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TASHKENT (TCA) — Uzbekistan’s largest state-owned enterprise, the oil and gas company Uzbekneftegas (UNG), will be restructured to improve its long-term sustainability and credit quality following a decision by the country’s government to implement a corporate transformation plan prepared with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Continue reading
KABUL (TCA) — Afghanistan’s economy grew by around two percent in 2018 despite progress in economic policies, likely leading to further increases in poverty and deterioration in living standards, according to the World Bank’s recent Afghanistan Development Update. Continue reading
ASHGABAT (TCA) — Over the weekend, the social media and some Internet-based news outlets, citing unofficial sources, reported on the alleged death of Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov. Late on July 21, an official from Turkmenistan’s Embassy in Russia told the news agency Interfax that reports about the death of President Berdymukhammedov are “fake”. Continue reading
BISHKEK (TCA) — The Publisher’s note: Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Central Asia was the scene of intense geopolitical struggle and the Great Game between the British and Russian Empires, and later between the Soviet Union and the West, over Afghanistan and neighboring territories. Into the 21st century, Central Asia has become the area of a renewed geopolitical interest, dubbed the New Great Game, largely based on the region’s hydrocarbon and mineral wealth. On top of that, the region now is perhaps the most important node in the implementation of China’s One Belt, One Road initiative through which Beijing aims to get direct access to Western markets. Every week thousands of news appears in the world’s printed and online media and many of them may escape the attention of busy readers. At The Times of Central Asia, we strongly believe that more information can better contribute to peaceful development and better knowledge of this unique region. So we are presenting this Weekly Digest which compiles what other media have reported on Central Asia over the past week. KAZAKHSTAN Kazakhstan – Once More a Testing Ground? Kazakhstan’s continued contribution to and benefitting from Moscow’s nuclear deterrent could help to undermine the Ban Treaty while still in its infancy July 12 — “Being a staunch supporter of international nuclear disarmament efforts since many years, a very recent and little noticed decision by the Kazakh parliament to approve the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons could test the seriousness of nuclear disarmament supporters. Kazakhstan’s history is closely linked to Moscow’s nuclear weapons program. During the Cold War, Soviet leaders ordered excessive nuclear testing in the vast steppes of what later became the modern Kazakh state. Between 1949 and 1989, the Soviet military conducted no less than 456 air and underground nuclear weapons tests at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site.” READ MORE: http://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/kazakhstan-once-more-a-testing-ground/ Mass Political Unrest in the Streets Underscores Need for Kazakhstan’s Long-Overdue Police Reforms Kazakhstan’s police forces have long been seen as extremely corrupt, and the Kazakh government has now been trying to shake up the police sector July 15 — “Kazakhstan celebrated Police Day, on June 23, 2019, marking the 27th anniversary of establishing the country’s own law enforcement structures (24.kz, June 23). First declared in 2007 by then-president Nursultan Nazarbayev, the holiday continues to resemble similar professional/vocational celebrations that were prevalent in the Soviet era. And although Kazakhstani Police Day is meant to publicly honor those who, in principle, maintain stability and rule of law in the country, planned political changes in the Ministry of Internal Affairs visibly changed the tenor of this year’s event.” READ MORE: https://jamestown.org/program/mass-political-unrest-in-the-streets-underscores-need-for-kazakhstans-long-overdue-police-reforms/ Kazakhstan: Almaty blackout suggests power options limited Kazakhstan’s densely populated south has long faced an energy deficit – in contrast to the north, which runs on a separate grid that has surplus generating capacity July 16 — “A long, hot afternoon without electricity in Kazakhstan’s largest city cast a pall over the local power grid, adding urgency to a fraught...
BISHKEK (TCA) — The OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek on 19 July launched the first of four clean-up campaigns at Issyk-Kul Lake, in Kyrgyzstan, as an integral part of a roundtable discussion on the importance of the involvement of public institutions and society, and public awareness on environmental issues. The discussion is taking place in Chok-Tal village and organized by the Issyk-Kul Aarhus Centre, the Clean Issyk-Kul Public Foundation, and the Chon-Sary-Oy ayil local authority with support of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek. Continue reading
TASHKENT (TCA) — A delegation of Paris Academy and higher education institutions of France visited Uzbekistan this week to strengthen cooperation between educational institutions of bоth countries, introduce best practices in tourism, exchange students and faculty, organize internships, as well as implement joint programs in tourism, Uzbekistan’s Jahon information agency reported. Continue reading
