The 12th global Summit, “Dynamic Vibrant Gujarat,” was held in Gandhinagar, India. The summit included the “Kazakhstan–India: Emerging Ties” seminar, during which the participants heard from the speakers representing public and private sectors of Kazakhstan and India, in particular, Mulubhai Hardasbhai Bera, Minister of Tourism, Cultural Activities, Forest and Environment of India, Kairat Torebayev, Vice Minister of
The European Union has transferred to the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic EUR 3 million as the budget support in the field of digital transformation, the Delegation of the European Union to the Kyrgyz Republic said on January 11. The grant funds were allocated to promote the work of the Innovation Center of
The Consul General of Kazakhstan in Jeddah – Deputy Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Ruslan Kospanov on January 9 visited the headquarters of the International Union of Muslim Scouts (IUMS). During the visit, the Consul General met with the IUMS Secretary General Dr. Zuhair Ghoneim, who informed about the activities carried
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, from January to September 2023, 834.9 thousand foreign tourists visited Kazakhstan, 225 thousand more than in 2022 (an increase of 37%). In the first nine months of 2023, the majority of travelers visited Kazakhstan from Russia — 356,850. Chinese tourists took second place — 75,131, followed by tourists
A leader of the Karakalpak diaspora in Kazakhstan, Nietbai Urazbaev, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison in absentia in Uzbekistan over unprecedented Karakalpak protests in July 2022, has died in a hospital in Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported. Karakalpak activist Aqylbek Muratbai said on January 9 that Urazbaev died of a heart
Trade between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan amounted to $266 million in 2023, compared to $44 million in 2022, Afghan broadcaster TOLOnews reported with reference to the Afghan Ministry of Industry and Commerce. Afghanistan’s exports to Uzbekistan totaled $27 million in the past year and imports from Uzbekistan amounted to $239 million, the ministry’s spokesman said. Afghanistan
A groundbreaking cooperative agreement seeking to improve working conditions and prevent forced labor was signed this week for workers, “at all stages of cotton and textile production in Uzbekistan”. Agreement signatories include U.S.-based Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), employers’ Association of Cotton-Textile Clusters of Uzbekistan, the Solidarity Center, and the Uzbekistan Ministry of Employment,
The chairman of a farm in the Tajik district of Dosti was sentenced to five years in prison for “cooperating” with Islah TV, a website close to the government opposition, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reported. The Khatlon Regional Court on January 4 handed down the sentence to 60-year-old Mahmudjon Bobomurodov after finding him guilty of watching
A 38-year-old social media user who accused Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine has been sentenced to 5 years and 1 month in prison, RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service reported. The Kattakurgan District Court in the Samarkand region of Uzbekistan handed down the sentence on January 4 to Bunyodjon Boboniyozov, for “insulting or
Kazakh television operator TVCOM says it has stopped broadcasting several stations launched by Russian state-run Channel One in a move to reduce the share of foreign news channels on the local market, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported on January 4. TVCOM said the move was also due to the fact that its subscribers are “more media
The President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon has issued the Decree “On declaring 2024 the Year of Legal Education”. The decree aims to increase the level of legal education of Tajikistan citizens, promote democratic values, strengthen the respect of human rights, ensure the rule of law, form a stable system of legal behavior and the inevitability
The trial of 14 people accused in the murder of Shohrat Ismattuloev, deputy chairman of Tajikistan’s Orienbank, has started. According to information obtained by RFE/RL’s Tajik Service, the trial is taking place in a temporary detention center behind closed doors. Ismattuloev’s body was found on August 15, two months after his abduction from Dushanbe. Security
Around 3,000 migrants were detained in St. Petersburg on New Year’s eve as part of a series of mass detentions across Russia, RFE/RL’s Russian Service reported on January 2 citing local media. The Fontanka news outlet said more than 100 of those arrested in St. Petersburg are going to be deported. The SOTA news website
Police in Germany on January 1 arrested another suspect in connection with a possible planned terrorist attack on Cologne Cathedral, saying it was a 41-year-old man with German and Turkish citizenship, RFE/RL reported. A total of five suspects have now been detained in connection with the terrorism alert. On Christmas Eve, a 30-year-old Tajik was
The Ministry of Transport of Uzbekistan announced the cancellation of restrictions imposed on the country’s transit vehicles in Afghanistan. The agreement was reached in a meeting between high-ranking officials of Afghanistan and Uzbekistan late in December, Afghan broadcaster TOLOnews reported. The Uzbek ministry said that the transportation authorities of both countries have determined the costs
Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry spokesman Aibek Smadiyarov said in a televised interview on December 29 that the Security Council of Kazakhstan had decided to remove the Taliban group now ruling Afghanistan from its registry of terrorist organizations. Smadiyarov said Astana will continue to adhere to United Nations decisions and resolutions regarding Afghanistan. Kazakhstan officially designated the
The Tajik government has recently transferred thousands of hectares of prime land to a private company that government opponents claim is controlled by a close relative of the authoritarian president, Emomali Rahmon, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reported. RFE/RL’s Tajik Service obtained a copy of an official document signed by Rahmon on November 29 that grants temporary ownership of
In the next six years, Uzbekistan’s electricity demand will increase from the current 83 billion to 120 billion kilowatt hours, and the country will cover this primarily through renewable energy sources, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said on December 27, at the launching ceremony of major projects in the field of green energy. Mirziyoyev said that Uzbekistan
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on December 28 said it is contributing to greater sustainability of Tajik business by supporting lending activity of Tajikistan’s largest private lender Bank Eskhata. The EBRD will share half of the risk on two loans collectively worth up to US$5 million under the risk sharing agreement between the two banks. A
The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) has provided support in establishing Tajikistan’s first international science laboratory, which was inaugurated on Monday at the Dushanbe International School, Türkiye’s Daily Sabah reported. The state-of-the-art science laboratory was designed to provide primary, middle and high school students with hands-on experiences and practical application of theoretical knowledge acquired
