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Kazakhstan’s Shin-Line Group Plans Food Industry Cluster With South Korean Support

Kazakhstan’s Shin-Line Group, a food manufacturer best known as Central Asia’s largest ice cream producer, plans to establish a food industry cluster modeled on South Korea’s Foodpolis. Korean specialists will help develop its management model and services for producers seeking to enter overseas markets. Under the agreement, the Korean side will provide consulting and expert support on the cluster’s management and development strategy. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Agriculture describes it as the country’s first project of its kind. Foodpolis operates in the South Korean city of Iksan. The cluster brings food manufacturers and research laboratories together with centers that help businesses develop and test products. The centers also assist with certification and access to overseas buyers. Shin-Line intends to adapt this system to Kazakhstan’s market. “It is important for us to create not just a standalone site, but an entire ecosystem where producers can access technology and expertise, develop processing, and enter new markets. This is a long-term project, and we are starting by studying and adapting the best Korean experience,” Shin-Line Group President Andrey Shin said in a statement released by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Agriculture. Shin-Line makes instant noodles and frozen prepared foods in addition to ice cream. Its total production reached 37,000 metric tons in 2025, the company reported. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Agriculture said Shin-Line exported about 14,200 metric tons of ice cream that year, generating more than $49 million in export revenue and accounting for up to 95% of Kazakhstan’s ice cream exports. Its exports reach ten countries, including Central Asian states, China, Mongolia, and markets in the Caucasus. Korean companies also hope to use Shin-Line’s distribution network to enter Kazakhstan’s market. The two sides discussed placing Foodpolis products in approximately 70 CU convenience stores operating in Kazakhstan. This could give the companies a ready-made route into Kazakhstan’s retail market and, eventually, other Central Asian markets. The agreement continues a series of Asian partnerships for Shin-Line. In September, the company established a joint venture with Japan’s Shigemitsu Industry to develop the Ajisen Ramen chain. The partners plan to open up to 50 restaurants in Kazakhstan and other Eurasian countries between 2027 and 2031. A central kitchen will be established at Shin-Line’s facility in the Almaty Region to supply the network. Kazakhstan aims to increase the share of processed goods in its agricultural exports. In 2025, exports from its agricultural and food-processing sector generated $7 billion, up 37% from the previous year. Processed products accounted for about $3.6 billion. Expanding exports, however, depends on more than production volumes. Businesses also need help developing and certifying products, as well as access to retail networks. Shin-Line wants to bring these functions together in the future cluster.

Business & Economy Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Business & Economy

South Korea’s YPP Considers $2 Billion Green Ammonia Project in Kazakhstan

South Korea’s YPP Corporation is considering building a green hydrogen and ammonia complex in the East Kazakhstan Region at an estimated cost of $2 billion. The project, outlined in a memorandum signed during President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s visit to South Korea, could produce up to 55,000 metric tons of green hydrogen or 310,000 metric tons of green ammonia annually. Green ammonia is made by combining nitrogen with hydrogen produced using renewable electricity. Most ammonia is currently used to make fertilizer, but it is also being developed as a low-carbon fuel and as a way of transporting hydrogen, which is more difficult and expensive to move over long distances in its pure form. For South Korea, which depends heavily on imported energy, ammonia is part of a wider effort to reduce emissions from power generation and industry. Its latest electricity plan envisages clean hydrogen and ammonia supplying 6.2% of electricity generation by 2038. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy, the regional authorities, and YPP signed a memorandum covering cooperation on the Green Energy Complex project. It envisages around 1 GW of renewable generation, including wind and solar power. The Ministry of Energy says the project would proceed if it proves economically viable. YPP, a South Korean energy engineering company, signed a framework agreement with Kazakh Invest to develop the Green Energy Complex in July 2025. The project was initially conceived on a larger scale. A 2025 proposal envisaged investment of up to $3.1 billion and 2 GW of renewable power, with annual hydrogen production of as much as 75,000 metric tons. Under the latest version, the estimated cost is about $2 billion, with renewable capacity of around 1 GW. Hydrogen production is now projected at up to 55,000 metric tons a year, while planned ammonia production remains unchanged at up to 310,000 metric tons. Kazakhstan has some obvious attractions for such a project: ample space for large renewable-energy developments and an established industrial base. East Kazakhstan is one of the country’s main metallurgical and power-producing regions. It also contains a significant share of Kazakhstan’s water resources, an important consideration because producing green hydrogen by electrolysis requires both electricity and water. The harder question is whether Kazakhstan can turn those advantages into ammonia that is competitive on international markets. Green ammonia remains substantially more expensive to produce than conventional ammonia. The International Energy Agency estimated in 2025 that ammonia made using electrolysis cost about three times as much on average before policy support and carbon pricing were taken into account. Competition for Asian buyers is also growing. Samsung C&T, which was named in 2025 as a potential buyer for the project in Kazakhstan, signed a binding 15-year agreement with India’s Reliance Industries in March 2026 for green ammonia produced in India. The deal is worth more than $3 billion, with supplies due to begin in the second half of fiscal year 2029. Kazakhstan also faces a geographical disadvantage. The country is landlocked, and ammonia produced in East Kazakhstan for South Korea or other overseas markets...

Business & Economy Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Business & Economy Features

Kazakhstan’s Jewelry Market Faces New Rules on Gold and Hallmarking

Kazakhstan produces and exports billions of dollars’ worth of gold, yet officially recorded domestic jewelry production amounted to just $7.2 million in 2025. The government now plans to tackle the gray areas of the market, from the origin of gold used by workshops to scrap from pawnshops and mandatory hallmarking of jewelry. According to the Ministry of Industry and Construction, the domestic jewelry market was worth about $168 million last year, up 3.4% from 2024. But market participants say that a significant share of trade in precious metals and jewelry remains outside the formal economy. The contrast is particularly striking given Kazakhstan’s position as a major gold producer and exporter. According to international trade statistics for 2025, Switzerland imported more than $1.1 billion worth of unwrought and semi-manufactured gold from Kazakhstan, the United Kingdom about $561 million, and Azerbaijan about $262 million. Together, those three destinations alone accounted for nearly $2 billion. Kazakhstan’s own reported export figures under the same trade category were considerably lower, highlighting a substantial discrepancy between the two sets of customs data. The path gold takes from extraction to a local jewelry workshop remains one of the industry’s weak points. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin said jewelers need a legal and affordable source of raw material. “We have major jewelry centers, and it is important to preserve this heritage and bring as much of the industry as possible into the legal economy,” Zhumangarin said, citing the importance of giving jewelers access to legally sourced gold. Pawnshops are another part of the gray market. In 2025, they sent about 3.2 metric tons of precious-metal scrap and waste to Tau-Ken Altyn for processing, down from 3.8 tons a year earlier. Tau-Ken Altyn operates a major precious-metals refinery in Astana. Refining involves purifying mined or recycled metal to a high degree of purity. The government is now considering requiring jewelry scrap and waste to be transferred to refiners. The authorities also want to revise the rules governing its acceptance and subsequent sale. The exact size of the shadow market is unknown. In 2024, Kaysar Zhumagaliyev, head of Kazakhstan’s League of Jewelers, said as much as 99% of the market was operating in the shadows. The association estimated the gray market at approximately $850 million to $960 million a year, using the average exchange rate for 2024. Zhumagaliyev linked it to underground workshops, smuggling, and gold purchases outside official channels. The government’s latest figures offer a more cautious picture, but they clearly illustrate the gap between registered businesses and the control system. In 2024, only 45 market participants submitted jewelry for mandatory hallmarking. In 2025, that number rose to 959. Tax authorities count 3,520 taxpayers working with jewelry, meaning that about 27% of them submitted products for mandatory hallmarking last year. A hallmark certifies the fineness of the precious metal and indicates that a piece has passed through the legal control system. The procedure therefore provides the authorities with one of the few measurable indicators...

Kazakhstan International Affairs International Affairs Kazakhstan

Afghanistan’s Regional Ties Grow as Global Reintegration Stalls

For Central Asia, Afghanistan is both a source of risk and a potential route south. Governments across the region increasingly see a more stable Afghanistan as a way to open new markets and expand economic links with South Asia. Afghanistan is a direct neighbor of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. The geography is different for Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, but their political and economic interests are no less significant. Many long-term plans for expanding Central Asia’s connections to the south depend in part on Afghanistan’s future and the role it can play in the regional economy. At the UN Security Council’s September 16, 2026, meeting on Afghanistan, Kazakhstan set out a position that may reflect a wider Central Asian view. Astana argued that engagement with Afghanistan’s current authorities should not be equated with recognition and that isolation could not offer a sustainable solution. Astana proposes moving past the current focus on humanitarian aid. In Kazakhstan’s view, the next phase of international engagement should gradually move Afghanistan from dependence on humanitarian aid toward economic self-reliance through job creation, private-sector development, the restoration of financial channels, and expanded trade and investment. The statement also calls for Afghanistan’s integration into the regional economy. Kazakhstan’s representative specifically discussed connections between Central and South Asia, Kazakh-Afghan business ties, trade houses in Herat and Kabul, and the new UN Regional Centre for the Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty. Astana also expressed concern about restrictions affecting Afghan women and girls. Georgette Gagnon, the UN secretary-general’s deputy special representative for Afghanistan, delivered the main briefing. Five years after the Taliban’s return to power, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) assesses that the de facto authorities face no significant armed or political threat to their control, although risks to long-term stability are accumulating and largely stem from their own policies. UNAMA therefore distinguishes between the Taliban’s control of the country and its prospects for long-term stability. UNAMA views the Doha process as the main multilateral framework for Afghanistan’s gradual reintegration into the international community. It links progress to women’s rights and inclusive governance, along with the fulfillment of counterterrorism commitments. The mission also notes that Kabul prefers bilateral relations to multilateral engagement. Russia and China focused on pragmatic engagement and economic recovery, stressing the need to avoid isolation. China also urged Kabul to step up its efforts against terrorist groups and lift restrictions preventing Afghan women employed by the UN from doing their jobs. Russia called for dialogue without pressure and for steps toward Afghanistan’s international reintegration without preconditions. Afghanistan’s economic ties with some regional partners are expanding while its political normalization at the global level remains unresolved. Kazakhstan’s position illustrates this divide. It allows for engagement without accepting the existing order as permanent or waiting for isolation to change it. Future international discussions on Afghanistan will have to address this tension.

Business & Economy Turkmenistan Turkmenistan Business & Economy Turkmenistan Features

Turkmenistan Advances TAPI Pipeline and Infrastructure Projects in Herat

Turkmenistan has spent years seeking new gas export routes, and in western Afghanistan that effort is taking physical form. By mid-September, 122.3 kilometers of pipe had been welded and laid along the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) route in Herat Province. Ashgabat is also pursuing two other connections with Afghanistan along the same corridor. Energy officials are discussing a 500 kV transmission line, while plans call for a railway from the Turkmen border to reach Herat and eventually extend farther south. Herat is becoming the focal point for Turkmen gas, electricity, and freight. For Ashgabat, supplying Herat could give TAPI its first functioning Afghan market without waiting for the entire pipeline to reach Pakistan and India. Afghanistan would gain energy supplies and infrastructure, as well as a chance to connect its western region more closely to regional trade. As of September 15, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum reported that 150.3 kilometers of the 153-kilometer TAPI route in Herat Province had been prepared for pipe installation. Of the 122.3 kilometers of pipe welded and laid, 71.5 kilometers had been buried. Hydrostatic testing had been completed on 33 kilometers. The ministry’s estimate of nearly 80% completion applies only to pipe-laying along this section. In May, the ministry reported that 63 kilometers of pipe had been laid. Four months later, the figure had nearly doubled. The pipeline is designed to run roughly 1,814 kilometers from Turkmenistan’s Galkynysh gas field through Afghanistan and Pakistan to the Indian border. Its planned capacity is 33 billion cubic meters a year. At full capacity, the Asian Development Bank’s current project description allocates 5% of the gas to Afghanistan and 47.5% each to Pakistan and India. The pipeline has been under discussion for more than three decades. Conflict, financing shortages, security threats, and disputes over commercial terms have repeatedly delayed it. Work on Afghan territory resumed in September 2024. The latest figures from Herat make it possible, for the first time in years, to measure TAPI’s progress in kilometers of pipeline rather than diplomatic statements. For Turkmenistan, the stakes are high. The country holds the world’s fourth-largest natural gas reserves, but most of its gas exports go to China. Beijing receives around 30 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas annually and continues to work with Ashgabat on expanding production at Galkynysh. In February, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said diversifying gas export routes was one of the country’s primary goals. Together, Pakistan and India would provide Turkmenistan with markets comparable in scale to its Chinese market. To reach them, however, the pipeline still has to cross most of Afghanistan and then Pakistan. Tensions between Kabul and Islamabad, along with the difficult relationship between Pakistan and India, continue to create political and transit risks for the full project. Herat offers a smaller market that could be reached sooner. A distribution network is planned in the city to supply gas to businesses, power plants, and households. In August, Turkmengaz and Afghan Gas signed a memorandum on the gasification of the province. The memorandum covers local...

Life & Culture Kyrgyzstan Life & Culture Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan Opens National Chess Academy in Bishkek

Kyrgyzstan is linking school chess programs with advanced training as it seeks greater success internationally. The National Chess Academy opened in Bishkek on September 13, while a pilot program is introducing chess clubs for students in grades three to five at 500 schools across the country. The academy, established under the Kyrgyz Chess Union, will identify and train promising young players. It will also organize competitions and provide a permanent base where they can prepare for national and international tournaments. The academy is part of a national chess development program for 2026–2030. The program also provides for teacher training to support the school clubs and annual presidential awards for the country’s best player and coach. At the opening ceremony, Adylbek Kasymaliyev, chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, said he expected the academy to train talented players and develop a new generation capable of representing Kyrgyzstan internationally. Aida Salyanova, president of the Kyrgyz Chess Union, has said the longer-term goal is to build a system that allows players to progress from school programs to international competition. Creating that system will take longer than opening an academy or launching hundreds of clubs. Young players need years of coaching and regular competition before they can reach that level. Kyrgyzstan already has young players competing at a high level. At the 2025 national championship, International Master Eldiyar Orozbaev won the open event, while Begimai Zairbek Kyzy won the women’s title. Five of the top 10 finishers in the open event were under 20. International Master is the second-highest open title awarded by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), below Grandmaster. Kyrgyzstan has produced one grandmaster, Leonid Yurtaev, who received the title in 1996. No player representing the country has since followed him. This expansion comes at a time of growing chess success across Central Asia. Uzbek grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattorov won the Tata Steel Chess Masters in the Netherlands in early 2026, one of the world’s most prestigious annual tournaments. Abdusattorov later won the Prague International Chess Festival Masters and rose to fourth in FIDE’s world rankings. Uzbekistan is also hosting the 2026 Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. The event opened on September 15, and play began the following day. The Olympiad is FIDE’s flagship international team competition. Kazakhstan is pursuing a similar approach to chess education. Its Chess in Education program now covers 1,500 schools, while KazChessLab trains future chess teachers and develops teaching methods.