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Kazakhstan Announces Date of 5th World Nomad Games

The 5th World Nomad Games will be held in Astana from September 8th to 14th, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Kazakhstan has said. It is expected that close to 4,000 athletes from more than a hundred countries will compete in the games, which will include twenty competitive and ten demonstration events, with 110 sets of medals being competed for. Equestrian sports, traditional wrestling, archery, bird hunting, and traditional intellectual games will all be included. It is also expected that more than 100,000 tourists will attend sporting and cultural events during the games. An ethno-village, “Universe of Nomads,” will be opened in Astana, where every visitor will be able to get acquainted with the culture and traditions of the Kazakh people, as well as the cultures of participating countries. Up to 30,000 residents and guests in Astana will be able to visit the ethno-village daily, the ministry stated. The games will be held under the motto, “Meeting in the Great Steppe.” The World Nomad Games were initiated by the government of Kyrgyzstan in 2012 for the revival and preservation of the culture of nomadic civilizations. The First World Nomad Games were held in September 2014 in the resort city of Cholpon Ata on Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan.

Central Asia Tajikistan Local Politics Tajikistan Features Features

European Parliament Condemns Repression in Tajikistan, Underlying Issues Persist

On January 18th, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on human rights in Tajikistan which condemns the ongoing crackdown against independent media, government critics, human rights activists and independent lawyers, as well as the closure of independent media and websites. Parliament members urged the authorities to stop persecuting lawyers defending government critics and journalists, and immediately and unconditionally release those arbitrarily detained and drop all charges against them, including human rights lawyers Manuchehr Kholiknazarov and Buzurgmehr Yorov. In the resolution, the European Parliament members insisted that respect for freedom of expression in Tajikistan should be taken into account when assessing the application of the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP+) for Tajikistan and negotiations of a new EU-Tajikistan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. In December 2023, the chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Ben Cardin sent a letter to the President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, urging him to cease acts of domestic and transnational repression against political opponents and religious minorities. “There are persistent reports of arbitrary arrest, denial of judicial due process, as well as acts of violence including torture, assault and even instances of murder of journalists, political dissidents, as well as community and religious leaders,” Cardin wrote. In recent years, several Tajik journalists, activists, and opposition politicians have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms largely based on accusations of collaborating with organizations labelled as extremist or banned in Tajikistan.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image="13842" img_size="full" el_class="scond-image" parallax_scroll="no" woodmart_inline="no"][vc_column_text woodmart_inline="no" text_larger="no"]Still a relatively young country, the official date of the independence of Tajikistan - a front-line state facing the extremism of the Taliban - is September 9th 1991. Whilst criticisms are warranted and accurate, particularly through the prism of western democracy, the crux of the problem would appear to be endemic corruption and weak institutions propagated by kleptocratic wealth and organized crime. As to how high up the criminality goes, in 2000 the Tajik Ambassador to Kazakhstan was arrested in Almaty with 86 kilos of heroin in his car. In 2001, the Deputy Minister of the Interior was murdered, the prosecution in the case arguing he’d been assassinated for refusing to pay for a shipment of 50 kilos. A statement released by the UNDP in 2001 estimated that drug money accounted for between 30 -50% of the Tajik economy. The year Tajikistan took over policing of its border with Afghanistan from the Russians, seizures of heroin halved. Piqued by the critical international response, President Rahmon levelled counter-allegations of Russian complicity in the heroin trade. “Why do you think generals lined up in Moscow all the way across Red Square and paid enormous bribes to be assigned here?” he complained to U.S. officials. “Just so they could do their patriotic duty?”

Central Asia International Affairs Kazakhstan International Affairs Kazakhstan Features Kazakhstan Featurees

Kazakhstan to Send Peacekeepers on UN Missions

Kazakhstan has decided to send peacekeepers to the Middle East and Africa following a proposal by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. At a joint session of Parliament, deputies of the Mazhilis and Senate unanimously expressed their consent to send up to 430 service personnel to participate in the United Nations missions. The initiative envisages the participation of personnel from Kazakhstan in the following missions: UN Disengagement Observer Force in the Golan Heights (UNDOF, Syria - Israel), UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO, Palestine - Israel), UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS, South Sudan), and the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA, Sudan). "The Armed Forces of Kazakhstan are ready to allocate both individual servicemen as military observers and staff officers, and specialized units: infantry, medical, reconnaissance, engineering, which are most needed in UN missions," said Minister of Defense, Ruslan Zhaksylykov. To implement this decision, an international treaty will be concluded with the UN, which will determine the obligations of the parties, as well as the issues of financial and logistical support for the participation of the contingent in the mission. Transportation of service personnel and property will be at the expense of the Kazakhstani side. This decision reflects Kazakhstan's desire to look outward, take its place on the global stage, and participate more actively in international efforts. The deployment is set to begin in March 2024.

Central Asia Kazakhstan Business & Economy Kazakhstan Business & Economy

Kaspi.kz Announces Plans for NASDAQ IPO

Kaspi.kz, the prominent financial and technological holding, has revealed its decision to launch an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the renowned NASDAQ exchange in the United States. Representatives of the holding shared their intention to offer nine million depositary shares on the exchange, with each equivalent to one ordinary share in the company. The pricing of these shares will be determined through the bookbuilding process and the closing price of the global depositary receipt (GDR) on the day of the offering. Kaspi’s shares are currently trading at $98.10 on the London Stock Exchange, and If this valuation is replicated funds raised from the IPO are estimated to reach $873,000,000, placing the market value of Kaspi.kz at $18.4 billion. The expected determination of the IPO price is set for the end of the application collection, during the night of January 18th to 19th, Astana time. Kaspi.kz initially expressed its intention to partake in the NASDAQ IPO in October of the previous year, formally filing the application in December. The holding aims to list American depositary shares (ADS) on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (Nasdaq) under the symbol 'KSPI.' Kaspi.kz shares are already traded on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), and Astana International Stock Exchange (AIX). The underwriters for the U.S. placement will be Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, and Citigroup. Kaspi.kz operates across three platforms: payments, marketplace, and fintech, offering a range of services such as online payments, peer-to-peer transfers, personal funds management, and online shopping. The group comprises Kaspi Shop LLP, Kaspi Bank LLP, Kaspi Pay LLP, and Kaspi Travel LLP. As of January 1st, 2024, major shareholders include Baring Vostok fund (26.13%), Vyacheslav Kim (22.27%), and Mikhail Lomtadze (23.42%).

Central Asia Kazakhstan Local Politics Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan Advocates for Cadaveric Donation to Address Organ Transplantation Needs

As of today, more than 3,800 individuals in Kazakhstan are in urgent need of internal organ transplants, with 90 of them being children. Despite the pressing demand for transplantation, the current waiting list is moving slowly, leading the head of the Kazakhstan Khalkyna (To the People of Kazakhstan) foundation to propose changes to the country's laws. Specifically, the suggestion is to reinstate cadaveric donation, allowing the extraction of organs from deceased individuals without the need for explicit permission from their relatives. Bolat Zhamishev, the head of the foundation, expressed the urgency of amending transplantation and cadaveric donation laws during a conference conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. He emphasized the need to move both the government and the public to address the shortcomings, as Kazakhstan lags in organ donation rates. Zhamishev highlighted that many individuals awaiting transplants have to rely on organs from foreign countries, particularly those where permission from relatives is not a requisite. The financial constraints faced by those seeking organs from abroad have led individuals to seek assistance from Kazakhstan Khalkyna. However, due to the substantial costs associated with organ transplantation, the foundation's resources are insufficient to support all of those in need. Health Minister of Kazakhstan, Azhar Giniyat, acknowledged that the issue of transplantology is widespread globally, but emphasized that it extends beyond a medical problem, delving into moral and ethical realms. Giniyat stressed the importance of raising public awareness and readiness to consider organ donation after death. Giniyat disclosed her personal commitment to becoming a posthumous donor and shared that, to date, approximately 40,000 citizens have registered consent for their organs to be donated in the case of their death on an electronic government platform. Of this number, 15% have formally documented their consent. Over the past decade, Kazakhstan has conducted nearly 2,500 organ transplants. However, the country faced a setback last October when the authorities detained a group of individuals involved in illicit organ trading. The group, consisting of medical professionals and notaries, were engaged in the buying and selling of internal organs. A total of 22 people were detained, and eight instances of organ sales were identified, with transactions ranging from $13.200 to $22,000.

Opinion Head Central Asia Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Featurees

Visa-Free Travel from China Could Further Boost Kazakhstan’s Tourism Sector

When China lifted pandemic-era restrictions on travel to Vietnam in March 2023, the Vietnamese welcomed the news as it promised to increase tourism revenues and boost their economy. Prior to COVID restrictions, Vietnam had hosted 5.8 million tourists from China in 2019, and generated income in excess of $5 billion. Despite centuries of conflict, the Chinese and Vietnamese governments embraced the motto, “bury the past, open up the future,” and encouraged their people to be pragmatic and capitalize on the opportunities presented by bilateral economic cooperation. Kazakhstan can likewise build on furthering existing opportunities for economic cooperation with China, such as visa-free travel, which came into effect in November 2023. China, the second largest economy in the world, has a growing middle class that is in search of new travel destinations. Kazakhstan, in turn, possesses many attractive sites that have the potential to become profitable tourism spots. One aspect of this initiative could be the additional hiring and vocational training of tourism personnel, with specific attention given to Chinese tourists. The number of Chinese tourists visiting Kazakhstan has already been growing since the start of last year, and reached 85,000 YTD by November 2023. On average, each Chinese tourist spends $100 a day in Kazakhstan. According to People’s Daily, Chinese tourists are becoming more interested in traveling to countries along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and Kazakhstan is among them. Convenient visa-free travel, geographic proximity, picturesque sites, low travel expenditures, and the availability of flights all make Kazakhstan an attractive destination. Moreover, tourism companies in China now offer tours that include Kazakhstan. Possible fears among the hosting population that tourists could overstay their visas can be alleviated through the implementation of the relevant regulations in the above-mentioned agreement on visa-free travel, which limits tourists’ stay to 30 days, and allows for a 90-day cumulative stay within 180 days. As relationships develop between these two large nations in Asia, the people of Kazakhstan can adopt the pragmatic approach of the Vietnamese with respect to the opportunities arising from increased tourism with China. Aizada Nuriddenova is an Assistant Professor at the Social Sciences Department, SDU University, Kazakhstan and currently is a visiting scholar at the Central Asia Program, George Washington University.