In the first five months of the current solar year (which begins on March 21), Afghanistan has conducted trade worth nearly $700 million with Central Asian countries, TOLOnews reported with reference to the Afghan Ministry of Industry and Commerce. Akhundzada Abdul Salam Jawad, spokesperson for the ministry, said that trade between Afghanistan and Central Asian
The Government of Japan and UN Development Programme (UNDP) have agreed upon a new $4.9 million project, “Enhancing Urban Resilience to Disaster Risk and Climate Change in Central Asia”. The signing ceremony was held on September 11 in Astana, Kazakhstan. The project aims to enhance urban resilience to climate-driven risks in Central Asia by utilizing regional collaborative mechanisms and national transformational strategies, fostering sustainable
Central Asia’s high mountains are critical to the well-being of communities throughout the region and beyond. At the same time, the area is already facing significant climate-related security risks with impacts on the livelihoods of rural mountain and downstream communities that are dependent on agriculture, pastures, and forests. As these risks are shared across the
Azerbaijan considers as “acceptable” Kazakhstan’s proposal to hold talks between Baku and Yerevan on a peace treaty in Astana, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said during telephone talks with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Aliyev’s press service said on September 9, RFE/RL reported. Earlier in May, the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers met in Astana to discuss the peace
On September 8, the opening ceremony of the 5th World Nomad Games was held in Astana. The Games, which will last until September 13, gathered competitors from 89 countries. Originated in Kyrgyzstan in 2014, the World Nomad Games have since been held three times in the Kyrgyz city of Cholpon-Ata on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul.
Maersk (Denmark), one of the world’s largest container shipping operators, has published shipping tariff rates for its rail-sea service along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor, Logistan reports. The Maersk service along the TITR, an international multimodal transport corridor with the length of 11,000 km, runs from China to
A new checkpoint, Bedel, opened on the Kyrgyz-Chinese border on September 3. The new crossing is located at a mountain pass in a remote southeastern corner of Kyrgyzstan, situated roughly equidistantly from the Kyrgyz city of Karakol at Lake Issyk-Kul and Aksu Prefecture of China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The Bedel checkpoint was opened under
The 8th CAREC Think Tank Development Forum (CTTDF) was held on August 27 and 28 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Themed “The Climate Challenge: Thinking Beyond Borders for Collective Action,” the forum addressed regional climate challenges by fostering collaborations for policy recommendations and joint research. Organized by the CAREC Institute, the Eurasian Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank
A special issue of OCA Magazine dedicated to Jizzakh has been published in London. In the pages of OCA Magazine: Jizzakh, writers from Uzbekistan, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, India, Bulgaria, and Finland addressed issues of heritage, history, economy, culture, and cuisine of one of Uzbekistan’s most promising regions. Jizzakh has historically been
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
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
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
On August 9, Astana hosted a business forum in the framework of the “Central Asia + Japan” dialogue. The event, organized by national company Kazakh Invest and Japanese association ROTOBO, was an important platform for strengthening trade, economic and investment ties between the countries of the region and Japan, Kazakh Invest reported. Speaking at the event,
The “Central Asia plus Japan” Dialogue Summit will be held in Astana, Kazakhstan on August 9 and 10. The event marks the 20th anniversary of the “Central Asia plus Japan” Dialogue, which was launched in 2004 at Japan’s initiative to foster cooperation between Japan and five Central Asian countries. Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is
Russian human rights defender Valentina Chupik says new legislation on migration adopted by Russia’s State Duma this week will dramatically restrict the rights of labor migrants, Current Time reported. Thousands of men and women from Central Asia regularly come to Russia as migrant workers and provide a financial lifeline to those back home. Speaking to
A Memorandum of Understanding for the Development of Islamic Finance in Central Asia was signed between the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) and the Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) on June 27 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, as part of the Eurasian Development Bank’s Annual Meeting and Business Forum. The document was signed by Nikolai Podguzov, Chairman of the EDB
From 22 to 29 June, Uzbekistan hosted the first international World Coaching Championship, as part of the 8th international festival Eurasian Creative Week. The festival events took place in three cities of Uzbekistan: Tashkent, Khiva and Nukus. The festival kicked off in Tashkent on 22 June with a charity ball organized by Silk Road Media
On June 28, the Savitsky Museum in Nukus (Karakalpakstan) hosted the show “Treasures of the Silk Road,” a significant artistic event that revealed the splendor of the cultural heritage of the Eurasian region. The show featured an immersive exhibition (projections and “revival” of paintings on the wall of the museum building), a concert, and a
The Kazakh Defense Ministry said on July 8 that its armed forces, along with those from Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, had begun joint military maneuvers on the shores of the Caspian Sea in western Kazakhstan, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported. The Association-2024 drills, scheduled to run until July 17, are taking place at the Oimasha
A caravan of 26 trucks has been transported across the Caspian Sea from the Kazakh port of Kuryk to the port of Baku by a ferry of the Azerbaijani shipping company ASCO. The trucks were loaded onto the ferry in Kuryk on July 3, Eurasia Today reported. The caravan will continue its journey through Georgia
