The 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP20) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will be held in the historical city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from November 24 to December 5, 2025. The agreement was signed by Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change Aziz
The Government of Turkmenistan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have signed the new TB grant “Exit of the National Tuberculosis Program of Turkmenistan from the Global Fund.” The project, set to run from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2027, is supported by a total budget of more than $6.2 million contributed by
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan and the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP) last week held an event in Bishkek to mark the declaration of October 23 as International Snow Leopard Day by a resolution of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly. First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Asein
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
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan has announced that a visa-free regime will be introduced for citizens of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the State of Qatar, the State of Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman, and the Kingdom of Bahrain starting from January 4, 2025. Citizens of these countries traveling
The European Union Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Toivo Klaar recently visited the Tashkent Botanical Garden to see ongoing landscaping and improvement efforts. The European Union has contributed to the enhancement of the Tashkent Botanical Garden, a cherished landmark and one of the largest and oldest natural parks in the region. Nestled in the heart of Tashkent,
A passenger plane flying from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to Russia has crashed near the city of Aqtau in western Kazakhstan with 67 people on board, Kazakh authorities said on December 25, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported. Authorities said that dozens of people had been killed but that there were several survivors. According to preliminary information, 28
On December 23, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Roman Vassilenko met with Ambassador of the European Union to Kazakhstan Aleška Simkić. The parties noted the high dynamics of bilateral cooperation in the outgoing year, welcoming both numerous and regular high-level contacts as well as a significant increase in trade turnover and investment activity.
A ceremony of laying the foundation stone of a school was held on December 19 which will be built in Nurdagy district of Gaziantep province of Türkiye on the instructions of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The event was attended by Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Türkiye Yerkebulan Sapiyev, Governor of Gaziantep province Kemal Çeber,
The opening ceremony of the new Fire and Rescue Station No. 9 took place in Bishkek last week. The construction of the station was part of the project “Improvement of fire safety of population by strengthening capacity of the Fire and Rescue Services in the Kyrgyz Republic”, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
On December 18, a meeting of representatives of the Ministry of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan and the Agency for Information and Mass Communications under the Administration of the President of Uzbekistan was held in Tashkent. The parties signed a Plan for interaction in the information sphere for 2025. The document was signed following the
The Euronews television channel opened its regional office in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, on December 18. The opening ceremony was attended by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Euronews Pedro Vargas and the Minister of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan Aida Balayeva, Orda.kz reported with reference to the press service of the Ministry of
During the 4th Uzbekistan Country Platform roundtable on 17 December, over 90 participants from Uzbekistan’s government and international development partners discussed progress on key reforms in the education, skills development and TVET, i.e., technical and vocational education and training, sectors, crucial for aligning the workforce with labour market needs and advancing the Strategy “Uzbekistan 2030”,
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been appointed as a transaction advisor to the Ministry of Preschool and School Education and the Ministry of Economy and Finance to support the delivery of high-quality preschool education via public–private partnerships (PPPs) in Jizzakh, Kashkadarya, Surkhandarya and Tashkent regions in Uzbekistan. ADB is already providing similar advisory services
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has inaugurated a newly rehabilitated water supply system in Tajikistan’s Jomi District, bringing safe and reliable drinking water to 1,860 residents from 309 households. This is a part of the USAID Rural Water Supply activity, which is revitalizing water systems in 12 communities across Tajikistan through innovative public-private
After launching a four-day train tour in November connecting the cities of Almaty, Turkestan, and Tashkent, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), Kazakhstan’s national railway company, has announced the launch of another train tour, “Jibek Joly (Silk Road) 2.0,” along the route Almaty-Turkestan-Tashkent-Samarkand-Shymkent-Almaty. The first train on this route will depart on January 2 and return to
At the 9th meeting of the Working Party on the Accession of Uzbekistan on December 5 and 6, a high-level government delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev reaffirmed the country’s strong intention to swiftly advance negotiations with World Trade Organization (WTO) members, with a view to completing the process by 2026. The high-level
On December 11, Tashkent hosted the first Uzbekistan-Croatia Business Forum, marking a significant milestone in strengthening trade, economic, and investment ties between the two countries. The forum was co-chaired by the Minister of Investments, Industry, and Trade of Uzbekistan, Laziz Kudratov, and the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia, Gordan Grlić Radman. The
On December 10, Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu held a working meeting with a group of ambassadors of Arab countries accredited in Kazakhstan. The meeting discussed ways to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation, and a constructive exchange of views on the international and regional issues. Particular attention was
Afghanistan’s National Development Company says that Phase 2 of the Qoshtepa Canal construction project is 81% complete, TOLOnews reported. Nabiullah Arghandiwal, spokesperson for the National Development Company, said: “The construction process is progressing rapidly with advanced machinery and work teams. The embankments of the canal are also 67% complete, and all work is being carried
