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Uzbekistan: Nationwide Health Checks for Children Reveal Anaemia Worries

Uzbekistan's acting minister of health, Asilbek Khudayarov, has announced that the country recently conducted medical examinations in the majority of its schools and kindergartens. In the first half of this year, Khudayarov said, 5.7 million of Uzbekistan's 5.9 million schoolchildren were given check-ups. It was found that 1.3 million of these children (27.9%) were suffering from an illness of some kind. Eighty-one percent could be given simple treatments. Among kindergarten-age children, 1.3 million of 2 million pupils (63.5%) underwent a medical examination, and 26% of these were diagnosed with an illness. Khudayarov said that the most common illnesses were blood conditions (28.4% of cases), with anaemia a particularly common ailment. These were followed by problems with the respiratory and digestive systems (6.9% and 5.4% respectively). Almost 13 million Uzbek citizens - over a third of the population - are under the age of 18. The acting minister also noted that in recent years, fewer young Uzbeks have been traveling abroad for treatment, because hospitals in Uzbekistan are increasingly equipped with high-tech equipment. Khudayarov mentioned that presently, in addition to Tashkent, hospitals have high-tech diagnostic equipment in four regions of Uzbekistan: Samarkand, Andijan, Fergana, and Namangan. Citizens in these regions can receive quality treatment without coming to the capital.

Robots May Replace Bailiffs in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is implementing a pilot project, “Robot”, which will conduct enforcement proceedings without human involvement. The creators of the project have commented: "In January, the city of Taraz launched a pilot project, ‘Robot’, which automatically starts enforcement proceedings without the participation of a bailiff. This will free citizens from paying commissions and save about 2 billion tenge ($4.2 million). In August the project is planned to be scaled nationwide.” The registration of non-profit organizations is now fully automated and available on the “Electronic Government” portal. This initiative will save the time and costs that legal entities spend on visits to the Central Office of Public Organizations. The procedure for changing the head of a legal entity has been simplified, and is now possible through the portal “eGov”. The Kazakh Ministry of Justice has also launched a project for issuing online powers of attorney through the "eGovMobile Business" portal. This service will significantly speed up and simplify the way that managers issue powers of attorney. Previously, powers of attorney were only issued on paper, which made it difficult to verify their legitimacy.

Kazakhstan to Build 369 ‘Comfortable’ Schools by 2026

As part of the nationwide project 'Comfortable School', Kazakhstan is to build 369 new secondary schools, with accommodation for 740,000 pupils, by 2026. According to a press release issued by the government, the new schools will have separate blocks for elementary and high school students, technology for teaching contemporary subjects, and specially equipped classrooms to ensure both the safety of pupils and a barrier-free environment for children with special educational needs. Regarding construction, priority will be given to local manufacturers with a aim to use 70% of Kazakh-made materials, including 90% for the actual build. All of the schools' furniture will be made in Kazakhstan. The first schools are expected to open ahead of schedule with 21 to be launched this August, 18 in September, 58 in October, and a further 112 by the end of the year.

Kyrgyzstan Accelerates Work to Bring Drinking Water to Villages

While only 637 of Kyrgyzstan’s 1906 villages have access to clean drinking water, the government plans to provide piped drinking water to an additional 1071 villages in the near future. The country's minister of water resources and agriculture, Bakyt Torobayev, ordered this work to be accelerated on July 30. Torobayev ordered the expedition of work in this area, emphasizing that providing clean water to the population is one of the ministry's top priorities. “The population must be provided with clean drinking water,” he said. The Ministry of Water Resources is currently implementing a program to provide clean drinking water to 260 towns and villages across the country. In addition, a program for using groundwater from 2024 to 2030 will be implemented, with plans to repair 1,155 wells.

What Does the Future Hold for the Middle Corridor?

With the outbreak of Russia's war in Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions against Russia, the traditional logistics corridor between East and West has significantly narrowed. In order to ensure the safe and uninterrupted export of locally produced goods and attract transit cargoes, the Kazakh government is therefore developing new routes. One of these is the Trans-Caspian International Transport route. But, given the aggravated geopolitical situation in the region and growing competition for cargo transportation between the East and West, will the Caspian transport corridor - also known as the Middle Corridor - allow the government to meet its ambitions? Infrastructural vector of the Caspian Sea Logistics have focused on the transportation route across the Caspian Sea, considerably increasing the role of the Middle Corridor, which is facing a huge increase in demand. The countries along which the TITR route runs have started building their transport infrastructure capacities, replenishing their maritime fleets, and pooling capital and competencies in logistics and transportation. In particular, at the end of 2022, a Road Map on synchronous elimination of so-called "bottlenecks" along the route along the territories of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Turkey for 2022-2027 was signed. A joint venture, the Middle Corridor Multimodal, was established by the railway administrations of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia to increase the volume of cargo transportation. A unified approach to infrastructure development by all route participants has been formed, and several projects are planned to improve the transportation infrastructure of the road's Kazakh, Azerbaijani, and Georgian sections. For the development of transportation on TITR through the seaports of Aktau and Kuryk, Kazakhstan plans to create a container hub in the port of Aktau, dredging, construction of additional berths in both harbors, restoration of oil infrastructure and renewal, as well as re-equipment of the transshipment park in the port of Aktau. In addition, a grain terminal will be built at Kuryk's seaport. Implementing these measures will increase the throughput capacity of Kazakhstan's sea harbors to 27.3 million tons per year and increase cargo traffic along the Middle Corridor. Ten oil barges, eight ferries, six tankers, and a container ship will start operating in the Caspian Sea by 2030. Furthermore, the construction in Aktau has attracted investment from the Chinese company, LLC GC Port Lianyungangan, which manages one of the largest ports in China and has signed an agreement to create a container hub at the seaport. Additionally, in partnership with the Singaporean company PSA Eagle Pte., a joint venture called KPMC Ltd has been established at the Astana International Financial Center. This venture aims to attract more cargo to the Middle Corridor, develop a digital transport corridor to optimize transportation processes, enhance the competitiveness of routes, streamline interactions, integrate partners along the cargo flow path, and improve supply chain management. Work is being undertaken to expand the presence of companies from the Caspian region in global markets. Establishing such transport and logistics enterprises along the Middle Corridor will improve transportation organization and build efficient logistics chains. The willingness of large enterprises,...

Central Asian Countries Increasing Defense Budgets

Voice of America has published an article that states that the countries of Central Asia are increasing their spending on defense and military equipment. Turkey, China, and the United States are now challenging Russia as the main suppliers of this equipment. According to analysis by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which studies conflicts worldwide, the defense expenses of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan totaled $1.8 billion last year. The institute did not explain Uzbekistan’s failure to disclose its defense expenditures, and there is no information on Turkmenistan. Last year, Kazakhstan’s military budget was 0.5% of its GDP, equal to $259.7 billion. Kyrgyzstan’s military expenditure was 1.5% of its GDP, $13.9 billion, totaling $208.5 million for defense. For Tajikistan, it was 1% of GDP, $12 billion, and $120 million for the military. The report also noted that Kazakhstan’s defense spending increased by 8.8% compared to last year. Uzbekistan, which does not disclose its military budget, reportedly allocated an additional $260 million to its defense budget last year. Officials in the region cite conflicts in the Eurasia region – the war in Ukraine and the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, plus border disputes in Central Asia, and instability in Afghanistan – as reasons for Central Asian states to beef up their military forces. However, Peter Leonard, a writer specializing in Central Asian affairs, told Voice of America that it was partly a matter of reputation. “Partly, it is a matter of prestige. Authoritarian leaders like to flaunt shiny and expensive weapons. During annual military parades, we see this visually in Turkmenistan, where officials show off their new weapons and vehicles from China, Europe, and elsewhere. We see this trend in all of Central Asia,” he said. "Paradoxically, the intensification of militaries in these countries has not, in fact, exacerbated tensions but has resulted in a different outcome - which is much more cordial and practical dialogue about border demarcation. These countries, which were at a dangerous point, are on the cusp of signing a historic border agreement which will put an end to three decades of conflict."