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China and Uzbekistan Cement Strategic Partnership

During their talks in Beijing on January 24th, Chinese president Xi Jinping and his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev upgraded ties between China and Uzbekistan to an “all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership”. During negotiations the two leaders announced that in recent years a strong breakthrough has been made in bilateral relations, with the strengthening of political dialogue and mutual support on key issues. The presidents highlighted the growth in mutual trade, as well as economic and investment cooperation, with the volume of Chinese investments in the economy of Uzbekistan having grown fivefold and the number of joint ventures having tripled in recent years. It was noted that at the end of last year two new solar power plants with a capacity of 1000 megawatts were put into operation in Uzbekistan with the participation of Chinese companies. Mr Mirziyoyev welcomed new agreements on expanding financial instruments to support investment projects in Uzbekistan, as well as the decision of the Export–Import Bank of China to open a regional office for Central Asia in Tashkent. The leaders welcomed the intensification of exchanges between the regions of Uzbekistan and the provinces of China. To coordinate cooperation in this direction, they have agreed to establish the Council of Regions of Uzbekistan and China. The Chinese and Uzbek presidents also emphasized the importance of bringing forward the start of construction work for the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, which is designed to be an important component of the transcontinental transport and transit route as part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Digital Almaty Forum To Be Held In February

From February 1st to 3rd Kazakhstan’s business capital, Almaty, will host the Digital Almaty 2024 forum, entitled "Industry X: The Digital Development of the Future". Now in its sixth year, the forum will bring together government officials from Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) countries, leading experts, and entrepreneurs from around the world, said the Kazakh Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation, and Aerospace Industry, one of the forum’s organizers. Ersultan Ermanov, director of the ministry’s Department for Development of the Information Technology Industry, said that international technology parks from Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan will participate in the Digital Almaty forum. “The participation of their delegations will help lay the foundation for future fruitful cooperation, discuss current trends in the field of digital technologies, as well as the possibilities of their application to solve social, economic and environmental problems. Such events have a very positive impact on the country’s image,” Mr Ermanov said. The forum will also include an exhibition of Kazakhstan’s largest subsoil users, technology parks, and technology companies, which will share experience and information about projects in the IT ecosystem. More than 30,000 people are expected to attend the three-day digital event. As part of the forum, an Industry 4.0 Startup Battle is planned for February 3rd — a large-scale battle for the title of the best industrial startup, with a total prize fund of $150,000. This year, startups will compete for the title of "Best Startups in Industry 4.0" in the areas of Digital Oil Field, ESG, and Smart Mining. The organizers of Digital Almaty 2024 are the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation, and Aerospace of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Akimat (municipality) of Almaty, and Tech Garden.

Mirziyoyev, Chinese Premier Discuss Economic Cooperation

Uzbekistan’s president Shavkat Mirziyoyev arrived in Beijing on January 23rd to begin a three-day state visit to China at the invitation of Chinese president Xi Jinping. On January 24th Mr Mirziyoyev had a meeting with the premier of the State Council of China, Li Qiang. The two parties discussed the trade and economic spheres, and both noted that Uzbek-Chinese relations have reached an unprecedented level in all areas, Mirziyoyev’s press service reported. Last year bilateral trade turnover grew by 50%, reaching $14 billion. The sides pointed out the potential for increasing this figure to $20 billion, including by increasing mutual supplies of high-quality agricultural and industrial goods. The total volume of Chinese investments in the economy of Uzbekistan currently exceeds $14 billion. The parties considered joint programs in the fields of infrastructure modernization, technology transfer in agriculture, and the development of green energy. They also discussed the potential for companies in Uzbekistan to cooperate more closely with leading Chinese banks and financial institutions, as well as the participation of Chinese companies in privatization processes in Uzbekistan. The parties also spoke for further expansion of air traffic and tourism initiatives between the two countries. Mr Mirziyoyev also met with the chairman of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Dai Houliang, to discuss new projects to construct underground natural-gas storage facilities in Uzbekistan and to modernize its gas transportation systems. The introduction of modern drilling technologies and the training of oil and gas workers was also discussed.

USAID Delivers 131 Tons Of Food Aid To Uzbekistan

On January 23rd the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) delivered 131 tons of food aid to Uzbekistan. This will provide 6.5 million meals to citizens with tuberculosis and mental health problems, children with disabilities, and senior citizens, the U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan said. Speaking at the handover ceremony, USAID's mission director in Uzbekistan David Hoffman said: “This program demonstrates the strong ongoing partnership between Uzbekistan and the United States of America to improve nutrition and ensure that the most vulnerable have adequate, safe and nutritious food to support a healthy and productive life.” Since 2010, USAID’s International Food Relief Partnership program has delivered over 1,500 tons of food aid to Uzbekistan, worth more than $4.4 million, through USAID’s partners, the U.S. non-profit organization Resource and Policy Exchange and a Tashkent-based non-profit organization, Sog’lom Avlod Uchun. This latest humanitarian delivery to Uzbekistan builds on more than $122 million in long-term U.S. investment in health and over $1 billion in total aid over the past 20 years, the embassy said.

Kazakhstan Needs Better Agricultural Technology

Over the past five years Kazakhstan has introduced water-saving technologies on a greater part of its agricultural land. Since 2019 this area has been expanded by 33%, from 210,000 hectares to 312,000 hectares in 2023, deputy minister of agriculture Amangaliy Berdalin said at a government meeting on January 22nd. He added that this year 1.58 million hectares of irrigated land are being cultivated in Kazakhstan. Of these, 1.1 million hectares, or 74% of the land, are surface irrigated (using canals and ditches), 97,900 hectares are flooded rice fields, 227,300 hectares (14.3%) use modern irrigation equipment, and 97,900 hectares (6.2%) use drip irrigation. However, at the same meeting the deputy minister of water resources and irrigation, Nurlan Aldamzharov, commented that the share of water consumption by agriculture today only accounts for 65% of the total water intake in Kazakhstan, and irrigation is impeded by large water losses, especially in the country’s dry southern regions. “In 2023, out of 1.8 million hectares of irrigated land, water-saving technologies were used on as little as 17% (312,000 hectares), which is extremely unacceptable in the current realities,” the deputy minister emphasized.

Uzbekistan, AIIB Sign Three-Year Investment Program

As part of his state visit to China, on January 24th Uzbekistan president Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited the headquarters of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Beijing and held talks with the bank's president, Jin Liqun. The sides announced that cooperation between Uzbekistan and AIIB has reached unprecedented levels in recent years, with the portfolio of joint projects exceeding $3 billion. In 2023 alone the bank’s investments in Uzbek projects reached $1 billion, financing energy, water supply, reconstruction of roads and railway, and business development. Mr Mirziyoyev advocated increasing financing for projects involving strategic raw materials, and the implementation of socially important programs on the principles of public-private partnership, his press service reported. During the meeting, Mr Liqun reaffirmed his bank’s strategic commitment to supporting Uzbekistan's sustainable growth. The two leaders signed a three-year investment program, with the goal of further supporting Uzbekistan’s development in multiple sectors across the country, AIIB said. In 2023, AIIB announced that it would hold its 2024 Annual Meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on September 25th-26th, marking the first time AIIB would hold its flagship event in Central Asia. AIIB is a multilateral development bank which began operations in Beijing in January 2016 and has since grown to 109 approved members worldwide.