• KGS/USD = 0.01144 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00196 -0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09753 -0.81%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28575 -0.14%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01144 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00196 -0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09753 -0.81%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28575 -0.14%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01144 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00196 -0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09753 -0.81%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28575 -0.14%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01144 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00196 -0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09753 -0.81%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28575 -0.14%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01144 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00196 -0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09753 -0.81%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28575 -0.14%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01144 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00196 -0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09753 -0.81%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28575 -0.14%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01144 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00196 -0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09753 -0.81%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28575 -0.14%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01144 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00196 -0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09753 -0.81%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28575 -0.14%
23 May 2025

Viewing results 919 - 924 of 1137

First NPP Reactor in Uzbekistan May Start Before 2033

Spot.uz reports that the first reactor of the Small Nuclear Power Plant is planned to be operational in five years. The project will be built near Tuzkon Lake, Farish District, Jizzakh Region. The cost has yet to be disclosed. “The cost of the low-power nuclear power plant construction project based on six RITM-200N reactor units with an installed capacity of 330 MW is confidential information and will not be disclosed,” Uzatom told Spot.uz. The small nuclear power plant's first reactor will be commissioned 60 months after the completion of priority works, which should begin this summer. Each subsequent reactor will be commissioned within six months. The full commissioning will occur before 2033. “During the construction of a low-power nuclear power plant, local general industrial equipment, products, and components are used by the specifications specified in the project documents. Considering the long service life of the small nuclear power plant, it is necessary to use local raw materials,” Uzatom stated. The Times of Central Asia previously reported that the contract for the construction of the NPP was concluded on May 27th, during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Tashkent, between the Directorate for NPP Construction under the Atomic Energy Agency and the Atomstroyexport joint stock company (Rosatom’s engineering department).

South Korea Set to Intensify Cooperation with Central Asia

With the intention of  intensifying  cooperation between Seoul and Central Asia, South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol will make a state visit to three Central Asian countries from 10-15 June. As reported by Kim Tae-hyo First Deputy Director of the National Security Office of the Presidential Administration, President Yoon Suk-Yeol accompanied by his wife Kim Gong Hee, will visit Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan and engage in talks with the countries' leaders as well as participate in business forums. Kim Tae-hyo emphasized that South Korea aims to intensify diplomacy and cooperation with Central Asia through wide-ranging efforts. These include a regular summit of the Korea-Central Asia K-Silk Road Initiative, the first of which will be hosted by Seoul next year. “Through this initiative, we intend to promote the joint, free, and peaceful development and prosperity of Korea and the Central Asian region,” stated Kim Tae-hyo The main areas of cooperation under the Initiative include the development of four key sectors : natural resources, official development assistance, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and enhanced official and private contacts. Areas for cooperation will be identified and prioritized in each of the five Central Asian countries :Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Cooperation in Kazakhstan will focus on energy and infrastructure; in Kyrgyzstan, water resources and tourism, and in Turkmenistan, constructing energy plants. Seoul makes no secret of its high interest in the region's rich natural resources, including uranium, lithium and tungsten.

Russia’s Gazprom Secures Long-Term Natural Gas Supply to Kyrgyzstan

Long-term contracts for natural gas supplies to Kyrgyzstan were signed on June 7 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2024, between Gazprom Export and Gazprom Kyrgyzstan. The latter is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Russian company, the exclusive importer of natural gas to Kyrgyzstan, and owner of the country’s gas transmission and distribution systems. In the presence of Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Taalaibek Ibraev, Minister of Energy of the Kyrgyz Republic, contracts running from 2025 -2040, were also concluded between Gazprom Kyrgyzstan and two of Kyrgyzstan’s largest consumers, Electric Stations and the Bishkekteploenergo municipal heating enterprise. Additional contracts, again effective from 2025- 2040, were signed by Gazprom and Kazakhstan’s national company QazaqGaz for the transmission of Russian natural gas across Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. During the forum, Alexey Miller and Roman Sklyar, First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, also signed an action plan for the Central Asia – Center IV gas trunk pipeline for the increased transit of Russian natural gas to Uzbekistan. Russia has been supplying  natural gas to Uzbekistan through Kazakhstan since October 2023.  

EDB Concept for Eurasian Transport Network

On 6 June, the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) announced that it is preparing a concept for the Eurasian Transport Network aimed at enhancing connectivity across Eurasia and stimulating economic development, trade and mobility in the region. The EDB is a multilateral development bank with investments in the Eurasian states of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. The Eurasian Transport Network is a system of international transport corridors and routes spanning over 50,000 kilometres. In 2023, five key corridors — the Northern, Central and Southern Eurasian Corridors, TRACECA (including the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route) and the International North-South Transport Corridor — carried 260 million tons of freight and 3.6 million international containers. According to the EDB, container traffic has tripled over the past decade. Having mooted the notion of the Eurasian Transport Network back in 2021, the EDB is now poised to present a detailed concept of its development. Analysis has shown that the synergy of corridors is ensured not through their competition, but through the connection and complementarity nature of its routes. The concept includes ten key elements, including addressing Central Asia’s challenges by making the region a transport crossroads, focusing on intra-regional connectivity, and providing a strong impetus to realize the region’s vast agro-industrial potential through new logistics and specialized rolling stock. The EDB’s new report, titled The Eurasian Transport Network, also examines promising transport infrastructure development projects and initiatives, including cooperation between countries and multilateral development banks towards their implementation. The report will be launched at the EDB Business Forum, scheduled for 27–28 June 2024 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.    

Central Asia – EU Political and Security Cooperation

On June 5, Brussels hosted the 11th round of the annual High-Level Political and Security Dialogue between the European Union and Central Asia. Chaired by Enrique Mora, Deputy Secretary-General for Political Affairs of the European External Action Service, the meeting was attended by Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. As reported by Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry, the agenda comprised the implementation of the Joint Roadmap for Deepening Ties between Central Asia and the EU, the dynamics of transport, trade, economic, energy and climate relations, and common security challenges regarding Afghanistan. Roman Vassilenko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, presented several initiatives relating to energy, trade and water resources management aimed at enhancing interregional cooperation with the EU. Outlining the priorities of Kazakhstan’s chairmanship of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS), he highlighted a program for continuous monitoring of the basin ecosystem. To be implemented over the next three years, the initiative will provide a mechanism for long-term intraregional cooperation on the Aral issue. Vassilenko also reiterated the need for Central Asian countries to synchronize efforts in the fields of effective irrigation, the operation of water and energy facilities, and the implementation of environmental measures. The European External Action Service reported that in turn, the EU had reaffirmed its willingness to support efforts to intensify its cooperation on security with Central Asia, especially in areas concerning management of water-related challenges, energy and climate change, and connectivity. The High-Level Political and Security Dialogue was the latest conference to be held within the context of increased engagement between Central Asia and the European Union. Central Asia’s Heads of State and the President of the European Council had previously met on 27 October 2022 and 2 June 2023.  At a further EU-Central Asia Ministerial meeting on 23 October 2023 in Luxembourg, the 27 EU Foreign Ministers adopted a Joint Roadmap for Deepening Ties between the EU and Central Asia with concrete actions for strengthening cooperation, most notably regarding security. The EU and Central Asian countries are now planning the first-ever EU-Central Asia Summit for later this year.    

Kazakhstan’s President Tokayev Foresees a Bigger Role for Middle Powers in Solving the World’s Problems

Middle powers, sometimes called “swing states”, may rank below superpowers and great powers in terms of their international influence and capacity, but are still quite instrumental in world affairs as they can often remain neutral in big conflicts and benefit from such factors as their geostrategic location, natural resource wealth, diplomatic and economic strength, and/or military capabilities. They can play a key role in overcoming fragmentation of the world economy and secure supply chains through such transit routes as the Middle Corridor. Today, middle powers have the agility to navigate complex political situations in many parts of the world that greater powers simply lack whether due to their own internal dynamics or because they lack the trust of the parties involved in certain conflicts and issues. In terms of realizing the green transition, middle powers can help secure supplies of critical minerals and other key materials. These countries are also often proponents of finding multilateral solutions to international problems.  Kazakhstan is currently among the world’s influential middle powers. On the positive role his country can play, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev recently wrote in a Euronews opinion piece that, “nations like ours possess the economic strength, military capabilities, and, perhaps more importantly, political will and diplomatic acumen necessary to exert significant sway in the global arena on issues ranging from food and energy security, green transition, and IT to the sustainability of supply chains.” These strengths are particularly relevant amidst a global discord where, in Tokayev’s words, “the traditional powerhouses – the world’s economic and political behemoths – are increasingly unable to work together”. Countries like Kazakhstan, on the other hand, “can ensure stability, peace and development in their immediate regions and beyond” and “carve paths toward compromise and reconciliation”. Kazakhstan has deepened its cooperation with other middle powers within Central Asia and the Caucasus to address cross-border challenges such as water security and countering terrorism and narcotrafficking. Its collaboration with Azerbaijan and Turkey has been critical to actualizing the Middle Corridor project that opens Central Asia to Western markets. Kazakhstan is working closely with European states to guarantee their energy needs. For Asian countries, Kazakhstan has come into focus as an attractive foreign investment destination. These middle power collaborations have been formalized through highest-level bilateral meetings. Tokayev has carried out dozens of such meetings in 2024 year alone.  Having come from a long diplomatic career himself, it is encouraging to see President Tokayev’s ongoing support for multilateralism and international cooperation. Kazakhstan will co-chair the inaugural One Water Summit later this year with France to address the global water crisis including the effects of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. The event is key to bringing together affected countries and communities from around the world. Additionally, leading regional efforts to counter the effects of climate change, Kazakhstan has offered to host a UN Regional Centre for Sustainable Development Goals on Central Asia and Afghanistan. The country is also undertaking initiatives to advance peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan. “With major powers increasingly unwilling to...