Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Indonesia Serzhan Abdykarimov on January 23 in Jakarta held a meeting with Vice Chairman of International Relations of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Bernardino Vega. The parties discussed measures to strengthen business contacts between Kazakh and Indonesian entrepreneurs, increase mutual trade, and realize transit-transport potential. Special emphasis was placed
During his official visit to Japan on January 22, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov met with the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, Ken Saito. The ministers discussed strengthening trade and economic ties between Turkmenistan and Japan, noting the successful joint implementation of various projects, including the construction in
Kazakhstan Agency of International Development KazAID held a briefing with the participation of representatives of embassies of Central Asian countries on January 22 in Astana. During the briefing Kazakh diplomats presented information on KazAID projects in 2024 to the Embassies of the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Particular attention was focused on the Dostyk
Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Aibek Smadiyarov said on January 22 that Kremlin-friendly Russian journalist Tina Kandelaki has been banned from entering the country over a post she made online, alleging that the Russian language was being discriminated against in the Central Asian country. Kandelaki had criticized Kazakhstan’s plan to replace the Russian names of railway
A major earthquake followed by a series of aftershocks struck early on January 23 along the China-Kyrgyzstan border, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported. Kyrgyz Emergencies Minister Boobek Ajikeev said in a video message that the earthquake was felt shortly after midnight in Kyrgyzstan and was especially strong in several districts of the northern Issyk-Kul
Uzbekistan is a friendly neighbor and comprehensive strategic partner of China. The development of multifaceted relations with China has been, and remains, one of the main priorities of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy, the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev wrote in his article, entitled “Uzbekistan and China: millennia-long friendship and cooperation,” published by People’s Daily Online (China)
A round table was held in Tashkent on January 19 to discuss the findings of four expeditions conducted by the Scientific Information Center of the Interstate Coordination Water Commission of Central Asia (SIC ICWC) on the dried bed of the Aral Sea. These expeditions, supported by the UN Development Programme from 2019 to 2023, aimed
A meeting of the National Commission of Turkmenistan for UNESCO was held on January 20. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Rashid Meredov, who chaired the meeting, summed up the activities of the Interdepartmental Commission for UNESCO for 2023 and outlined the priority areas for its further work, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry reported. It
Both of the Kazakh parliament’s chambers, the Mazhilis and the Senate, approved on January 19 a presidential proposal to send 430 Kazakh peacekeepers to the Middle East and Africa, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported. Defense Minister Ruslan Zhaqsylyqov said the troops will join the UN Disengagement Observer Force on the Golan Heights, the UN Truce Supervision
A Moscow court on January 19 sent a leader of the Uzbek diaspora in Russia, Usman Baratov, to pretrial detention for at least two months on a charge of inciting hatred with his online posts, RFE/RL’s Russian Service reported. Baratov pleaded not guilty to the charge, which stemmed from a post last month related to
On January 18, in Rome, Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company KazMunayGas and Italy’s Eni S.p.A. signed the Joint Confirmation Agreement on initiation of the Zhanaozen hybrid power plant construction project. The document was signed by Magzum Mirzagaliyev, Chair of the Management Board, KMG and Eni Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi. The signing took place
On January 18, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev paid an official visit to Italy. Tokayev held talks with the President of the Council of Ministers of Italy, Giorgia Meloni. During the talks, Tokayev said that Kazakhstan and Italy have established close economic cooperation, as well as fruitful cultural and humanitarian ties. “We are proud to be
A Kyrgyz court official said on January 18 that a member of the opposition Butun (United) Kyrgyzstan party, Chynygul Sherkulova, was sentenced to three years in prison last month on a charge of distributing false information online but allowed to start serving her prison term later, as she has three young children, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service
The United States and European Union have expressed their deep concern about recent actions against independent media in Kyrgyzstan. This comes after 11 journalists were arrested earlier this week in a move international media watchdogs said was aimed at “intimidating and harassing” journalists to keep them from carrying out their work. On January 16, Kyrgyz
On January 17, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Rashid Meredov held a meeting with the Vice-President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas in Ashgabat. The parties discussed key aspects of cooperation between Turkmenistan and the EU and prospects for its further development. Special attention was paid to the areas of security, digitalization, water
Turkmenistan’s first TESOL conference, co-organized by the U.S. Embassy and the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan, was held last week in Ashgabat. 250 English language teachers from across Turkmenistan and American experts from the International TESOL Association gathered for the event at the International University of Humanities and Development. Over the course of five days,
Eight international human rights groups have called on the Kyrgyz government to stop its crackdown on independent media after 11 journalists were detained in a move the watchdogs said was aimed at “intimidating and harassing” journalists to keep them from carrying out their work, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. In a statement dated January 16, Civil Rights Defenders,
Today, Russia and Kazakhstan have no problems either at the political level or in the economic dimension. But it seems that not everyone likes it. And then provocations begin to sound for completely far-fetched reasons, independent expert Nurlan Alniyazov wrote in the following article. A deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Alexey
The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan organized the launch in Tashkent of a digital platform developed by the social start-up Coozin, aimed to further develop women’s entrepreneurship and increase their self-employment skills by using advanced digital technologies. The Coozin start-up was launched in 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, it has
Türkiye says people from Turkmenistan and Russia are the two largest groups of foreigners living in the country as they seek better living conditions, Current Time reported. According to a report from the Migration Directorate of Türkiye, among the 1.1 million foreign nationals residing in the country with residence permits, 109,000 are Turkmens and 100,000 are Russian