China’s Foreign Ministry announced on June 30 that President Xi Jinping will attend the 24th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana and pay state visits to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan from July 2 to July 6, RFE/RL reported. “From July 2 to 6, President Xi Jinping will attend the 24th Meeting of the
The chief of Russia’s Investigative Committee, Aleksandr Bastrykin, said on June 27 that about 10,000 migrant workers with Russian passports have been sent to the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, RFE/RL’s Russian Service reported. Bastrykin called the move “a good feature that led to the situation when migrants started slowly leaving Russia.” Bastrykin added that his
Prospects for cross-border transport corridors in Eurasia, realising their economic potential, reducing costs and coordinating efforts of authorities and businesses will be key topics discussed by government representatives, businesspeople and experts at the Eurasian Development Bank’s (EDB) Annual Meeting and Business Forum on 27–28 June in Almaty. The session titled “The Eurasian Transport Network: Potential, Challenges
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has released its Macroeconomic Outlook for its six member states. According to the report, in 2024 Armenia’s GDP is expected to grow by 7.5%, Belarus’s by 3.4%, Kazakhstan’s by 5%, Kyrgyzstan’s by 5.5%, Russia’s by 3%, and Tajikistan’s by 8%. For most EDB member countries, the outlook has been upgraded
The ECG World Championship Coaching and Eurasian Creative Week will be held in Uzbekistan (Tashkent, Khiva, Nukus) from June 22 to 29. The event is organized by the Eurasian Creative Guild and the Elena Bezrukov Center. Participants of the festival are coaches and artists from Kazakhstan, Israel, USA, Italy, Finland, Belarus, Great Britain, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan,
According to the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), today, over 2 billion people globally do not have access to safe drinking water. Without action, the situation will only worsen in the long run. By 2050, drinking water consumption is projected to increase by 1.5 times. This is why the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 6 is to
On June 12 in Astana, the European Commission and Kazakhstan launched the Coordination Platform of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor, also known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR). According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport, the Coordination Platform will improve the safety and sustainability of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor and will turn the corridor into a
Marat Karabayev, Kazakhstan’s minister of transport, believes that as a bridge between the East and the West, Kazakhstan will continue to play its part in facilitating regional and global trade. In his article published in the Chinese publication, South China Morning Post, Karabayev says that trade between Asia and Europe has faced challenges as a result
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) says it is preparing a concept for the Eurasian Transport Network aimed at enhancing connectivity across Eurasia and stimulating economic development, trade and mobility in the region. The Eurasian Transport Network is a system of international transport corridors and routes spanning over 50,000 kilometres. In 2023, five key corridors –
An intergovernmental agreement on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project was signed on June 6 in Beijing. The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is a strategic infrastructure project that will connect China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, and create a new land transport corridor between Central and East Asia. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev
The VI Eurasian Creative Guild (ECG) Film Festival took place in London from 24 to 28 May. The festival was held in conjunction with the eighth UK Romford Film Festival at Premier Cinemas Romford. This year’s festival attracted nearly 100 entries from 22 countries, including works by directors from Poland, the UK, Kyrgyzstan, Spain, Russia,
On June 5, a ceremony was held to reintroduce Przewalski’s horses into the Altyn Dala Nature Reserve in the Kostanay region of Kazakhstan. A Czech military plane transported eight Przewalski’s horses from the Prague Zoo for reintroduction into the territory of the Altyn Dala state nature reserve. In total, 40 wild horses are to be
The eleventh round of the annual High-Level Political and Security Dialogue between the European Union and the countries of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) took place in Brussels on June 5. The meeting was held at the level of Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the five Central Asian countries
On June 3, a symposium dedicated to cooperation in higher education between Korea and Central Asian countries was held in South Korea. The event was organized by the Secretariat of the Central Asia–Republic of Korea Cooperation Forum. Opening the symposium, Executive Director of the Secretariat of the Central Asia-Republic of Korea Cooperation Forum, Rhee Jong
China and five Central Asian nations have officially established a China-Central Asia emergency management cooperation mechanism, Xinhua reported. China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan signed a memorandum of understanding on the establishment of the mechanism during a ministerial meeting in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, last week. The six
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Asian Partners for Co-operation Group and OSCE participating States met in Vienna on 3 June to discuss the pressing issue of Afghan women’s rights, emphasizing the broader implications for regional and global stability. The event focused on exploring actionable strategies for empowering Afghan women and mitigating
On May 28, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov held a roundtable meeting with about 30 leading Italian companies in Rome to discuss joint projects in energy, textile, transport, IT, engineering, and other areas. The Uzbek minister underscored the enormous potential of economic and investment cooperation between Uzbekistan and Italy. Speaking at the
Recognizing the critical importance of addressing violence against women and girls in ensuring comprehensive security and stability, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) hosted the third Regional Networking and Capacity Building Conference in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from 21 to 23 May. The Conference that followed networking events in 2022 and 2023, further reinforced
Interesting facts from the history of relations between the Central Asian region and Africa, as well as prospects for interaction, were presented during a media seminar on May 27 organized by the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Ethiopia together with the African Studies Professionals Association (ASPA) as part of the celebration of Africa Day. The event
Delegations from the countries of Central Asia and international experts convened in Almaty, Kazakhstan on 27 May to discuss pressing issues around sustainable water and land management, energy, food security and environmental sustainability in the context of climate change in the region, the World Bank reported. Central Asia is increasingly impacted by climate change and climate-driven