The Taliban government has suspended chess in Afghanistan over gambling concerns. It has also suspended the Afghanistan National Chess Federation (ANCF), Chess.com reports. The Afghan online news service Khaama Press reported on Sunday that the country’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice has banned chess due to “religious considerations.” Chess-related activities in
On May 12 in Astana, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held talks with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who arrived in Kazakhstan on an official visit. The President noted that the United Arab Emirates is one of Kazakhstan’s key partners, sharing common goals and aspirations. In 2023,
The cultural stage of Ashgabat became the venue for the world premiere of the choreographic and digital show RITUALS—a unique artistic project blending the ancient traditions of Turkmenistan with contemporary dance and digital arts. The event on May 10 marked an important milestone in the development of cultural ties between Europe and Turkmenistan, the Delegation of the
Thirty trade agreements have been signed between the private sectors of Afghanistan and Uzbekistan for a total amount of nearly $50 million, TOLOnews reports. At a bilateral trade connectivity conference, Afghanistan’s deputy minister of industry and commerce, Ahmadullah Zahid stressed the need to resolve trade challenges and increase Afghan exports to Uzbekistan. Davron Vakhabov, president
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Agriculture says it continues a large-scale program to diversify agricultural crops area, with about 1 million hectares of farmland diversified across the country in 2025. The program is aimed at expanding the area under highly profitable and in-demand crops, both in the domestic and export markets. The main goal is to reduce
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with support from the Government of Finland, organized the “Janyration Sanarip” incubation program to equip small and medium-sized entrepreneurs in Kyrgyzstan with the tools and knowledge needed to transition from traditional business models to digital-first operations, enabling them to grow and compete in the e-commerce market, UNDP Kyrgyzstan reported.
Kazakhstan continues its confident cultural offensive on the world stage: two short films and works by an artist from Kazakhstan will participate in the 7th ECG Film Festival in London. The films will be shown on May 26 and 27 at the Lumiere Romford Cinema, The Mercury Shopping Centre. ECG Film Festival promotes films of
Uzbekistan will host the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) 59th Annual Meeting on 3 to 6 May 2026. The meeting will be held in the historic city of Samarkand, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. This is the second time that Uzbekistan will host the ADB Annual Meeting, following the successful 43rd
In 2024, Kazakhstan’s exports reached $81.6 billion, up 3.2% compared to 2023, with non-resource exports showing an impressive 11.9% growth, amounting to $28.8 billion, according to the Ministry of Trade and Integration. Imports totaled $59.8 billion, down 1% from the previous year. In 2025, Kazakhstan continues to maintain high export rates, which in January-February amounted
Russia’s non-profit organization for international cooperation, Eurasia, with the support of Kyrgyzstan’s Cabinet of Ministers, will build a cultural and amusement park in the village of Orok near Bishkek. According to Eurasia, the new park will symbolize the friendship between the peoples of Russia and Kyrgyzstan. A presentation of the project took place late in
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has welcomed Türkiye as its newest regional member, strengthening ADB’s engagement in Central and West Asia. In a ceremony during ADB’s 58th Annual Meeting in Milan, ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov said Türkiye’s transition to regional membership would provide the country with development opportunities through
The first batch of Kazakh grain has departed by rail for Morocco. The train consisting of 105 grain railcars will traverse Russia to Latvia, where in the Baltic port of Liepaja, the grain will be reloaded onto sea vessels heading to the coast of North Africa, according to Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), the country’s national
On May 5-6, the National Leader of Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty (People’s Council) of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov paid an official visit to France. Berdimuhamedov took part in the Turkmen-French Economic Forum attended by heads and representatives of leading French companies, members of the delegation of Turkmenistan, as well as Turkmen entrepreneurs. Opening
Kyrgyzstan has proposed introducing a single visa-free regime for foreign tourists that will allow visitors to travel freely throughout all countries of Central Asia. The initiative was put forward by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov during his meeting with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in March. Japarov said that Central Asian countries need to introduce a single
The Kazakhstan-Vietnam Business Roundtable was held in Astana on May 6 with the participation of officials, representatives of business and government agencies of the two countries. The event was held in the framework of the visit of the delegation of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam led by General Secretary of the Central Committee of the
The Afghan Ministry of Industry and Commerce announced that Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan recorded $66 million in trade during the past solar year, TOLOnews reported. The solar year begins in March. Akhundzada Abdul Salam Jawad, spokesperson for the ministry, said that $7 million of this figure represents Afghan exports, while the remaining amount was imports. Afghanistan’s
Kyrgyzstan ranks 117th out of 193 countries and territories, maintaining its position in the “High Human Development” category, according to the latest Human Development Index (HDI) in the 2025 Human Development Report (HDR) published by the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP Kyrgyzstan reported. Kyrgyzstan continues to make steady progress in advancing human development, with improvements
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is helping women-led micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Kazakhstan by extending a new term loan to a leading microlender KMF, which has been an EBRD client since 2005. The EBRD funds of up to US$ 25 million (€22.9 million) will help to promote women’s entrepreneurship and business
More than 120 passengers went on a trip on the tourist train Jibek Joly on April 30. The tourist train was organized by Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, the country’s national railway company, with the assistance of Uzbekistan Railways, the Tourism Committee and the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan, and Kazakh Tourism. The trip allows tourists to
The inaugural dialogue of participants in the Export Accelerator Program—implemented by the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan—was held in Tashkent on May 2. Launched in September 2024, the Export Accelerator has already facilitated the entry of 29 entrepreneurs into international markets. To date, these participants have achieved export deliveries totaling over $14
