The Keremet Bank in Kyrgyzstan said it suspended money transactions to several major Russian banks, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. Last week, another bank in Kyrgyzstan, MBank, made a similar move. The 24.kg website reported on August 21 that after visiting 16 banks in Bishkek, the news agency’s journalists found that in all, 13 banks have suspended monetary transactions to major Russian
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on 21 August said it has approved a $17.5 million grant to help improve women’s agricultural skills and boost food security in Tajikistan. The Resilient Livelihoods and Empowerment of Rural Women Project aims to improve productivity of women-led farms, strengthen agriculture processing and storage facilities, and enhance support to vulnerable women in
The Chinese company Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd plans to invest in developing gold, copper, and polymetallic deposits in Kazakhstan. The project was discussed last week in Astana by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Alibek Kuantyrov and Zijin Mining Chairman Chen Jinghe. Zijin Mining is currently searching for a suitable deposit in
The KamaTyresKZ tyre-manufacturing plant in the city of Saran in Kazakhstan’s Karaganda region was put into operation on July 1 and during the first month of its operation produced about 30 thousand tyres, including 29 thousand tyres for passenger cars. The plant is a joint project with Russia’s Tatneft company. The plant’s production capacity is
The Committee to Protect Journalists on August 19 called on Tajik authorities to drop bribery charges against noted journalist Ahmad Ibrohim, who was arrested a week earlier, RFE/RL reported. “Following the wave of lengthy convictions against journalists in Tajikistan since 2022, the arrest of Ahmad Ibrohim is yet another reminder of how dangerous any form of critical
The United Nations, in collaboration with the Government of Karakalpakstan, announced the launch of two projects to tackle pressing environmental and health issues in the northwestern region of Uzbekistan. The projects, supported by the Multi-Partner Human Security Trust Fund for the Aral Sea Region include: the UNICEF project, “Enhancing Climate-Resilient and Safe Water, Sanitation, Hygiene,
A court in Kazakhstan’s eastern city of Oskemen has replaced a six-year prison sentence given to a nephew of Kazakhstan’s former strongman President Nursultan Nazarbaev with a suspended sentence, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported. Court No. 2 in the capital of the East Kazakhstan region ruled on August 16 that Qairat Satybaldy, 52, must be released with a
Afghanistan and Uzbekistan signed 35 investment and trade agreements worth $2.5 billion during Uzbekistan Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov’s visit to Kabul on August 17, TOLOnews reported. According to the Economic Deputy of the Afghan Prime Minister’s Office, 12 agreements worth $1.4 billion were signed in the investment sector, and 23 agreements worth $1.1 billion were
Several sources close to law enforcement in Tajikistan told RFE/RL over the weekend that police in the Central Asian nation’s southern city of Kulob had arrested noted journalist Ahmad Ibrohim on bribe-related charges, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reported. According to the sources, the 62-year-old editor-in-chief of the Paik (Message) independent newspaper was arrested on August 12
Top officials of the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan marked 105 years of the country’s independence on August 18 by demanding mutual respect from the international community, RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi reported. Afghanistan gained its independence in August 1919 after the signing of the Anglo-Afghan Treaty, which ended British control over the country’s foreign affairs. Afghanistan currently
The government of Uzbekistan and a consortium of companies including Abu Dhabi Sustainable Water Solutions (UAE), SUEZ (France) and Marubeni (Japan) have signed a Joint Development Agreement for the construction of a new modern wastewater treatment plant in the Kuichirchik district of the Tashkent region, the Uzbek Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade said. SUEZ
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has released the latest Macroeconomic Review for the Bank’s six member states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. EDB’s analysts note that most member countries continue to display robust growth: the aggregate GDP of the EDB’s region of operations increased by 4.6% YoY in January-June 2024, after an increase
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $30 million grant to enhance maternal and child health care services in three districts in Tajikistan—Ayni, Dangara, and Darvoz. “Tajikistan has achieved laudable health improvements over the past 2 decades, including increased life expectancy and significantly lower maternal mortality,” said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy
In the first half of 2024, Kyrgyzstan imported 2.02 billion kWh of electricity, including 909.8 million kWh from Russia and Kazakhstan, 837.5 million kWh from Turkmenistan, and 275.3 million kWh from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz Minister of Energy Taalaibek Ibrayev told a press conference in Bishkek earlier this month. In 2023, electricity imports amounted to 3.2 billion
A number of documents were signed for Turkish investments in Kazakhstan’s agro-industrial sector and trade in agricultural products for a total of $2 billion during a visit of Kazakh Minister of Agriculture Aidarbek Saparov to Turkey on August 12. With the participation of Turkish investors, six projects have already been implemented in Kazakhstan, and 10
Kazakhstan’s national railways company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) on August 13 said that since the beginning of this year, the rail container transportation from China to Europe through Kazakhstan along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) has grown 14-fold compared to the same period last year. The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the
The only mobile network operator in Turkmenistan, Altyn Asyr, has stopped selling SIM cards to clients, citing a limited capacity for new telephone numbers, RFE/RL’s Turkmen Service reported. Residents of the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat, told RFE/RL that many teenagers who became eligible to purchase telephones and SIM cards after they reached 16 and obtained their
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kazakhstan has presented the results of the project to reduce the risks of investing in renewable energy technologies. At the final event of the project, which was implemented by UNDP in partnership with the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan and with financial support from the Global Environment Facility
Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has signed the law “On recognition of ownership rights to illegally seized land plots and buildings built on them.” Many citizens of the country waited for this law for a long time, as it concerns the lives of millions of families. According to preliminary estimates, there are currently more than 3.6
On August 12, the scientific and practical conference “The Caspian Sea: Cooperation for Sustainable Development” dedicated to the Caspian Sea Day was held in the Avaza National Tourist Zone in Turkmenistan. The conference was attended by heads and representatives of relevant ministries and departments of Turkmenistan, heads of diplomatic missions of foreign states, experts of
