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
On September 2, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev delivered his annual state-of-the-nation address titled “Just Kazakhstan: Law and Order, Economic Growth, Public Optimism.” In his speech, President Tokayev outlined the key goals for the nation’s development, focusing on sustainable socio-economic progress. With a focus on new tasks and priorities, the President emphasized the need to address imbalances between monetary
Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has pardoned hundreds of convicts to mark the country’s Independence Day, which was celebrated on September 1, RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service reported. State media reported that 159 prisoners were released outright, while 303 individuals were released on parole and the prison terms of 60 convicts were shortened. Among those affected were 19
Kazakhstan will hold a referendum on whether to build a nuclear power plant on October 6, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced on September 2. Speaking at a meeting of both chambers of parliament with an annual address to the people of Kazakhstan, Tokayev argued the project is needed to diversify energy sources in Kazakhstan, which has abundant oil
The Specialized Inter-District Court in Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty, on August 29 sentenced the already imprisoned ex-wife of a convicted nephew of the country’s former President, Nursultan Nazarbaev, to 12 years in prison, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported. Gulmira Satybaldy was found guilty of forcibly holding her relative and former business partner Abai Zhunusov in isolation against his
On 28 August, the National Leader and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty (People’s Council) of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov visited Iran. He met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and conveyed an invitation from Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov to pay an official visit to Turkmenistan. During the talks, the two leaders discussed the current state and prospects
The Government of Kazakhstan on August 27 decided to hold a referendum on the construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant. An exact date for the nationwide referendum has yet to be determined. The Government session today, chaired by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, considered the prospects for the development of nuclear energy in the
On August 22, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev arrived in Tajikistan on a state visit and held talks with President Emomali Rahmon. Following the talks, the presidents signed a Treaty on allied relations between Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. President Rahmon emphasized the historical importance of signing the Treaty and stated that “this important document will undoubtedly open
Kazakhstan summoned Paval Utsyupin, Belarus’s ambassador in Astana, to “objectively assess” the Central Asian nation’s stance on key international issues in an unbiased manner amid rising tensions between the two countries, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported. The Kazakh Foreign Ministry did not say specifically why it summoned Utsyupin, but it comes after Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made several
The Committee to Protect Journalists on August 19 called on Tajik authorities to drop bribery charges against noted journalist Ahmad Ibrohim, who was arrested a week earlier, RFE/RL reported. “Following the wave of lengthy convictions against journalists in Tajikistan since 2022, the arrest of Ahmad Ibrohim is yet another reminder of how dangerous any form of critical
A court in Kazakhstan’s eastern city of Oskemen has replaced a six-year prison sentence given to a nephew of Kazakhstan’s former strongman President Nursultan Nazarbaev with a suspended sentence, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported. Court No. 2 in the capital of the East Kazakhstan region ruled on August 16 that Qairat Satybaldy, 52, must be released with a
Several sources close to law enforcement in Tajikistan told RFE/RL over the weekend that police in the Central Asian nation’s southern city of Kulob had arrested noted journalist Ahmad Ibrohim on bribe-related charges, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reported. According to the sources, the 62-year-old editor-in-chief of the Paik (Message) independent newspaper was arrested on August 12
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
The presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan convened in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on August 9 to hold the sixth consultative meeting of the leaders of Central Asian states, RFE/RL reported. Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev greeted his counterparts and stressed that the regular meetings of the regional leaders indicate the Central Asian states’
Tajikistan’s First Deputy Interior Minister Abdurahmon Alamshozoda has confirmed reports by RFE/RL’s Tajik Service that 27 residents of the Yazgulom community in the volatile Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) have been arrested. Alamshozoda told journalists in Dushanbe on August 8 that the residents had been arrested on suspicion of being members of the Ansarullah Islamic group, which is
A Bishkek court on August 8 handed a seven-year prison term with a one-year suspension to Maya Alieva, who is the mother of late criminal kingpin Kamchy Kolbaev, on a charge of money laundering, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. Alieva’s lawyer said his client will not be imprisoned at all if she does not violate her parole-like restrictions
Tajik Labor Minister Gulnora Hasanzoda said on August 6 that Russia had deported 17,000 Tajik citizens over the past six months, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reported. According to Hasanzoda, the deportations have been mostly linked to violations of Russian law. Last month, Tajik officials said some 3,400 Tajik migrant workers had been returned to Tajikistan from
President of Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso on August 2 visited Kazakhstan and held talks with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Noting the growing role of African countries in international politics and the global economy, Tokayev said that the development of cooperation with African countries is one of the key areas of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy. “Today, negotiations
Kyrgyz prosecutors asked a Bishkek court to sentence Maya Alieva, who is the mother of late criminal kingpin Kamchy Kolbaev (aka Kamchybek Asanbek), to 10 years in prison on a charge of money laundering, lawyer Baktybek Jumashev told RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service on August 5. Kolbaev, who was killed during a police operation in Bishkek in
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