During a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana, Kazakhstan on July 4, the leaders of the SCO member states accepted Belarus as a new member of the Eurasian political and security bloc founded by China and Russia in 2001. With the addition of Belarus, the SCO membership has now expanded from originally
Turkmenistan and Iran signed a contract on July 3 for the delivery of 10 billion cubic meters of Turkmen natural gas per year, which Iran will then ship to Iraq, RFE/RL reported. Turkmenistan’s Foreign Ministry announced the deal but did not say what price Iran would pay for the gas. The ministry’s statement said Iranian
Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on July 3 held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who arrived in Astana on a state visit and for participation in a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Tokayev started the talks by saying that China is a strategic partner and one of Kazakhstan’s main allies. President Xi Jinping
During his visit to Tajikistan on July 2, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif held talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon to discuss issues of development and expansion of relations of friendship and cooperation between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the press service of the Tajik president reported. “We consider the commercial and
The upcoming meeting between the heads of state of Kazakhstan and China will benefit peoples of the two countries, and the agreements to be reached will open a new chapter in the Kazakhstan-China permanent comprehensive strategic partnership, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in an interview with the Xinhua news agency. Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived on
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has released a report titled “The Eurasian Transport Network,” which introduces a new conceptual approach to future developments within the Eurasian Transport Network and outlines key projects and initiatives aimed at improving transport connectivity in Eurasia. The Eurasian Transport Network is a system of interconnected latitudinal and longitudinal international transport corridors
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
Speaking in the Mazhilis (the lower house of Kazakhstan’s parliament) on June 26, Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Kanat Iskakov commented on rumors about the alleged existence of foreign biological laboratories in Kazakhstan, Zakon.kz reported. The issue was raised by Mazhilis deputy Rinat Zaitov, who asked if there are US biological laboratories in Kazakhstan?
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
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has expressed concern over recently adopted amendments to Tajikistan’s law on the regulation of traditions and ceremonies, saying it worsens religious freedom violations in the Central Asian state, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reported. The amendments, signed by President Emomali Rahmon on June 20, among other restrictions bans children’s games
The construction of a garment factory near Bishkek to employ relatives of more than 80 Kyrgyz people killed during anti-government protests in April 2010 began earlier this month, according to factory construction foreman Jenish Nusubaliev, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. The unrest toppled then-President Kurmanbek Bakiev, who was later sentenced in absentia to several lengthy prison
During Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov’s visit to Brussels on June 25, the European Union and the Kyrgyz Republic signed an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA), which will replace the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) signed in 1999. The document was signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic Jeenbek Kulubaev, High Representative of the
OSCE Chair-in-Office, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade of Malta Ian Borg on 25 June concluded his visit to Kazakhstan. The visit focused on strengthening regional cooperation and the OSCE’s engagement in addressing the broad range of security challenges the region is facing. In Astana, Minister Borg met with President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Chairman of
Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security said on June 25 that “a leader and nine members” of the Yaqyn Inkar Islamic group, which is banned in the Central Asian nation, were detained in the southern Batken region, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. The State Committee added that 12 residents of the region denounced their membership in
On June 24, during his first state visit to Uzbekistan, President of Mongolia Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh held negotiations with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tashkent, with the main focus on deepening trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. During the meeting, the two leaders tasked their governments to establish a joint working group on
The Osh regional court in southern Kyrgyzstan told RFE/RL on June 24 that a lower court had sentenced a local man, whose identity was not disclosed, to five years in prison two weeks earlier for joining Russian troops fighting in Ukraine, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. In January, a Bishkek court handed a suspended seven-year prison
A court in Bishkek has sentenced Kyrgyz activist and Social Democratic Party member Alga Kylychev to 10 years in prison on a charge of hostage-taking, which he vehemently denies, calling it politically motivated, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. Bailiffs immediately arrested Kylychev after a judge at the Alamudun district court in the northern Chui region pronounced the ruling
Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed into law a bill on mass media that will hinder journalists from getting comments from officials and interviews, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported. Domestic and international rights groups and media experts have expressed concerns over the new law, saying it will compromise independent journalism and lead to self-censorship in the Central Asian
Saidjafar Usmonzoda, a prominent member of the Tajik parliament, was detained on June 14 for allegedly “plotting to overthrow the government,” RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reported. Prosecutor-General Yusuf Rahmon accused Usmonzoda of collaborating with the foreign-based opposition group National Pact of Tajikistan and of speaking with its leader, the self-exiled Sharofiddin Gadoev. Gadoev fled Tajikistan in the early
A court in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, has acquitted all members of a group facing 20 years in prison for protesting a border deal with Uzbekistan, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. The judge ruled on June 14 that there was insufficient evidence to convict the 27 activists. Earlier this week, prosecutors asked for lengthy sentences for
