Uzbekistan will host the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) 59th Annual Meeting on 3 to 6 May 2026. The meeting will be held in the historic city of Samarkand, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. This is the second time that Uzbekistan will host the ADB Annual Meeting, following the successful 43rd
In 2024, Kazakhstan’s exports reached $81.6 billion, up 3.2% compared to 2023, with non-resource exports showing an impressive 11.9% growth, amounting to $28.8 billion, according to the Ministry of Trade and Integration. Imports totaled $59.8 billion, down 1% from the previous year. In 2025, Kazakhstan continues to maintain high export rates, which in January-February amounted
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has welcomed Türkiye as its newest regional member, strengthening ADB’s engagement in Central and West Asia. In a ceremony during ADB’s 58th Annual Meeting in Milan, ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov said Türkiye’s transition to regional membership would provide the country with development opportunities through
On May 5-6, the National Leader of Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty (People’s Council) of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov paid an official visit to France. Berdimuhamedov took part in the Turkmen-French Economic Forum attended by heads and representatives of leading French companies, members of the delegation of Turkmenistan, as well as Turkmen entrepreneurs. Opening
The Kazakhstan-Vietnam Business Roundtable was held in Astana on May 6 with the participation of officials, representatives of business and government agencies of the two countries. The event was held in the framework of the visit of the delegation of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam led by General Secretary of the Central Committee of the
The Afghan Ministry of Industry and Commerce announced that Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan recorded $66 million in trade during the past solar year, TOLOnews reported. The solar year begins in March. Akhundzada Abdul Salam Jawad, spokesperson for the ministry, said that $7 million of this figure represents Afghan exports, while the remaining amount was imports. Afghanistan’s
Kyrgyzstan ranks 117th out of 193 countries and territories, maintaining its position in the “High Human Development” category, according to the latest Human Development Index (HDI) in the 2025 Human Development Report (HDR) published by the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP Kyrgyzstan reported. Kyrgyzstan continues to make steady progress in advancing human development, with improvements
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is helping women-led micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Kazakhstan by extending a new term loan to a leading microlender KMF, which has been an EBRD client since 2005. The EBRD funds of up to US$ 25 million (€22.9 million) will help to promote women’s entrepreneurship and business
The inaugural dialogue of participants in the Export Accelerator Program—implemented by the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan—was held in Tashkent on May 2. Launched in September 2024, the Export Accelerator has already facilitated the entry of 29 entrepreneurs into international markets. To date, these participants have achieved export deliveries totaling over $14
The 11th meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation between Kazakhstan and the United Kingdom was held in London last week. The Kazakh delegation was led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alibek Kuantyrov. The meeting was attended by the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the UK Magzhan Ilyassov, UK Ambassador to Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is taking another step toward fostering international business. At the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan new regulations have been approved for obtaining an investor visa, aimed at enhancing the country’s investment appeal and supporting long-term business partnerships. Under the new framework, foreign nationals who invest a minimum of 300,000 US
On April 30 in London, the Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic to the United Kingdom, Ulan Djusupov, held a meeting with Lord John Alderdice, the UK Trade Envoy to Azerbaijan and Central Asia. During the meeting, the parties discussed prospects for expanding Kyrgyz–UK trade, economic, and investment cooperation. Ambassador Djusupov briefed the Trade Envoy on
Austria’s AVL List GmbH, a world leader in automotive technology development and testing, will participate in a project to establish a national testing and certification center for motor vehicles in Kazakhstan. A memorandum of understanding for the project has been signed between AVL List GmbH, Kazakh engineering firm LLP IAS, and Kazakh Invest national investment
On April 28, the plenary session of the fifth exhibition “INNOPROM. Central Asia – 2025” was held in Tashkent. INNOPROM. Central Asia is an annual international industrial exhibition held in the capital of Uzbekistan since 2021. “INNOPROM. Central Asia – 2025” covers an area of 18,000 square meters, with 4,143 square meters dedicated to Uzbekistan’s
On April 28, Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu and Stefano Manfredi, General Director of the Spanish company TUBACEX IBF Kazakhstan discussed the establishment in Kazakhstan of the first seamless pipe plant in Central Asia, producing pipes from stainless steel and nickel alloys. The project aligns with Kazakhstan’s strategic
The 6th meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Central Asia–China format was held in Almaty on April 26, attended by the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu, China Wang Yi, Kyrgyzstan Zheenbek Kulubaev, Tajikistan Sirojiddin Mukhriddin, Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov, and a representative of Turkmenistan. The meeting focused on strengthening political dialog, expanding trade and economic
The 4th meeting of the Uzbek-Chinese Working Group on Investment Cooperation was held in Tashkent on April 24. The meeting reviewed progress made in the investment sector. It was noted that the total volume of bilateral investments exceeded USD 10 billion in 2024, marking a 2.5-fold increase compared to 2023. Key discussion areas included: Strengthening investment and financial
In Astana, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Kazakh Invest national company, Madiyar Sultanbek met with representatives of Croatian company Sinitech Industries, Swedish company Ecolean, Kazakhstan’s AGRO HOLDING BAYAN, and the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR). According to Kazakh Invest, the parties discussed a project to build a powdered milk plant using innovative mineralization technology tailored to the needs
Kyrgyzstandart, the national standardization body under the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, has officially been accredited to certify food safety management systems in line with ISO 22000:2019. This accreditation positions Kyrgyzstan to independently certify food enterprises and reduce reliance on foreign institutions—lowering certification costs and helping producers enter international markets faster, the United Nations Development
On April 24, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Khalk Maslakhaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov held talks in Samarkand with the participation of official delegations. The parties discussed issues of further development and strengthening of Uzbek-Turkmen relations of friendship, good-neighborliness and strategic partnership, noting the
