TASHKENT — UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in cooperation with local partners on March 28 distributed humanitarian aid sent to Mazar-i-Sharif through Termez, Uzbekistan, among internally displaced persons in Balkh province of Afghanistan. 241 persons benefitted from this aid, including blankets delivered in February 2023 from UNHCR Regional Humanitarian Logistics Hub in Termez with support of the Government of Uzbekistan.

BISHKEK — Kok-Jangak city in Kyrgyzstan’s southern Jalal-Abad oblast celebrated the renovation of its central park on March 29. The park now has new paved paths, a children’s playground, public restrooms, a gate, and CCTV security. The renovation was a joint effort of local active citizens, the City Council and Administration, local business owners and USAID’s Jigerduu Jarandar project, the U.S. Embassy in Kyrgyzstan said.

ASTANA — The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kazakhstan has completed the implementation of a $974,408 sustainable agriculture project funded by the Government of Japan. The initiative focused on introducing climate-smart agricultural technologies to support local farms in the region and updating Kazhydromet RSE equipment to predict and prevent droughts, UNDP Kazakhstan said on March 29.

TASHKENT — On March 29, under the organizational support of the Uzbek Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade, a ceremony of signing bilateral agreements on cooperation in the fields of energy and trade between Uzbekistan and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China was held, the ministry reported.

ALMATY, Kazakhstan — The participants of the 2nd Friendly Dialogue of Cross-Border Cooperation between Kazakhstan and China on March 28 agreed to strengthen bilateral economic relations. The forum was held in Almaty as part of the official visit to Kazakhstan of Ma Xinzhui, a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, secretary of the CPC Party Committee of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, the Kazakh Ministry of Trade and Integration reported.

ASTANA — Kazakhstan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko and Germany’s Federal Government Commissioner for Repatriates and National Minorities, Bundestag MP Natalie Pawlik on March 27 in Berlin co-hosted the 19th meeting of the Kazakh-German Intergovernmental Commission for the Affairs of Ethnic Germans in Kazakhstan, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry reported.

ASTANA — A wide range of issues of trade and economic cooperation were discussed by Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov and the Secretary of the Party Committee of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the 20th Convocation Ma Xingzhui, who arrived on his first visit to Kazakhstan, the press service of the Kazakh prime minister reported on March 27.

BISHKEK — David O'Sullivan, the European Union's special envoy for the implementation of sanctions, has called on Kyrgyzstan and other nations in Moscow's political and economic sphere to avoid assisting Moscow's attempts to evade sanctions imposed on Russia over its ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported.

ASTANA — Farmers of Kazakhstan visited Germany to explore the economic benefits of implementing green technologies in agriculture. This tour was supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Atameken NCE and the Government of Japan in the framework of a Joint Project on the implementation of climate smart agro-technologies. The participants were farmers who piloted renewable energy solutions (wind and solar), UNDP Kazakhstan reported on March 27.

TASHKENT — On March 27, Tashkent hosted the opening of the International Conference “Development of a sustainable tourism model - a way to increase tourism potential”.

ALMATY, Kazakhstan — The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) — whose member states include Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan — presented five solutions that should help streamline the regulation of the water and energy complex in Central Asia at the UN 2023 Water Conference in New York, the Bank said on March 27.

ASTANA — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which became fully aligned with the Paris Agreement at the start of 2023, is helping Kazakhstan to reduce energy consumption, promote the use of renewable energy sources and support local businesses in adopting environmentally friendly practices, the Bank said.

ASTANA — The ruling Amanat party won a majority of seats in parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan earlier this month, official results show, in a vote the Central Election Commission said had several "minor" violations but that some opposition politicians claimed was marred by issues, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported.

ASTANA — The Government of Japan has expressed interest in cooperating with Kazakhstan under the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM), a new tool for achieving the countries' climate commitments to the Paris Agreement. The mechanism's advantages and requirements were discussed by Japanese officials and the Kazakhstani delegation during a recent United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)-supported study tour to Japan, UNDP Kazakhstan reported.

TASHKENT — Negotiations between Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan Laziz Kudratov and Minister-Delegate for Foreign Trade, Economic Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad Olivier Besht were held last week in the format of a videoconference, the Uzbek Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade reported.

ASHGABAT — On March 26, Turkmenistan held elections of a newly unicameral, 125-member national legislature, the Mejlis, with diminished powers, as well as a vote for local and provincial assemblies.

ALMATY, Kazakhstan — The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) — whose member states include Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan — plans to invest not less than US $400 million in Central Asia’s water and energy complex over the next three years, Nikolai Podguzov, Chairman of the EDB Management Board, said at the UN 2023 Water Conference in New York on March 23.

DUSHANBE — The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on March 24 approved $35 million in grant financing from the International Development Association (IDA) for the Social Protection Modernization and Economic Inclusion Project. The project aims to support the Government of Tajikistan in protecting poor and vulnerable households from social and economic shocks, promoting economic inclusion, and improving national social protection systems. An additional $2.5 million is provided by the Global Financing Facility (GFF) Trust Fund, bringing the total project financing to $37.5 million.

BISHKEK — The Embassy of the Kyrgyz Republic in the Republic of Korea, in common with the Administration of the Chungcheongbuk-do Province, the Chungbuk Economic Forum and the Kyrgyz company BGlobal, organized an international business forum with the participation of Kyrgyz and Korean entrepreneurs, the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry reported on March 24.

ASTANA — A court in the Siberian city of Barnaul has sentenced an officer with Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) who was deported from Kazakhstan, where he unsuccessfully sought political asylum, to 6 1/2 years in prison, RFE/RL reported.

ASTANA — The Caspian Policy Center recently hosted a webinar event to discuss the transition to renewable energy resources in the Caspian region.

BISHKEK — As part of creating favorable conditions for the development of international air services, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) with Swiss support helped conduct a detailed analysis of the potential of Kyrgyzstan’s Manas International Airport JSC (JSC MAM) and its comparative advantages for expanding the international flights geography. Priority routes with the greatest potential for development were identified, and detailed recommendations were developed for each route in the form of an airline development plan, the Embassy of Switzerland in Kyrgyzstan said.

BISHKEK — The Bishkek City Court has upheld a lower court decision to keep in pretrial detention the former interim manager of Kyrgyzstan's Kumtor gold mine, Tengiz Bolturuk, who is being held on charges of financial misdeeds that he has rejected, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported.

DUSHANBE — Two earthquakes hit Tajikistan on March 23, damaging hundreds of houses and killing more than 100 sheep and cattle, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reported.

BISHKEK — Representatives from some of the largest IT companies across the world will gather together for the Central Asian IT Business Forum on March 24 in Bishkek followed by the Central Asian Tech Awards, the U.S. Embassy in Kyrgyzstan said.