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Kazakh MP Calls for a Legislative Ban on Radical Religious Movements

Kazybek Isa, a deputy of the Mazhilis (Kazakhstan's lower house of parliament ), has called for a legislative ban on radical religious movements, arguing that their spread poses a threat to social stability and national security. In a parliamentary inquiry addressed to the government and law enforcement agencies, Isa stated that the ability of such groups to recruit followers could undermine social cohesion and national values. “A legislative ban on radical religious movements is a matter of national security. Such movements threaten social stability, and the state is obligated to protect its citizens from their influence,” the deputy said. He added that the proposed measures are not aimed at religion itself, but at organizations promoting what he described as destructive ideologies. Several recent high-profile incidents prompted the inquiry. In March 2026, a blogger criticized the celebration of Nauryz, describing it as “not a Kazakh or Muslim holiday." He was subsequently detained, and a criminal case was opened against him on charges of inciting religious discord. In a separate case, a YouTube interview circulated featuring a man presenting himself as an imam who claimed to have given his second wife to a student. Following public backlash, he was held administratively liable and fined. According to Isa, existing regulations governing extremist and radical organizations are dispersed across multiple legal acts and are not always effectively enforced. He proposed developing a more comprehensive legislative framework focused on prevention. The deputy also raised concerns about compliance with laws regulating face-covering clothing. He referred to a court case in Aktobe in which the defendants’ wives attended hearings wearing niqabs, arguing that this highlighted the need for stricter enforcement of identification requirements. Kazakhstan previously adopted legislation on the prevention of offenses that includes fines for wearing clothing that conceals the face and hinders identification in public places, including niqabs. Isa further called for tighter oversight of individuals acting as religious preachers and questioned the role of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan in preventing the spread of radical ideologies. He warned that individuals presenting themselves as religious mentors may contribute to social polarization and the recruitment of young people into radical movements. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, in recent years, Kazakhstani authorities have strengthened measures to counter religious extremism, including efforts to prevent radicalization and curb the spread of extremist ideologies.

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ADB Growth Forecast Points to Strong Expansion in Tajikistan

Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecasts that Tajikistan’s economy will maintain strong growth over the next two years, driven primarily by industrial expansion and the services sector. In its latest Asian Development Outlook (April 2026), the bank projects that gross domestic product will grow by 7.3% in 2026 and 6.8% in 2027. This follows an estimated 8.4% expansion in 2025, indicating a slight moderation but continued robust performance. ADB attributes the outlook to improving industrial competitiveness and rising value-added production, which are expected to support long-term economic development and job creation. “Tajikistan’s strong growth opens up opportunities to accelerate job creation,” said Ko Sakamoto, ADB country director for Tajikistan. “By developing competitive, value-adding industries from food processing and textiles to mineral products, the country can translate growth into more and better jobs.” At the same time, inflation is projected to rise to 4.0% in 2026 and 4.5% in 2027. According to ADB, this increase will be driven by stronger consumer lending, remittance inflows, higher public sector wages, supply chain pressures, and adjustments to utility tariffs. The bank noted that the outlook remains subject to revision given the uncertain regional environment. Despite recent gains, ADB cautioned that Tajikistan’s economic structure remains vulnerable. While industrial output has grown, the country continues to depend heavily on a narrow range of products. Exports are dominated by raw materials and low- to mid-level processed goods, with higher value-added manufactured products accounting for less than 10% of total merchandise exports. To address these challenges, the report recommends a broader, ecosystem-based industrial policy. This would involve support for specific sectors, along with improvements in infrastructure, workforce skills, access to finance, and the overall business environment. ADB’s earlier assessments highlight mixed socioeconomic trends. While poverty has declined significantly from 30.9% in 2020 to 19.9% in 2024, inequality and structural constraints continue to pose challenges to long-term development.

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AI Will Help the Kyrgyz Parliament Speed Up the Legislative Process

The Jogorku Kenesh (Parliament of Kyrgyzstan) is introducing the e-Kenesh digital platform, which is intended to move parliamentary committee work into an electronic format and use artificial intelligence to help analyze draft legislation. According to the parliament’s press service, the platform is designed to replace paper-based workflows and provide lawmakers with access to all agenda materials via tablets already distributed to deputies. The software was developed by local specialists in cooperation with parliamentary staff. The e-Kenesh system will also allow civil servants and experts to participate in committee meetings remotely, joining discussions from their workplaces or while on official travel. Parliament says this should make participation easier for officials and experts and improve coordination around committee work. At the same time, key speakers will continue to attend meetings in person to respond to lawmakers’ questions. The platform is intended to make committee work and legislative tracking more transparent. Users will be able to track the history of each issue, including deliberations, decisions, authorship of legislative initiatives, and voting records. One of e-Kenesh’s new features is an AI module that can analyze draft laws and generate short summaries. This will help deputies quickly navigate documents and better understand the objectives of proposed legislation. “You will be able to see which issue was considered and when, as well as what decisions were made. It will also show which MP submitted a proposal and how they voted. Additionally, the app will provide a brief summary of each bill. Artificial intelligence is also being implemented to analyze bills and explain their content and objectives,” said Parliament Speaker Marlen Mamataliev. According to the Speaker, starting next week, all parliamentary committees are expected to fully abandon paper documents and transition to electronic document management. The shift reflects Kyrgyzstan’s broader push to digitize public administration and streamline legislative work. Developers noted that the system will continue to be refined during implementation, with any technical issues addressed as they arise.

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Pilots for Turkmenistan Airlines to Be Trained in Turkey

Turkmenistan Airlines has announced a recruitment campaign for candidates to study aviation at the Turkish Aeronautical Association University. The four-year program will be funded by the airline. Selection will be conducted on a competitive basis. Applicants must be male, under the age of 25, hold Turkmen citizenship, and have completed secondary education. Additional requirements include passing a medical examination at the Ashgabat Airport Medical Center and holding a valid military ID. The admission process consists of several stages. Candidates first undergo an initial interview with airline representatives, followed by entrance exams and an interview with representatives of the Turkish university. In the final stage, applicants must pass a medical examination in Ankara. The airline will cover tuition fees, dormitory accommodation, and travel costs, including flights to Ankara at the start of the academic year and return travel to Ashgabat upon completion of the program. However, students will be responsible for certain expenses, including visa fees, health insurance, meals, communication, and local transportation. Upon graduation, participants are required to work for the airline for ten years. Limited Progress in Air Connectivity Despite this initiative, Turkmenistan’s broader aviation sector continues to face challenges. No new international routes have been launched, and several previously announced flights have yet to begin operations. Plans to expand the country’s international air connectivity have been discussed for years, but tangible progress remains limited.

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Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Visits Caucasus to Expand Trade and Transit Ties

Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister, Yermek Kosherbayev, conducted a diplomatic tour of the South Caucasus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, as part of Astana’s efforts to strengthen trade and economic ties, expand investment cooperation, and develop key transit routes between Central Asia and Europe. Armenia: Trade, Investment, and Digitalization In Yerevan, Kosherbayev held meetings with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President Vahagn Khachaturyan, and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan. He conveyed greetings from Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and highlighted the high level of bilateral cooperation. “Thanks to the efforts of the leaders, bilateral relations between Kazakhstan and Armenia have reached a qualitatively new level,” Kosherbayev said. He noted that the evolving geopolitical situation creates new opportunities for both economies. Kazakhstan reaffirmed its interest in long-term supplies of agricultural products, including grain and meat, as well as in expanding transport links and launching direct flights. The two sides discussed the implementation of the Roadmap for Trade and Economic Cooperation for 2026-2030. More than 100 enterprises with Kazakh capital are registered in Armenia, while over 400 Armenian companies operate in Kazakhstan, indicating growing business activity. Artificial intelligence, digitalization, nuclear energy, pharmaceuticals, higher education, and healthcare were identified as priority areas for cooperation. Particular attention was given to the establishment of a branch of the TUMO educational center in Astana. Azerbaijan: Energy and Transport Corridors In Azerbaijan, Kosherbayev met with President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov. Discussions focused on strengthening allied relations and expanding cooperation in energy, industry, and logistics. “Kazakh-Azerbaijani relations are characterized by steady and progressive development and possess significant potential. We express our firm commitment to further strengthening our alliance with brotherly Azerbaijan,” the minister said. Bilateral trade has increased sharply over the past five years, reaching $470.7 million in 2025. The two sides agreed to work toward raising this figure to $1 billion. Particular attention was paid to the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, a key element in diversifying Kazakhstan’s export routes. For Astana, Azerbaijan is the pivotal Caspian link in the westward corridor connecting Kazakhstan to the South Caucasus and on to European markets. The parties also discussed projects to lay a fiber-optic communication line and a subsea power cable across the Caspian Sea to strengthen regional energy and digital connectivity. These projects fit a broader strategy to connect Central Asian energy and data infrastructure more closely with Azerbaijan and, through it, with Europe. In addition, both sides highlighted opportunities to expand the transit of Kazakh energy resources through Azerbaijani territory, alongside growing cultural, humanitarian, and educational exchanges. Georgia: Investment and a Logistics Hub The final stop was Georgia, where the minister met with President Mikheil Kavelashvili and Foreign Minister Maka Bochorishvili. “Kazakhstan views Georgia as a reliable political and economic partner in the South Caucasus,” Kosherbayev said. The officials noted positive momentum in economic cooperation. Kazakh investment in Georgia has exceeded $600 million, with companies active in logistics, energy, and finance. Georgia’s importance to Kazakhstan lies not only in bilateral trade and investment, but in its role as...

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Investments, Resources, and Digital Transformation: How Central Asia Can Preserve Its Strategic Balance

Rising global demand for critical resources, the accelerating green transition, and the digitalization of the economy are turning Central Asia from a peripheral region into one of the key arenas of geoeconomic competition. Kazakhstan and its neighbors are increasingly in the focus of the United States, China, the European Union, and the Gulf states—as sources of raw materials, sites for infrastructure projects, and markets for the implementation of digital solutions. Under these conditions, the key question is no longer the volume of investment, but control over its quality, structure, and long-term consequences. The resource factor: from raw materials to a geoeconomic asset Central Asia is now becoming a strategic storehouse for the global green transition and high-tech industries. The region possesses enormous reserves of critical raw materials: Kazakhstan leads the world in uranium production, at about 40% of the global market, while deposits of copper, lithium, cobalt, uranium, and rare metals across Kazakhstan and the wider region are making Central Asia an increasingly important link in clean-energy and high-tech supply chains. Investment activity in the extractive sector is stimulating the development of related high-tech industries within the region. Global players are increasingly coming not simply for raw materials, but with proposals to localize processing. Thus, in November 2024, Kazakhstan’s first tungsten processing plant began operating at the Boguty deposit in the Almaty region. The project, valued at $300 million, is being implemented by Aral Kegen, a subsidiary of Jiaxin International Resources Investment. In addition, in the East Kazakhstan region, with the participation of the German mining company HMS Bergbau AG, two new industrial enterprises specializing in lithium extraction and processing are planned by 2029. Work is underway on the construction of a mining and processing plant, as well as a pegmatite ore processing facility. This allows the countries of the region to move away from the “quarry” model toward the model of a technological hub, where natural wealth becomes leverage for gaining access to Western and Eastern innovation. Investment transformation: from capital to ecosystems The traditional model, focused on extraction, is gradually giving way to the formation of value-added ecosystems. This presupposes the development of processing, the creation of high-tech production, and the formation of a scientific base. Kazakhstan’s national companies, such as Tau-Ken Samruk, Kazatomprom, and KazMunayGas, act as a strategic “anchor” for foreign capital, taking on the primary risks and bureaucratic burden. They absorb part of the early project risk, from licensing and exploration to infrastructure and coordination with the state, making entry into Kazakhstan easier for major foreign investors. This allows the state to retain control over strategic assets while using private capital for accelerated modernization of the sector. The main emphasis today is shifting from raw material extraction to the localization of higher value-added stages. Through the creation of joint ventures, national companies are introducing Western technologies and building plants with high added value, from the production of nuclear fuel assemblies to the manufacture of polyethylene and metal refining. In this way, they integrate Kazakh business...