The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on 19 September said it has approved $109.5 million in financing to enhance the national road around the Issyk-Kul Lake, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Kyrgyz Republic and a strategic location that connects to neighboring Central Asian countries. The Issyk-Kul Ring Road Improvement Project will construct
Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed a law providing for the creation of a trade and logistics complex on the border with Kyrgyzstan, Tengrinews.kz reports. Tokayev signed the law “On ratification of the agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic on the creation and
On September 18, Kazakhstan Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov held the first meeting of the Board of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) under the chairmanship of Kazakhstan. The meeting with the heads of delegations of the participating countries of the Fund considered the issues of joint use of transboundary water resources, as
The 2nd summit of Central Asian countries and Germany was held on September 17 in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana. Chaired by Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the meeting was attended by Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat
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 Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) participated in the 6th Kyrgyz-Russian Economic Forum, held on 11–12 September in the Issyk-Kul region of Kyrgyzstan. At the forum, the EDB and the Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund (RKDF) signed an agreement on investment projects and a memorandum on establishing a waste management system under a public-private partnership involving the EDB,
The Kara-Suu checkpoint was re-opened at the border between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan on September 12, after being closed for 14 years. The checkpoint is located near the city of Kara-Suu in Kyrgyzstan’s Osh region, on the border with Uzbekistan’s Andijan region. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Kyrgyzstan’s Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Bakyt
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
Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Finance on September 9 said that it signed the Credit and Grant Agreements with the World Bank on a $13.6 million additional financing for the Kambarata-1 Hydropower Plant (HPP) Project in Kyrgyzstan. Consisting of a $2.6 million grant and a $11 million loan, this additional funding will supplement the World Bank’s ongoing
On September 9, Kyrgyzstan’s Minister of Energy Taalaibek Ibrayev visited Japan and met with Ken Saito, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. Following the meeting, the Kyrgyz Ministry of Energy and Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry signed a Memorandum of Cooperation aimed at implementing joint projects in the field of green
Representatives from the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) took part in the Eurasian Mountain Resorts Alliance (EMRA) CEO Summit, which kicked off on September 9 in Almaty. The alliance unites leading mountain resorts from Central Asian countries. The summit’s highlight is the international expert and investment forum titled “The Almaty Mountain Cluster as the Backbone of
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government has praised the removal of the Taliban from Kyrgyzstan’s list of banned groups, TOLOnews reported. The Afghan news agency cited Abdul Qahar Balkhi, spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as saying that Kyrgyzstan’s decision reflects the establishment of political understanding in relations with the
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 Junda oil refinery has re-opened in the city of Kara-Balta, about 100 km west of Bishkek. Zhongda China Petrol Company’s Junda oil refinery resumed operation after a four-year shutdown from February 2020 to March 2024. Late in March this year, the refinery completed a major overhaul and now plans to reach its full annual
A plant for the assembly of China’s SHACMAN heavy trucks and special-purpose vehicles (concrete mixers) has opened in Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek. At the opening ceremony on August 30, the First Deputy Mayor of Bishkek Mirlanbek Baigonchokov said that the construction of the plant was an important contribution to the development of Kyrgyzstan’s automobile industry. An
Kyrgyzstan’s Culture Minister Altynbek Maksutov in a televised interview on August 27 defended the participation of Russian entertainers who have openly supported Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine in celebrations of Kyrgyzstan’s upcoming Independence Day, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. There has been online opposition to the scheduled performances of Russian singers Filipp Kirkorov, Stas Mikhailov, and
Twenty-one newly sworn-in Peace Corps Volunteers will co-teach English with local teachers in secondary schools across Chui, Naryn, Issyk-Kul, Talas, Osh, and Jalal-Abad regions over the next two years. This is the 30th group of Volunteers to serve in Kyrgyzstan since 1993, the U.S. Embassy in Bishkek said on August 23. Guests at the ceremony
The Keremet Bank in Kyrgyzstan said it suspended money transactions to several major Russian banks, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. Last week, another bank in Kyrgyzstan, MBank, made a similar move. The 24.kg website reported on August 21 that after visiting 16 banks in Bishkek, the news agency’s journalists found that in all, 13 banks have suspended monetary transactions to major Russian
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has released the latest Macroeconomic Review for the Bank’s six member states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. EDB’s analysts note that most member countries continue to display robust growth: the aggregate GDP of the EDB’s region of operations increased by 4.6% YoY in January-June 2024, after an increase
In the first half of 2024, Kyrgyzstan imported 2.02 billion kWh of electricity, including 909.8 million kWh from Russia and Kazakhstan, 837.5 million kWh from Turkmenistan, and 275.3 million kWh from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz Minister of Energy Taalaibek Ibrayev told a press conference in Bishkek earlier this month. In 2023, electricity imports amounted to 3.2 billion
