The Council of the European Union (EU) has announced that the President of the European Council, António Costa, along with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, will be travelling to Uzbekistan for the first-ever EU-Central Asia summit on 3-4 April 2025, with the participation of the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan’s state news agency TDH reported that on February 10, the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty (People’s Council) of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov had a telephone conversation with President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian. Berdimuhamedov informed about the agreement with Türkiye’s BOTAŞ company on the transit of
A freight train, loaded with communication equipment and other products, departed from southwest China’s Chongqing city on February 10 and is expected to arrive in Afghanistan in 12 to 15 days, Xinhua reported. This marked the inauguration of a new direct freight train route, which passes through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, between Chongqing and Afghanistan. In
The Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan and Freedom Telecom Holding Ltd. (Kazakhstan) have signed a memorandum of cooperation in the construction of a fiber-optic hyper-highway and data centers for the transit and storage of international internet traffic. The construction of the West-East national hyper-highway will significantly increase the volume of
On February 10, a four-party working meeting was held in the format of a video conference to discuss the draft intergovernmental Agreement on the establishment of the Caspian Sea–Black Sea international transport route, the Turkmen Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported. The meeting was attended by heads and representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and other
The integration of Central Asian states and the formation of a common space for cooperation have always been considered an inevitable process that will sooner or later determine the main trends in the region’s development. The very understanding of Central Asia, based on historical, cultural and religious commonalities, is not about creating new but rather
‘The Legends of Great Silk Road: Adventures of the Spirit of Time’ is a new book by Uzbek author Gulchekhra-Begim Makhmudova, published in English by Hertfordshire Press in London. This book gives an opportunity to discover for your children (and for yourself) the magical world of the legendary Great Silk Road. In ‘Adventures of the
According to the Afghan Ministry of Industry and Commerce, during the past ten months of the current solar year (which began in March 2024), trade between Afghanistan and five Central Asian countries reached $1.696 billion, including $112 million of Afghan exports and $1.584 billion of imports, TOLOnews reported. Afghanistan exported to the Central Asian countries
A two-day meeting of representatives of the Railways of the Islamic Republic of Iran, national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), Russian Railways, and Turkmenistan’s railway company Turkmendemiryollary ended in Almaty on January 30. According to KTZ, the meeting summed up the results of railway cargo transportation across the territory of Kazakhstan via the Bolashak
On January 28-29 in Turkey, Laziz Kudratov, the Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan, participated in a meeting with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Transport from Uzbekistan, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. He also attended a trilateral business forum with the participation of over 400 representatives from the business communities of the three
Afghanistan Uzbekistan Kyrgyzstan China Rail Corridor Update The Afghan Ministry of Public Works said that the quadrilateral rail-economic corridor agreement between Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and China has been extended for the year 2025, TOLOnews reported. Mohammad Ashraf Haqshenas, the ministry’s spokesperson, stated that the deputy minister of public works signed the agreement during his visit
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) says it has set a new operational record in Central Asia by investing €2.26 billion through 121 projects in six regional economies last year – almost doubling its annual investment in Central Asia compared with 2023. It also mobilized €784 million from co-financiers, thus bringing more than
The United States and Armenia on January 14 signed a strategic partnership agreement expanding cooperation in security and several of areas as Yerevan seeks to distance itself from traditional ally Russia, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reported. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan signed the agreement in Washington. The United States is “working
Afghanistan’s trade volume in 2024 exceeded $12 billion, with a 38-percent increase in imports year-on-year and a 4-percent decrease in exports, Xinhua reported with reference to the country’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry. “Afghanistan’s total trade stood at 12.42 billion dollars in 2024, of which the country’s export volume reached 1.8 billion dollars, while imported
The government of Brazil, which holds the presidency of BRICS in 2025, on January 6 announced the formal entry of Indonesia into BRICS as a full member. The BRICS is an informal group of countries that originally consisted of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. BRICS has recently expanded its membership to include Egypt,
The Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock said that China will construct three standard cold storage facilities with a capacity of 1,500 tons each for preserving fresh fruit and vegetables in Afghanistan, TOLOnews reported. According to the ministry, Chinese diplomats have announced that engineers from China would be sent to Afghanistan to build these
On December 27, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev had a telephone conversation with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. The presidents exchanged condolences and expressed words of support to the families of those killed in the crash of an Azerbaijani passenger plane in Kazakhstan’s Mangistau region. On December 25, the Embraer 190 of the Azerbaijan Airlines
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has signed a contract for the construction of a major cement production plant in Logar with a Chinese company that also has an Afghan partner, TOLOnews reported. Hedayatullah Badri, acting minister of mines and petroleum, stated during the contract signing ceremony that approximately $145 million will be invested in
As of 20 December 2024, the “Work in the EAEU” mobile app, developed by the Eurasian Development Bank’s (EDB) Fund for Digital Initiatives, has launched public and commercial services for migrant workers in Uzbekistan. This enables individuals seeking employment in Uzbekistan to access the necessary services directly from their smartphones, the EDB said. The Eurasian
On December 10, the British think tank Henry Jackson Society presented a research report titled “Understanding Kazakhstan’s Strategic Importance: A Middle Power Partner for the UK in Central Asia” in the UK Parliament. The event featured speeches by the principal Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons Nusrat Ghani MP, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the
