Kazakhstan Agency of International Development KazAID held a briefing with the participation of representatives of embassies of Central Asian countries on January 22 in Astana. During the briefing Kazakh diplomats presented information on KazAID projects in 2024 to the Embassies of the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Particular attention was focused on the Dostyk
Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Aibek Smadiyarov said on January 22 that Kremlin-friendly Russian journalist Tina Kandelaki has been banned from entering the country over a post she made online, alleging that the Russian language was being discriminated against in the Central Asian country. Kandelaki had criticized Kazakhstan’s plan to replace the Russian names of railway
A major earthquake followed by a series of aftershocks struck early on January 23 along the China-Kyrgyzstan border, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported. Kyrgyz Emergencies Minister Boobek Ajikeev said in a video message that the earthquake was felt shortly after midnight in Kyrgyzstan and was especially strong in several districts of the northern Issyk-Kul
A round table was held in Tashkent on January 19 to discuss the findings of four expeditions conducted by the Scientific Information Center of the Interstate Coordination Water Commission of Central Asia (SIC ICWC) on the dried bed of the Aral Sea. These expeditions, supported by the UN Development Programme from 2019 to 2023, aimed
Both of the Kazakh parliament’s chambers, the Mazhilis and the Senate, approved on January 19 a presidential proposal to send 430 Kazakh peacekeepers to the Middle East and Africa, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported. Defense Minister Ruslan Zhaqsylyqov said the troops will join the UN Disengagement Observer Force on the Golan Heights, the UN Truce Supervision
A Moscow court on January 19 sent a leader of the Uzbek diaspora in Russia, Usman Baratov, to pretrial detention for at least two months on a charge of inciting hatred with his online posts, RFE/RL’s Russian Service reported. Baratov pleaded not guilty to the charge, which stemmed from a post last month related to
The United States and European Union have expressed their deep concern about recent actions against independent media in Kyrgyzstan. This comes after 11 journalists were arrested earlier this week in a move international media watchdogs said was aimed at “intimidating and harassing” journalists to keep them from carrying out their work. On January 16, Kyrgyz
On January 17, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Rashid Meredov held a meeting with the Vice-President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas in Ashgabat. The parties discussed key aspects of cooperation between Turkmenistan and the EU and prospects for its further development. Special attention was paid to the areas of security, digitalization, water
Türkiye says people from Turkmenistan and Russia are the two largest groups of foreigners living in the country as they seek better living conditions, Current Time reported. According to a report from the Migration Directorate of Türkiye, among the 1.1 million foreign nationals residing in the country with residence permits, 109,000 are Turkmens and 100,000 are Russian
As Western governments are intensifying their relations with Central Asian countries against the backdrop of Russia’s war on Ukraine, this offers an opportunity to achieve specific advances for human rights in the region, Human Rights Watch said on January 11 in its World Report 2024. “Central Asia’s authoritarian governments severely restrict freedoms of speech, assembly, and
