The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved a financial package of $800 million in highly concessional loans to support the Uzbek government’s structural reform program, which aims to improve Uzbekistan’s business environment, boost efficiency in agriculture, railways, and energy sectors, enhance public finance management, expand social protection services, and strengthen the country’s preparedness for
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), in collaboration with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), successfully organized the second and third editions of the “Drops of the Future” youth workshop series on the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus. The workshops were held on 6-7 September in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and 19-20 September in Tashkent,
The European Union and Turkmenistan held a high-level event on October 3 in Ashgabat that launched the Coordination Platform of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor. This Corridor aims to strengthen connectivity by developing transport routes between Central Asia and the European Union. The event brought together the European Union, representatives of the countries along the Trans
Kazakhstan’s Central Election Commission has announced preliminary results of a nationwide referendum to decide whether Kazakhstan should build its first nuclear power plant. In the October 6 referendum, more than 5.5 million eligible voters (71.12%) said yes to the construction of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan. The Commission said voter turnout was 63.6%, surpassing
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has raised its growth forecast for Uzbekistan for 2024 and 2025 after economic growth in the first half of 2024 outpaced expectations due to higher investment and strong expansion in industry. This was presented on 3 October by ADB Regional Lead Economist for the Central and West Asia Department Kiyoshi
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, says it has signed an agreement with Ipak Yuli Bank to provide a syndicated loan of up to $42 million, aimed at increasing access to financing for smaller businesses and women entrepreneurs across Uzbekistan. With 25 percent of the funding earmarked for women-run businesses, this initiative is
The U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) hosted a conference to discuss Kazakhstan’s experience in repatriation of citizens from conflict zones and their reintegration into society. The event in Washington on October 1 was attended by Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United States, Yerzhan Ashikbayev, Acting U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs John Bass,
On October 3, 15 years ago, the Agreement on the Establishment of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States was signed in the city of Nakhchivan, which later evolved into the Organization of Turkic States (OTS). The Organization of Turkic States currently comprising Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, with Hungary and the Turkish Republic
On October 18-19, Decentrathon 2.0, Kazakhstan’s largest multi-location hackathon, will gather over 2,500 developers across 17 regions to compete for a $50,000 prize pool. Participants will tackle challenges in AI, Blockchain, GameDev, and Telegram mini apps. Additionally, a virtual job fair will offer developers the chance to connect with top companies and explore career opportunities
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has officially launched the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024. The event brought together leading experts and researchers and government representatives from around the world to discuss the key findings of the index and its implications for driving innovative development. This year, Kazakhstan took 78th place among 133 countries of
Thirty-three years ago, on October 2, 1991, Kazakhstan took a historic step into space when cosmonaut Tokhtar Aubakirov with his crew was launched aboard the Soyuz TM-13 spacecraft from Baikonur spaceport. As part of the crew, he spent a week on the MIR orbital station and returned on October 10. During this time, he conducted
A teacher in Tashkent was fined 6.8 million soms ($534) for hitting a sixth-grade student who asked why she did not speak Russian during a Russian-language class, RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service reported. A video of the incident оn September 23 went viral, leading to the dismissal of the school principal. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on
An Uzbek-Indian business forum was held in Tashkent on September 27 under the co-chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khojayev and Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of India Nirmala Sitharaman. The forum was also attended by Deputy Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan Shokhrukh Gulamov, as well as about 100
The first meeting of the newly-established Coordination Council of Partners for the Development of the Water Sector took place in Astana on September 30. The meeting was organized by the Kazakh Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The meeting gathered representatives from the UN, international organizations,
As of 30 September 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 Tajikistan. This enables individuals seeking employment in Tajikistan to access the necessary services directly from their smartphones. The app now offers services
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) says it further solidified its long-standing partnership with Uzbekistan through a series of agreements signed at the Bank’s 9th Annual Meeting in Samarkand on September 25-26. The agreements follow the signing of a three-year rolling pipeline for sovereign-backed financed projects by Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and AIIB President Jin Liqun in Beijing. This
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) says it has approved $32.35 million of additional financing for a rural water supply and sanitation development program in northern Kyrgyzstan that is already performing well. The additional financing will empower the government to continue rolling out its water program under the Kyrgyz Republic’s National Development Strategy, 2018–2040—which aims to
The Board of Directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved a new strategy for the Kyrgyz Republic, defining the Bank’s priorities in the country until 2029, the Bank has announced. The strategic approach to operations in the country will be based on the following three pillars: Support for private sector competitiveness and
Nikolai Podguzov, Chairman of the Management Board at the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), spoke at the Annual Meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Samarkand on September 26 during the session titled New Uzbekistan – Big Country with Big Opportunities. The session was attended by Laziz Kudratov, Uzbekistan’s Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade,
A recent incident at a school in Uzbekistan between a teacher and a sixth-grader who asked her why she didn’t speak Russian in a Russian class has led to heated statements between Russian and Uzbek officials, RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service reported. The incident took place at a school in the capital, Tashkent, on September 23. A female teacher in
