Kyrgyz prosecutors on June 10 asked a Bishkek court to convict and hand down lengthy sentences to 27 members of a Kyrgyz group who are on trial for protesting a border deal with Uzbekistan, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. The prosecutors asked for 20 years in prison for each of the defendants along with the confiscation
Long-term contracts for Russian natural gas supplies to Kyrgyzstan have been signed between Gazprom Export and Gazprom Kyrgyzstan. Long-term contracts for gas supplies have also been concluded between Gazprom Kyrgyzstan and two large gas consumers in Kyrgyzstan — Electric Stations and the Bishkekteploenergo municipal heating enterprise. Gazprom Kyrgyzstan is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Russian gas giant Gazprom
An intergovernmental agreement on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project was signed on June 6 in Beijing. The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is a strategic infrastructure project that will connect China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, and create a new land transport corridor between Central and East Asia. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kyrgyzstan, in collaboration with the JIA Business Association, is launching a mentoring programme for women entrepreneurs and youth. The programme is part of the UNDP project “Aid for Trade in Central Asia”, funded by the government of Finland, and aimed at supporting the development of value chains of natural honey,
The eleventh round of the annual High-Level Political and Security Dialogue between the European Union and the countries of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) took place in Brussels on June 5. The meeting was held at the level of Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the five Central Asian countries
On June 3, a symposium dedicated to cooperation in higher education between Korea and Central Asian countries was held in South Korea. The event was organized by the Secretariat of the Central Asia–Republic of Korea Cooperation Forum. Opening the symposium, Executive Director of the Secretariat of the Central Asia-Republic of Korea Cooperation Forum, Rhee Jong
China and five Central Asian nations have officially established a China-Central Asia emergency management cooperation mechanism, Xinhua reported. China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan signed a memorandum of understanding on the establishment of the mechanism during a ministerial meeting in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, last week. The six
Through a unique theatre experience, university students, faculty, and administrators of several Bishkek-based universities as well as representatives of government agencies, civil society, and regional NGOs are better prepared to take on gender-related issues. On May 31, 30 participants gathered to attend the “Theatre of the Oppressed,” a workshop used to raise awareness on gender
The first-ever One Stop Service Center for Victims of Violence opened in Kyrgyzstan on May 28. According to the U.S. Embassy in Kyrgyzstan, the new center was created by joint efforts of the U.S. and Kyrgyz governments, as well as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and will provide critical support for
The Central Asian Women Leaders’ Caucus Meeting concluded on 23 May in Bishkek. The event, centred on “The role of women in the economies of Central Asia: leadership for promoting digital, social, and environmental innovation,” brought together women leaders from across the region to strategize and commit to enhancing women’s roles in these critical sectors, the
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), a consortium of Tez Zhol and Zhagalmai, and DemirBank have signed agreements to build and maintain a bypass road around the town of Uzgen in the Osh region of southern Kyrgyzstan. According to EDB’s press office, the project aims to develop the road sector and improve connectivity in the Osh
Thirty organizations – such as schools, libraries, and universities – in Osh, Jalal-Abad, and Batken regions of Kyrgyzstan on May 22 received a total of over 12,000 English-language books from the United States. These are well-loved books donated from the American people to the Kyrgyz people, the U.S. Embassy in Kyrgyzstan reported. This project is
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) and Kyrgyzstan’s Electric Stations have signed a technical assistance agreement for the purchase of equipment for the Bishkek combined heat and power plant (CHPP). This project, financed by the EDB Technical Assistance Fund (TAF), aims to address the consequences of an accident that occurred at the plant on 2 February
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) and Bishkek Solar have signed a cooperation agreement to finance the construction of a 300 MW photovoltaic power station in Toru-Aigyr village in Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul region. The signing ceremony took place on 21 May in Bishkek. The project includes several key agreements, including an agreement with the National Electric Grid
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), the Financial Credit Fund under the Ministry of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic (FCF), the Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund (RKDF) and the Kyrgyz Stock Exchange (KSE) have signed a letter of intent to implement a technical assistance project aimed at modernising the stock exchange in Kyrgyzstan. The modernisation project aims to
Following unprecedented mob violence targeting foreign students from South Asia in Kyrgyzstan, around 1,200 Pakistani students at the Bishkek-based Kyrgyzstan International University have left the Central Asian nation, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. University Rector Asylbek Aidaraliev told reporters on May 20 that mainly first-year and second-year students had left the country, though some students remain in Kyrgyzstan
The Kyrgyz government said 29 people were injured, including three foreigners, in mob violence in Bishkek on the night of May 17-18 that appeared to be directed against foreign students and migrants, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. The violence prompted diplomatic reactions from Pakistan and India, who warned their students in Bishkek to remain indoors. The
A Kyrgyz court on May 14 sentenced government critic and journalist Oljobai Shakir (aka Egemberdiev) to five years in prison on a charge of making calls online for mass unrest, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. Shakir rejected the charge, calling it ungrounded. Shakir was arrested in August 2023, days after he criticized the government’s decision to
On May 14, a high-level delegation from the Government of Switzerland will arrive in Bishkek to strengthen cooperation ties with the Kyrgyz Republic and familiarize with the results of the Swiss funded projects implemented in Kyrgyzstan, the Swiss Embassy in Bishkek announced. The delegation will be composed of Ambassador Mr. Arno Wicki, Assistant Director General of
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Kyrgyzstan, in collaboration with the PF “Training and Consulting Center” (TES-Center), is launching an initiative to strengthen the value chain (VAC) of natural honey under UNDP project “Aid for Trade in Central Asia”, funded by the Government of Finland. The project will continue to provide support to key
