Afghanistan’s trade volume in 2024 exceeded $12 billion, with a 38-percent increase in imports year-on-year and a 4-percent decrease in exports, Xinhua reported with reference to the country’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry. “Afghanistan’s total trade stood at 12.42 billion dollars in 2024, of which the country’s export volume reached 1.8 billion dollars, while imported
The government of Brazil, which holds the presidency of BRICS in 2025, on January 6 announced the formal entry of Indonesia into BRICS as a full member. The BRICS is an informal group of countries that originally consisted of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. BRICS has recently expanded its membership to include Egypt,
The Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock said that China will construct three standard cold storage facilities with a capacity of 1,500 tons each for preserving fresh fruit and vegetables in Afghanistan, TOLOnews reported. According to the ministry, Chinese diplomats have announced that engineers from China would be sent to Afghanistan to build these
On December 27, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev had a telephone conversation with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. The presidents exchanged condolences and expressed words of support to the families of those killed in the crash of an Azerbaijani passenger plane in Kazakhstan’s Mangistau region. On December 25, the Embraer 190 of the Azerbaijan Airlines
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has signed a contract for the construction of a major cement production plant in Logar with a Chinese company that also has an Afghan partner, TOLOnews reported. Hedayatullah Badri, acting minister of mines and petroleum, stated during the contract signing ceremony that approximately $145 million will be invested in
As of 20 December 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 Uzbekistan. This enables individuals seeking employment in Uzbekistan to access the necessary services directly from their smartphones, the EDB said. The Eurasian
On December 10, the British think tank Henry Jackson Society presented a research report titled “Understanding Kazakhstan’s Strategic Importance: A Middle Power Partner for the UK in Central Asia” in the UK Parliament. The event featured speeches by the principal Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons Nusrat Ghani MP, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Institute, and the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), in the spirit of promoting Islamic Finance in Central Asia, have held a panel discussion, “Bridging the Capital Road: CIS & GCC,” as part of the Islamic Banking program at Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW). This panel highlighted the transformative
Afghanistan’s National Development Company says that Phase 2 of the Qoshtepa Canal construction project is 81% complete, TOLOnews reported. Nabiullah Arghandiwal, spokesperson for the National Development Company, said: “The construction process is progressing rapidly with advanced machinery and work teams. The embankments of the canal are also 67% complete, and all work is being carried
The Hertfordshire Press Award for outstanding achievements in shaping and promoting the literary heritage of the Eurasian countries in the international space took place on November 29 during the 8th international festival Eurasian Creative Week in Greenock, Scotland. The festival events and award ceremony brought together creative people and diplomats from 15 countries. Literary figures
From 28 to 30 November, the XIII Eurasian Creative Week took place in Greenock, Scotland. The event brought together artists, writers, poets, diplomats and creative figures from 15 countries: Canada, France, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Israel, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Scotland, England, and Ukraine. The festival included exhibitions, book presentations, an award ceremony, and a film screening.
The Hertfordshire Press Award for outstanding achievements in shaping and promoting the literary heritage of the Eurasian countries in the international space took place on November 29 during the 8th international festival Eurasian Creative Week in Greenock, Scotland. The festival events and awards ceremony brought together creative people and diplomats from 15 countries. Literary figures
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has taken a major step in strengthening its presence in Central Asia, made possible through the strong support of and cooperation with Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change. On December 2, the two parties signed a Host Country Agreement, formalizing the establishment of an
Kazakhstan’s national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) has announced that the first return container train along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) departed on November 24 from Baku, Azerbaijan to Xi’an, China via Kazakhstan. The train, consisting of 62 containers with petroleum coke, will travel along the TITR after reverse loading and will return
Tajikistan may join a green corridor between Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan, Tajik Minister of Energy and Water Resources Daler Juma said during the COP29 summit in Baku. “This is a very interesting project, although our colleagues have not yet approached us with an official proposal. It is obvious that such initiatives are of great importance
Director Carrie Kendall from Great Britain presented her new short documentary film, From Havering to Burabay, about Kazakhstan’s Burabay National Park. Created as part of her participation in the international festival “Voices of Friends: Poetry & Art,” the film became a real cultural bridge between the two countries. The film was shot over the course
At the Kazakhstan-Serbian Business Forum held in Belgrade on November 12, Ulugbek Orazov, deputy general director for commerce of KTZ Express JSC (a subsidiary of Kazakhstan’s national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy), presented the company’s key initiatives aimed at developing infrastructure along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor, which
Member countries of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program have endorsed a new Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) and launched the CAREC Climate and Sustainability Project Preparatory Fund (CSPPF) to strengthen regional collaboration on climate resilience, low-carbon growth, and sustainable development. The endorsement took place at the 23rd CAREC Ministerial Conference held in Astana on
On November 6, Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek, hosted the 11th Summit of the Council of Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS). The summit was chaired by Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov and attended by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Uzbekistan
The 17th “Central Asia – Republic of Korea” Cooperation Forum took place in Seoul on November 4. The forum addressed key areas of partnership between Central Asian countries and the Republic of Korea, focusing on sectors such as transport and logistics cooperation, energy collaboration, digital transformation, and environmental issues, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry reported. In
