The Kyrgyz Interior Ministry’s official told RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service on January 26 that the former deputy chief of the Customs Service, Raimbek Matraimov, who in 2020-2021 was at the center of a high-profile corruption scandal, was added to the wanted list of the State Committee for National Security. The ex-official is suspected of abducting and
The Government of Kazakhstan is introducing new approaches to agro-industrial sector development. The document on the issue was approved at the meeting on January 25, chaired by the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Alikhan Smailov. It was said at the meeting that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev set specific objectives to bring the agricultural sector to a new
During his state visit to China, on January 25 in Shenzhen, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited the headquarters of Chinese company BYD, a global leader in the manufacturing of new energy vehicles and next-generation batteries. Together with the president of the company, Wang Chuanfu, Mirziyoyev took part in the launch ceremony of a project for
Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Indonesia Serzhan Abdykarimov on January 23 in Jakarta held a meeting with Vice Chairman of International Relations of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Bernardino Vega. The parties discussed measures to strengthen business contacts between Kazakh and Indonesian entrepreneurs, increase mutual trade, and realize transit-transport potential. Special emphasis was placed
On January 18, in Rome, Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company KazMunayGas and Italy’s Eni S.p.A. signed the Joint Confirmation Agreement on initiation of the Zhanaozen hybrid power plant construction project. The document was signed by Magzum Mirzagaliyev, Chair of the Management Board, KMG and Eni Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi. The signing took place
The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan organized the launch in Tashkent of a digital platform developed by the social start-up Coozin, aimed to further develop women’s entrepreneurship and increase their self-employment skills by using advanced digital technologies. The Coozin start-up was launched in 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, it has
In 2024, Kyrgyzstan must create at least 250 thousand jobs. This is one of the most important tasks of the Cabinet of Ministers for 2024, the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic – Head of the Administration of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Akylbek Japarov said at the Cabinet meeting
Hundreds of workers at the Velikaya Stena (Great Wall) oil company, owned by a Chinese investor in Kazakhstan’s western Manghystau region, are striking for a pay increase, improved working conditions, and the cancellation of planned layoffs, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported. The workers, who are located in the Caspian port city of Aqtau, told RFE/RL that
A delegation of the Bishkek municipality, led by Deputy Mayor Jyrgalbek Shamyraliev, visited the city of Changsha in China to get acquainted with the work of Hunan Junxin Environmental Protection Co Ltd, which built a large environmentally friendly waste incineration plant in this city, the press service of the Bishkek municipality said. In November 2023,
Hundreds of oil workers in the western region of Manghystau, who have been on strike for 29 days, issued a video statement on January 8, urging Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to intervene in their situation, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported. The workers of the West Oil Software company went on strike on December 11, demanding the
The inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Kyrgyzstan from January-September 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 decreased by 31.7% and amounted to 654.6 million US dollars. At the same time, the inflow exceeded the outflow level by $404.4 million, according to the latest figures from the National Statistics Committee of Kyrgyzstan. From
The tariff for water for the population has increased by 100% in Turkmenistan. Residents of the capital and regions learned about this when paying for utilities. The country’s authorities did not notify the population about the tariff increase, which caused fears among the population that other services, including electricity, may also become more expensive, Radio
At the beginning of 2023, a preferential leasing mechanism for the renewal of city buses was launched in the regions of Kazakhstan through the Industrial Development Fund. As a result, 2.5 thousand vehicles were supplied to bus fleets, including 774 environmentally friendly buses, the Kazakh Transport Ministry said. Also, during the past year, all regions
Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan will launch joint manufacturing of 12 models of motor vehicles in 2024, the Minister of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic, Daniyar Amangeldiev told a news conference in Bishkek late in December. The Minister said that a joint car assembly plant is being prepared for commissioning, adding that the joint project
In 2023, with the support of KAZAKH INVEST national company, 47 new production facilities with foreign participation were put into operation in Kazakhstan for about $1.1 billion. These projects created more than 4.5 thousand jobs for Kazakhstani citizens, the acting Chairman of the Board of JSC National Company KAZAKH INVEST, Zhandos Temirgali said in an interview
As of the end of October 2023, the public debt of Kyrgyzstan (external and internal) amounted to $6.590 billion or 57.82 percent of the country’s GDP, said the Kyrgyz Ministry of Finance, providing the latest statistics on the country’s debt. The amount includes $4.482 billion of external debt and $1.518 billion of internal debt. More than half (52.4 percent) of the
On December 25, on the margins of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting in St. Petersburg, a free trade agreement was signed between the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and its member states, on one hand, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, on the other. The EEU unites Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. The agreement
The “One Village – One Product” project (OVOP) is being implemented within the framework of “Men Kasipker” instrument, developed in accordance with the National Entrepreneurship Development Project for 2021-2025. Its goal is to involve rural population in creation of a unique, high-quality regional product that is certified and has market attractiveness, the Kazakh Ministry of
On December 25, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a government meeting on the development of the electrical, chemical and pharmaceutical industries in Uzbekistan. It was stated at the meeting that over the past five years, production in these three industries has increased 2.6-fold, and their share in the country’s industrial sector has reached 7 percent. The
The 12th meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Pakistan was held in Astana on December 22. Co-chaired by the Vice Minister of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan Kairat Torebayev and the First Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs of Pakistan Kazim Niaz, the event was
