about 63,900 legal entities and branches with foreign participation. Among countries that opened more businesses or joint ventures
On January 20, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was briefed on the achieved results and priority tasks for 2026 in the sphere of digital technologies development. In recent years, the country has been implementing consistent measures to develop the digital economy, digitalize public services, and form an innovative ecosystem. According to foreign experts, in 2024-2025, the total
China-Central Asia economic and trade cooperation made considerable progress in 2025, with the total value of trade in goods reaching $106.3 billion, an increase of 12% compared to the previous year, Xinhua news agency reported citing the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. The trade volume between China and Central Asia exceeded the $100-billion mark for the
The Innovative Center for the Development of Unmanned Aviation has officially opened at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU) in Almaty. The project is a collaboration between KazNU and Aerial Solutions LLP. The new center will focus on domestic development and production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), establish training and production laboratories and a test site,
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) says it is continuing to support Tajikistan’s transition from traditional carbon-intensive transport models to environmentally friendly and sustainable mobility by providing a €10 million financing package for a large-scale modernisation of public transport in Bokhtar, the administrative centre of the Khatlon region. The package consists of a
On January 19 in Tashkent, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting with the Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni, who made a stopover in the Uzbek capital. The leaders reviewed practical aspects of further strengthening the Uzbek-Italian strategic partnership and expanding multifaceted cooperation, noting the consistent implementation of agreements reached at the highest level
The first cross-Caspian Sea China-Central Asia freight train from north China’s Tianjin Municipality to Baku, Azerbaijan, departed on January 19, carrying goods such as stainless steel pipes and household appliances, Xinhua reported. The train, operated by China Railway Beijing Group, will leave China via Khorgos Port in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, traverse Kazakhstan,
The demand for workforce in Kazakhstan significantly exceeded supply at the end of 2025. According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, in December, employers posted 109,600 job vacancies on the Enbek.kz online job exchange, while job seekers submitted 71,500 resumes. Compared to November, the number of job openings increased by 8.4% (+8,500), while
Hideki Tanabe is a senior international development expert who stood at the origins of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Tajikistan. Having completed his tenure as the first Head of JICA’s independent office in the country, which he led since its establishment in 2017, he played a key role in integrating Japanese technical assistance
In line with the key objectives set for the development of the tourism sector through 2030, Uzbekistan plans to increase tourism’s share in the country’s gross domestic product from the current 3.5% to 7%. This will drive economic growth in related sectors and create new jobs, according to the Tourism Committee. In addition, a sharp
Chinese and Uzbek archaeologists have found early city walls constructed and modified between the 3rd century BC and the 10th century AD at the ancient city of Kuva in Uzbekistan, Xinhua reported. Located in the Fergana Valley in eastern Uzbekistan, the Kuva site, now spanning about 110,000 square meters, used to be a very important
The National Research Center for Infectious Diseases (NRCID) was officially opened in Almaty on January 16. It is a key facility established on the instruction of the Head of State to strengthen the country’s biological security system. The establishment of the Center became a systemic response to the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and
