Around 3,000 migrants were detained in St. Petersburg on New Year’s eve as part of a series of mass detentions across Russia, RFE/RL’s Russian Service reported on January 2 citing local media. The Fontanka news outlet said more than 100 of those arrested in St. Petersburg are going to be deported. The SOTA news website
Police in Germany on January 1 arrested another suspect in connection with a possible planned terrorist attack on Cologne Cathedral, saying it was a 41-year-old man with German and Turkish citizenship, RFE/RL reported. A total of five suspects have now been detained in connection with the terrorism alert. On Christmas Eve, a 30-year-old Tajik was
The Ministry of Transport of Uzbekistan announced the cancellation of restrictions imposed on the country’s transit vehicles in Afghanistan. The agreement was reached in a meeting between high-ranking officials of Afghanistan and Uzbekistan late in December, Afghan broadcaster TOLOnews reported. The Uzbek ministry said that the transportation authorities of both countries have determined the costs
In 2023, with the support of KAZAKH INVEST national company, 47 new production facilities with foreign participation were put into operation in Kazakhstan for about $1.1 billion. These projects created more than 4.5 thousand jobs for Kazakhstani citizens, the acting Chairman of the Board of JSC National Company KAZAKH INVEST, Zhandos Temirgali said in an interview
2023 was a year of great achievements and difficult challenges for Kazakhstan. In the departing year, the population of Kazakhstan reached 20 million, and the population growth is the key to the power and prosperity of the state, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in his New Year address. He said that in 2023, Kazakhstan’s economy grew
Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov on December 30 signed the Decree “On recognizing the snow leopard as a national symbol of the Kyrgyz Republic,” the presidential press service said. The snow leopard has the status of a rare or endangered species in 12 countries. This animal is an indicator of the stability and health of the
Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry spokesman Aibek Smadiyarov said in a televised interview on December 29 that the Security Council of Kazakhstan had decided to remove the Taliban group now ruling Afghanistan from its registry of terrorist organizations. Smadiyarov said Astana will continue to adhere to United Nations decisions and resolutions regarding Afghanistan. Kazakhstan officially designated the
In order to promote the cultural heritage of Kazakhstan, the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Serbia published a collection of Kazakh fairy tales in Serbian language. Legends, mythical stories about oldman Kanbak and the pranks of Aldar Kose, as well as other adventures of famous characters of Kazakh fairy tales are now available for young Serbian
The Tajik government has recently transferred thousands of hectares of prime land to a private company that government opponents claim is controlled by a close relative of the authoritarian president, Emomali Rahmon, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reported. RFE/RL’s Tajik Service obtained a copy of an official document signed by Rahmon on November 29 that grants temporary ownership of
In the next six years, Uzbekistan’s electricity demand will increase from the current 83 billion to 120 billion kilowatt hours, and the country will cover this primarily through renewable energy sources, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said on December 27, at the launching ceremony of major projects in the field of green energy. Mirziyoyev said that Uzbekistan
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on December 28 said it is contributing to greater sustainability of Tajik business by supporting lending activity of Tajikistan’s largest private lender Bank Eskhata. The EBRD will share half of the risk on two loans collectively worth up to US$5 million under the risk sharing agreement between the two banks. A
The President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev on December 27 took part in the ceremony of commissioning and connecting to the power grid of five solar and one wind power plants in six regions of the country. These important investment projects have been implemented with the UAE-based company Masdar and several Chinese companies — China Energy
The Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Qatar, Arman Issagaliyev on December 26 met with the Group Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Airways, Badr Mohammed Al Meer. The Kazakh diplomat noted the strengthening political, trade and economic ties between the two countries, as well as the expanding flow of tourists in both directions. The CEO of Qatar
The European Union Delegation in Turkmenistan on December 23 hosted an open-air Christmas Book Fair in the front yard of the Office of the Delegation in Ashgabat. The festive event brought together more than 600 people, including Ashgabat residents, guests from provinces, representatives from local diplomatic missions, bookstores and artisans. The event featured a
As of the end of October 2023, the public debt of Kyrgyzstan (external and internal) amounted to $6.590 billion or 57.82 percent of the country’s GDP, said the Kyrgyz Ministry of Finance, providing the latest statistics on the country’s debt. The amount includes $4.482 billion of external debt and $1.518 billion of internal debt. More than half (52.4 percent) of the
The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) has provided support in establishing Tajikistan’s first international science laboratory, which was inaugurated on Monday at the Dushanbe International School, Türkiye’s Daily Sabah reported. The state-of-the-art science laboratory was designed to provide primary, middle and high school students with hands-on experiences and practical application of theoretical knowledge acquired
An informal meeting of the leaders of the CIS member countries took place on December 26 in St Petersburg, Russia. The meeting was attended by President of Russia Vladimir Putin, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Before the informal summit, the leaders visited the Pavlovsk, Tsarskoye Selo,
On December 25, on the margins of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting in St. Petersburg, a free trade agreement was signed between the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and its member states, on one hand, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, on the other. The EEU unites Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. The agreement
The “One Village – One Product” project (OVOP) is being implemented within the framework of “Men Kasipker” instrument, developed in accordance with the National Entrepreneurship Development Project for 2021-2025. Its goal is to involve rural population in creation of a unique, high-quality regional product that is certified and has market attractiveness, the Kazakh Ministry of
On December 25, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a government meeting on the development of the electrical, chemical and pharmaceutical industries in Uzbekistan. It was stated at the meeting that over the past five years, production in these three industries has increased 2.6-fold, and their share in the country’s industrial sector has reached 7 percent. The
