Kyrgyzstan’s Elkart Interbank Processing Center said that the Central Asian country’s banks will stop processing transactions with Russian Mir payment cards as of April 5 due to Western sanctions imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, RFE/RL reported. Last week, another former Soviet republic, Armenia, announced a similar move. In September 2022, the U.S.
Kazakhstan intends to sign an agreement with Kyrgyzstan on deepening and expanding allied relations. The draft decree of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev “On the signing of an agreement on deepening and expanding allied relations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic” was published on the Open Regulatory Legal Acts portal. The
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has signed into law a controversial bill that allows authorities to register organizations as “foreign representatives,” legislation critics say mirrors a repressive Russian law on “foreign agents,” RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. Japarov said in an April 2 post on Facebook that the law will “regulate” the activities of nongovernmental organizations receiving financial support from abroad
During his official visit to China, Deputy Prime Minister–Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu on March 30 held meetings with the leadership of major Chinese companies, and discussed plans for the implementation of joint investment projects in Kazakhstan, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry reported. Chinese businessmen were acquainted with the economic reforms being implemented
Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on March 28 attended the opening ceremony of the plenary session of the Boao Forum for Asia, held annually in Hainan Province, China. This year’s 23rd edition of the Forum was themed “Asia and the World: Common Challenges, Shared Responsibilities”. The President of Kazakhstan spoke at the forum as a guest
Deputy Prime Minister–Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu on March 26 visited Washington and held a meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss the dynamic development of the enhanced strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and the United States across a wide range of political, trade, economic and humanitarian spheres, the
Kyrgyzstan has called on its citizens not to travel to Russia, where Central Asian migrant workers and visitors are facing enormous pressure following last week’s deadly attack near Moscow that left 139 people dead, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. Russian officials said earlier that 11 suspects, including four men who allegedly attacked the Crocus City Hall entertainment center,
Kazakh officials have confirmed the conviction of a nephew of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who lost his influence on the country’s political scene after deadly, unprecedented anti-government protests in January 2022, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported. The Astana City Court told RFE/RL on March 20 that Samat Abish was convicted of abuse of power and handed a suspended
On March 18, with the participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov and the Director General of the Agency for Transport and Communications under the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Mammethan Chakyev, a roundtable was organized with the European business community on the topic “Turkmenistan and the EU: towards a new
Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov on March 18 held a meeting on the implementation of instructions of the Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to improve the quality of life in the country, announced at the third meeting of the National Kurultai (Congress) on March 15. On the issue of repair and modernisation of the
On March 15 in Suzak village of the Jalal-Abad oblast of Kyrgyzstan, an official opening ceremony of the fire and rescue unit №65 within the framework of trilateral cooperation between the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Government of the Republic of Korea, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the United
The Governments of the United States, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan joined private sector representatives in the inaugural B5+1 Forum in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from March 13-15. Announced by President Biden during the inaugural C5+1 Summit in September 2023 and highlighted in the corresponding New York Declaration, the B5+1 is the private-sector-led counterpart
The Kyrgyz parliament has approved without debate the third and final reading of a controversial bill that would allow authorities to register organizations as “foreign representatives” in a way that critics say mirrors repressive Russian legislation on “foreign agents,” RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. Five lawmakers voted against the bill on March 14. President Sadyr
Reports about the existence of Pentagon biological laboratories in Kazakhstan are untrue, says Zauresh Zhumadilova, director general of the National Scientific Center of Especially Dangerous Infections under the Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan, as reported by KazTAG information agency. “There are no American biological laboratories in Kazakhstan. All our laboratories are Kazakhstan’s own. They are
Deputy Prime Minister–Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu, during his visit to Geneva on February 26, held a number of bilateral meetings with the heads of international organizations. At the meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the current global challenges, deepening regional cooperation between the countries of Central Asia, as well as the
Karakalpak activist Aqylbek Muratov (aka Muratbai), who was arrested in Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty, at Uzbekistan’s request earlier in February has been given asylum seeker status in Kazakhstan, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported. A relative of Muratov, Fariza Narbekova, told RFE/RL on February 26 that Kazakh officials had given him an asylum seeker’s certificate three days earlier. A
Tajikistan’s Supreme Court has handed prison terms to three well-known public figures for writing, editing, and publishing a book that highlights some of the challenges faced by those living in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic, which the authorities ordered cleared from bookstores, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reported. Several sources told RFE/RL on February 23 that the court
Earlier this month, Tajik migrant workers in the Russian city of Samara were scared after Sunatullo Nazriev, the leader of the local Tajik diaspora, called on Tajiks who have Russian citizenship and those who want to get Russian passports in an expedited way to join Russia’s armed forces fighting in Ukraine. According to the migrant
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has said his country has frozen its membership in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) as Yerevan continues to distance itself from Moscow amid a souring of bilateral relations, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reported. Pashinian said in an interview with France 24 television channel on February 22 that the move comes after
The Kyrgyz parliament on February 22 approved on second reading a controversial bill that would allow authorities to register organizations as “foreign representatives” in a way that critics say mirrors repressive Russian legislation on so-called foreign agents, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. Dozens of nongovernmental organizations in Kyrgyzstan have called on lawmakers to reject the bill,
