A ceremony was held at the Library of Congress in Washington on October 22 where the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United States, Yerzhan Ashikbayev, presented a collection of books dedicated to the culture, history, and literary heritage of Kazakhstan as a gift, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry reported. The event was attended by President of
In October 2024, the Eurasian Development Bank’s (EDB) Fund for Digital Initiatives allocated the first tranche for a project to establish a National Digital Investment Platform in Kazakhstan. The project aligns with the digital agenda of EDB member states — Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan, aiming to accelerate the development of the digital
Digitalization of customs administration and cargo transportation is becoming a key priority for Kazakhstan as it seeks to strengthen its position in the international arena and become a leading player in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Effective digitalization and integration with international trade routes can provide Kazakhstan with significant economic advantages, Rosreporter writes in an
According to the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture, this year the total area of agricultural crops in Kazakhstan was 23.3 million hectares, of which 16.7 million hectares were sown with cereals. To date, field work is 99.7% complete and 26.5 million tons of grain have been threshed. At the Government session on October 23, Deputy Minister
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $86.67 million grant to help Tajikistan further improve national road connectivity by developing a demonstration green corridor in the country. The project will upgrade the existing degraded two lane 49-kilometer Dangara–Guliston road, widening this to four lanes. The project is the first to pilot the innovative methods promoted in
An expert discussion titled “Kazakhstan as a Middle Power: Geopolitics, Critical Minerals, and the Middle Corridor” was held at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London last week. Organized by one of the most respected think tanks in the world, the event provided a platform to exchange views and opportunity to analyze Kazakhstan’s role
The IV International ECOJER Congress and the Transition ceremony of the PAGE (UN Partnership for Action on Green Economy) Partnership took place in the capital of Kazakhstan on October 22. The congress gathered members of the Government of Kazakhstan, representatives of state authorities, business leaders, and representatives of international organizations, UNDP Kazakhstan reported. According to
Kazakhstan’s longest bridge was opened in East Kazakhstan Region on October 21 across the Bukhtarma reservoir. The two-lane automobile bridge is 1,316 meters long, and up to 80,000 vehicles can pass through it per day. At a meeting with local residents at the opening ceremony, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov said that the new bridge, which
On October 21, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev attended a presentation of projects for recycling household waste and producing electricity and products from it, the president’s press service reported. Uzbekistan generates 14 million tons of waste annually. However, only 4-5 percent of it is recycled. Over 7 million tons of greenhouse gases and 43 thousand tons
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) sponsored the fourth International Khatlon Invest and Bokhtar Food Forum–2024 from October 17 to 18 in Tajikistan’s Khatlon region. Co-hosted by the Khatlon Regional Government and the Export Development Agency of Tajikistan, and other international partners, this event enhanced regional trade and connectivity across Central Asia and
The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan, in cooperation with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), has successfully completed the next stage of the reintroduction of kulans as part of the Turan tiger habitat restoration initiative. This month, more than 40 kulans were transported from Altyn Emel National Park to the Ile-Balkhash Reserve. In
A memorandum of understanding was signed on 17 October between the specially protected nature areas of Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic on the conservation of the snow leopard. The aim of this cooperation is to conserve the snow leopard and its habitats in the northern Tien Shan Mountains within four Specially Protected Nature Areas (SPNAs)
U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan Jonathan Henick on October 15 visited Khojayli, Karakalpakstan, to celebrate the reopening of the newly reinforced structure of the Khalif Erejep Mausoleum. The International Institute for Central Asian Studies (IICAS) received an U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) grant to restore this critically vulnerable structure. The U.S. Embassy provided approximately
A court in Dushanbe has sentenced the leader of an opposition group that has been sharply critical of the government and another group member to lengthy prison sentences for “extremism,” RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reported. Suhrob Zafar, the leader of Group 24, and Nasimjon Sharifov were sentenced to 30 years and 20 years in prison, respectively. The sentences
As the world becomes increasingly polarized and the authority of multilateral international institutions weakens, the role of middle powers is increasingly growing, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on October 17 at the plenary session of the Astana Think Tank Forum, entitled “Middle Powers in a Changing Global Order”. “While major powers are consumed by rivalry
Änjali Kaur, Deputy Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and David Hoffman, USAID Mission Director in Uzbekistan on October 11 participated in the opening ceremony of a new fertilizer production plant established by Ifoda Agro Kimyo Himoya LLC. Ifoda, one of Uzbekistan’s leading fertilizer producers and a recipient of USAID’s Fertilizer
The Uzbek Foreign Ministry has rejected Afghan media reports saying that the Taliban-led government of Afghanistan requested the cancellation of concerts or other musical events at a trade center located on the shared border, RFE/RL reported. The statement comes after the Afghan outlet Atlaspress reported on October 14 that the Taliban had requested the Uzbek
Kazakhstan has no plans to join BRICS in the foreseeable future, Berik Uali, Advisor and Press Secretary of Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, told Tengrinews.kz. Founded in 2006, BRICS is an informal group of states originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have joined BRICS
On October 12-13, Uzbekistan hosted its first-ever Maker Faire Festival, supported by the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent, aimed at fostering a new wave of creative entrepreneurship in the country. The event brought together innovative minds not only from across Uzbekistan but also from other Central Asian countries, specializing in fields such as robotics, science, electronics,
The “Strengthening Financial Resilience and Accelerating Risk Reduction in Central Asia” program (SFRARR) – funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) and the World Bank – hosted a final regional forum in Almaty on October 14-15. The event marked the conclusion of a five-year effort to
