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Uzbek President Mirziyoyev Lauds Strategic Partnership with China

The president of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev will make a state visit to China from January 23rd to 25th, at the invitation of the Chinese president, Xi Jinping. On the eve of the visit, the Chinese People's Daily Online published an article by Mirziyoyev, entitled “Uzbekistan and China: millennia-long friendship and cooperation,” in which the Uzbek leader says that Uzbekistan is a friendly neighbor and committed strategic partner to China, and that the development of multifaceted relations with China has always been one of the main priorities of Uzbekistan's foreign policy. Mirziyoyev wrote that Uzbek-Chinese relations are experiencing the best period in their history, with trade, economic and investment cooperation steadily growing. Last year bilateral trade turnover grew by 40 per cent, Mirziyoyev wrote, with China being Uzbekistan’s “top trade partner”. In recent years the volume of Chinese investments in Uzbekistan has increased five-fold, and the number of enterprises with Chinese capital in various sectors of the economy has tripled. A number of large joint investment projects are underway, spanning sectors including technology, alternative energy, chemicals, mechanical engineering, metallurgy, electrical engineering and infrastructure modernization. Mirziyoyev added that “thanks to our Chinese partners, we are taking important steps in developing green energy to create 27 gigawatts of renewable energy generation capacity by 2030”. Mirziyoyev emphasized that Uzbekistan is actively involved in implementing China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which has become a global consolidating force. “In 10 years, this grandiose idea of the revival of the Great Silk Road has gained supporters in all corners of the planet, uniting two-thirds of the world's countries. Today, from an appealing concept, it is turning into a practical reality. For us, the BRI is not just an infrastructure project. Through the joint implementation of the initiative, the region is becoming an important link in global connectivity, overcoming transport remoteness.” “Today, we can firmly state that the earlier voiced predictions of skeptics about the predestined fate of the region's countries to become only a transit corridor for China's trade with Europe, South Asia and the Middle East failed to come true,” Mirziyoyev stressed. “Today, investments are increasing in Central Asia, with the number of joint high-technology industries growing, enhancing the economic potential of our countries. China's strategic role enables Central Asia to be open to broad cooperation with the rest of the world, turning the region's geographical disadvantages into advantages.” The Uzbek president also said that the first summit between the heads of state of the Central Asian countries and China, held in May 2023 in Xi'an, was a breakthrough in their relations and set out the future development of multilateral cooperation. “This format has huge potential for building a model of comprehensive development of the states of the region and the western provinces of China, opens the prospects for the transition to close industrial and technological cooperation, as well as the development of transport, digital and humanitarian connectivity of the Central Asian countries with China,” Mirziyoyev said.

Central Asia Life & Culture International Affairs Kazakhstan Life & Culture Kazakhstan Kazakhstan International Affairs

Kazakhstan President Tokayev Makes First Visit to Vatican

During his visit to Italy last week, Kazakhstan’s president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev made his first official visit to the Holy See at the invitation of Pope Francis. During the meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican on January 19th, Tokayev expressed gratitude to the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church for his tireless efforts to serve humanity around the world, Tokayev’s press service reported. “Your prayer for peace instilled aspiration and new hope not only in the hearts and minds of thousands of Catholics, but of many of our fellow citizens of other religions. Today, multiethnic and multiconfessional Kazakhstan, which has been historically located at the crossroads of various civilizations, is a proud home to the largest Catholic community in Central Asia,” said Tokayev. “We have managed to form our own model of peace and national dialogue, based on the principles of ‘unity-in-diversity’. People of various faiths have their places of worship in Kazakhstan. Fostering religious freedom is an integral part of my presidential agenda,” the Kazakh leader emphasized. Tokayev stressed that “We should all come together as one, despite our differences, in order to preach and practice peace, facilitate an ongoing dialogue across cultures and religions, and to drive forward development for the benefit of people of all faiths.” The Pontiff thanked Tokayev for his contribution to peace and harmony. The Kazakh president also met with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations. The Holy See’s press office said that during the meetings with president Tokayev, appreciation was expressed for the good relations between the Holy See and Kazakhstan, with particular reference to mutual collaboration in the sphere of interreligious dialogue. Regional and international themes were also discussed, with special attention to conflicts and humanitarian issues. Pope Francis visited Kazakhstan in September 2022, when he took part in the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions held in Astana. This Congress is held in the Kazakh capital every three years, functioning as a permanent international interfaith platform for dialogue between religions.

Central Asia Kazakhstan Business & Economy Kazakhstan Business & Economy

Italian Agricultural Holding Enters Kazakhstan Market

The Italian holding Bonifiche Ferraresi, which produces and markets agricultural products, has signed a memorandum of cooperation with Kazakhstan’s Agrofirm TNK. This was the result of negotiations between the Kazakh minister for agriculture, Aidarbek Saparov, and the management of Bonifiche Ferraresi in Rome last week, the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture reported. Agrofirm TNK produces agricultural products on 400,000 hectares of land in the Akmola region, northern Kazakhstan. At the first stage of their partnership, the Italian and Kazakh companies intend to exchange experience regarding technology, seeds, and employee training. At the next stage they plan to develop processing, including pasta production. Forty enterprises currently produce pasta in Kazakhstan, the largest of which use durum wheat flour as a raw material, which has a high content of protein and iron. Traditional Italian pasta is made from this type of flour. “Kazakhstan has every opportunity to increase pasta production and exports, since it has its own raw material base. In 2022, Kazakhstan produced 15.6 million tons of soft wheat and 833 thousand tons of durum wheat, of which about 400,000 tons were exported to Italy, which is enough to increase the volume of pasta production, including in order to expand exports,” Mr Saparov said during the negotiations. The minister also told the Italian partners about the favorable investment climate in Kazakhstan, pointing out that investors can directly enter into an investment agreement with the Kazakh government to implement large investment projects, and receive certain benefits and preferences.

Central Asia Justice Kazakhstan Local Politics Kazakhstan Justice Local Politics Kazakhstan

Senator Zhanna Asanova: the bill against domestic violence is ready to be submitted to the Mazhilis

According to the prominent Kazakh senator Zhanna Asanova, in 2023 domestic violence claimed the lives of 69 women and children, and more than 99,000 people sought help for this reason. A total of 2,452 crimes against children were registered. In a post on Facebook, Ms Asanova announced that a bill aimed at countering domestic violence is ready to be submitted to Kazakhstan’s parliament, the Mazhilis. She stressed that a number of experts on women's and children's rights were involved in creating the bill. Senator Asanova also emphasized that state agencies, in partnership with Kazakhstan’s children's ombudsman Dinara Zakiyeva, are working to increase the number of guardianship officers to 1,650 people. Currently there are only 309 of them in the country. Ms Asanova wrote: "As the president noted, any legislative changes will not be effective unless there is complete rejection, 'zero tolerance' in society, for any form of aggression and violence." The bill includes the following measures: 1. Criminalization of violence, which implies the establishment of criminal liability for battery and causing minor harm to health (currently these crimes are regulated by the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Kazakhstan). 2. Classifying these crimes as criminal offenses requiring public prosecution in order to increase the effectiveness of law enforcement. 3. Toughening the punishment for these crimes and excluding the possibility of reconciliation of the parties to all forms of violence against children, in order to ensure the protection of the rights and interests of children. 4. Creation of infrastructure for assistance to families and children, including the opening of Family Support Centers and Centers for Psychological Support of Children, to provide comprehensive assistance to victims. 5. Introduction of special requirements in the Criminal Code, including psychological work with the aggressor, in order to prevent repeated cases of violence and to rehabilitate perpetrators of such crimes.

Uzbekistan Environment Central Asia Uzbekistan Life & Culture Uzbekistan Life & Culture

Uzbekistan’s senators amend legislation to improve environmental safety

During a meeting on January 20th, the Senate of the Oliy Majlis introduced amendments to legislation aimed at improving environmental safety. The amendments are aimed at reducing the negative impact on the environment. They will also contribute to increasing the responsibility of state bodies. The amendments establish clear mechanisms and procedures for responding to threats to the life and health of the population. According to the senators, the increase in construction, production and urbanization leads to increased emissions of pollutants into the environment. Urbanization is often accompanied by the expansion of production capacity, construction of factories, enterprises and infrastructure, which leads to an increase in emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere. In Uzbekistan this takes place due to the active development of industry, construction of new infrastructure facilities, increase in motor traffic, and poor quality of waste treatment systems. In accordance with the proposed amendments, the legislation now provides for the possibility of limiting and temporarily suspending the operation of facilities that have a negative impact on the environment for a period of up to 10 working days, in order to prevent possible emergencies, epidemics and other threats to people’s health. According to the senators, these changes contribute to improving the environmental situation and protecting enterprises, as well as fighting corruption and increasing the responsibility of government agencies. However, Senate chairwoman Tanzila Narbayeva expressed doubts and noted that environmental laws should not contain ambiguous norms that can be interpreted and applied differently. "In practice, such a situation can cause various problems, misunderstandings, discontent and, worst of all, cases of corruption. From this point of view, these amendments are very important. Because the level of industrialization in our country is growing every year. Under such conditions, the scale of environmental impact will increase. Especially today, in our big cities, such as Tashkent, such clear legal norms are very important for prevention of exceeding the level of air pollution." Due to this, additional changes are possible in the future, which will more precisely justify the laws "On Nature Protection", "On Atmospheric Air Protection" and "On Environmental Control".

Central Asia Uzbekistan Uzbekistan Justice

Uzbekistan Ratifies Agreement on Transfer of Prisoners with Iran

The forty-ninth plenary session of the Senate of Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan took place in Tashkent on January 20th. Tanzila Norboeva, the head of the Senate presided over the plenary meeting, which was conducted via video conference, wherein discussions were held regarding a bill entitled, On the ratification of the Agreement on the transfer of prisoners between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran (Tehran, June 18, 2023). The agreement’s ratification gives Iranian and Uzbek citizens who have been detained in each other's territories a legal foundation on which to serve out their sentences in their home nation, thus allowing for regular visits with close relatives and easing the transition to civilian life. The agreement also opens up the possibility of bilateral cooperation in the area of the transfer of convicts.