A deal allowing Tajik and Iranian citizens to travel between the two nations without visas for up to 90 days per year — with the first visit limited to 30 days — will take effect on August 10, the Tajik Foreign Ministry said on August 6, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reported. The ministry said that in the first
More Japanese companies have shown interest in working with Kazakhstan in the energy sector, transport, infrastructure, and digitalization of the logistics process, Japan’s Ambassador to Kazakhstan Jun Yamada announced during a meeting with Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alibek Kuantyrov on August 2 in Astana, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry reported. Emphasizing that Kazakhstan is
Elizabeth Rood was sworn in as the United States Ambassador to Turkmenistan on July 15 and presented her credentials to President Serdar Berdimuhamedov on July 31. According to the U.S. Embassy in Turkmenistan, Ambassador Rood looks forward to strengthening the partnership, rooted in government and people-to-people ties, between the United States and Turkmenistan during her tenure. Ambassador
The Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Thailand, Arman Issetov, on July 24 met at the Thai Government Office with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce, Phumtham Wechayachai to discuss the implementation of the agreements reached during the recent visit of the Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Murat Nurtleu, to
Some 3,400 Tajik migrant workers have not been allowed to enter Russia and turned back to Tajikistan from Russian airports over the last six months, the director of the Tajik Civil Aviation Agency, Habibullo Nazarzoda, told reporters on July 24, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reported. According to Nazarzoda, Tajik citizens were not allowed to enter Russia
The official opening ceremony of the Astana Genetic Center laboratory of the Chinese company BGI Group took place on July 19 at the National Center of Biotechnology in Astana. Kunsulu Zakariya, advisor to the President of Kazakhstan on Science and Innovation; Akmaral Alnazarova, Minister of Health; and Saule Sabyr, First Secretary of the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan
More than 60 faculty from across Uzbekistan gathered on July 15 to share experiences and lessons learned from their semester long visits to universities in the United States. These exchanges were funded as part of the Faculty Enrichment Program, a joint initiative of the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science,
On July 15, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF International) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on a tiger reintroduction program in Kazakhstan. According to the ministry, the memorandum is a continuation of successful cooperation which has already led to significant achievements in the restoration
A regional office of Euronews will be opened in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, the Minister of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan, Aida Balayeva, announced on her Facebook page. Minister Balayeva met with the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Euronews, Pedro Vargas David, and the parties signed a Memorandum of Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Euronews.
As part of the operational-tactical command and staff military exercise Birlestik-2024, military sports competitions in terrain orienteering were held at the Oymasha training ground in Kazakhstan. As reported by the Kazakh Defense Ministry, military personnel from Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan participated, while the team of the host country, Kazakhstan, performed outside the competition. The
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $100 million concessional loan to help the Government of Uzbekistan improve perinatal health services for pregnant women and their newborns. “ADB supports the government’s commitment to ensure high-quality perinatal health services in Uzbekistan to protect the health of women and children and reduce maternal and neonatal mortality
Since 2021, the U.S. government-sponsored Successful Aimak 2 project has improved the lives of 290,000 individuals across 42 partner municipalities across Kyrgyzstan. This initiative introduced 95 upgraded and new services, ranging from essential services like clean water supply and waste removal to enriching extracurricular activities such as English language classes, music clubs, and sports programs
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
The Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres held a meeting on July 6 in Ashgabat with the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov and attended the opening ceremony of the new UN Office building in the Turkmen capital. The Turkmen president emphasized that this visit is regarded as a qualitatively new stage of interaction to
The Government of Turkmenistan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on 6 July signed several strategic agreements aimed at strengthening and advancing a long-term partnership in achieving national development priorities, UNDP Turkmenistan reported. More specifically, UNDP and the Government of Turkmenistan have launched new initiatives to support the country in accelerating progress towards the
Laziz Kudratov, Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan, and Hatori Takashi, Ambassador of Japan to Uzbekistan, on July 2 signed Exchange Notes for the “Economic and Social Development Program” valued at 1 billion yen (approximately $6.3 million). The program is part of the grant assistance provided by the Government of Japan. As part
After participating in the U.S. government-sponsored “Okuu Keremet!” project, more than 450,000 primary school students in 1,679 schools in the Kyrgyz Republic are on track to improve their learning outcomes. The United States Agency for International Development project, implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic, presented its five-year
The grand opening of the Makerspace Learning and Design Center – funded in part by the U.S. government – took place on June 24 at the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) in Bishkek. Students and other community members can use high-tech equipment at the new center to develop and produce prototypes of innovative products.
On 27 June, the OSCE Chair-in-Office, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade of Malta Ian Borg, concluded his visit to Kyrgyzstan. The visit aimed to underscore the OSCE’s long-standing commitment to Kyrgyzstan and discuss the achievements of the strong and constructive partnership with the participating State in achieving regional security for all. In
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in cooperation with IT Academy on June 25 in Tashkent held an award ceremony for 25 graduates of the “IT4Everyone” regional project tailored for hearing-impaired individuals from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and the Kyrgyz Republic. Between March 18 and April 29, 115 participants from these countries received online sign language-adapted
