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Cost of Living

Set of Quadruplets Born in Dushanbe

A set of quadruplets, one boy and three girls, have been born in Dushanbe. They weigh between 1.8 and 2.2 kg, and doctors have declared the newborns to be in good health. The quadruplets' parents intended to give them the names Ahmadjan, Hosiya, Aliya, and Sumaya. The family doesn't yet own a home, are paying exorbitant rent for a one-room apartment, and are seeking assistance from the government. The father of the quadruplets, Kanoatsho Khudoyorov, hopes they will be assigned a one-room apartment in the capital, saying their load would be lessened multiple times over by such a kind deed. “It is difficult to look after and feed children in the village,” he stated. Parents with four or more children have, for a few years now, been eligible for housing assistance or financial aid from the government. While Khudoyorov is very happy about the birth of his children, he's also concerned about the family’s future, because, as the kids get older, the cost will only mount. He finds it challenging to find work that pays the rent, utility bills, and the kids’ needs. “We pay 4,000 somoni ($365) for this apartment; the term ends on February 10, and I need to find a cheaper apartment. My salary is not enough for everything,” said the construction worker. This is the second instance of quadruplets born this year in Tajikistan. Two sons and two daughters were born on January 14th to 27-year-old Mijgona Asoeva of Kizilkala village in the Khatlon Region.

2 years ago

Foreign Investment

One of Malaysia’s Largest Supermarket Chains to Open in Uzbekistan

The Uzbek Embassy in Malaysia hosted a meeting with Kin Chai, the founder and executive director of Malaysia's KK Group of Companies, according to Dunyo news agency. The two sides discussed the implementation of joint investment projects and other areas for mutual collaboration. Chai specifically mentioned that Uzbekistan appeals to foreign investors because of the different tax and customs breaks offered to them. “We are interested in cooperation with business representatives of Uzbekistan,” he said. “(Our) supermarket chain, which is well-known in Malaysia and operates under the KK Super Mart brand, can also successfully operate in Uzbekistan based on the available opportunities." The meeting yielded a decision to launch a chain of KK Super Mart stores in Uzbekistan and to open a trading house for Uzbekistani goods within the KK Group's retail network. The KK Group's conglomerate model has businesses in multiple sectors in addition to retail, including construction, e-commerce, and hotel operations. It has more than 800 sales networks across Malaysia.

2 years ago

Metals

Kazakhstan Produces Over Half Of The EU’s Critical Raw Materials

Kazakhstan produces 19 of the 34 critical raw materials listed by the European Union, its Ministry of Industry and Construction reported on February 6th. Kazakhstani manufacturers currently supply the European market with metal and chemical products including beryllium, tantalum, titanium, phosphorus, and ammonium metavanadate. Kazakhstan is among the world’s 10 largest copper producers. The country also has the potential to establish a cluster for the production of battery raw materials such as nickel, cobalt, manganese, and lithium, which are essential for the production of electric vehicles. In November 2023 in Brussels, Belgium, a delegation from Kazakhstan, headed by the minister for industry and construction, Kanat Sharlapaev, participated in the European Commission’s ‘Raw Materials Week’. The event addressed the memorandum of understanding between Kazakhstan and the EU on strategic partnership in the field of sustainable raw materials, batteries, and value chains in renewable hydrogen. The EU remains one of Kazakhstan’s leading trade, economic, and investment partners, accounting for about 30% of its foreign trade turnover, which was $37.7bn between January and November 2023.

2 years ago

Border

Tajik President, Kyrgyz FM Discuss Border Delimitation

The ongoing process of delimiting the state border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan was discussed during a February 5th meeting between Tajikistan’s president Emomali Rahmon and Kyrgyzstan’s minister of foreign affairs Jeenbek Kulubaev in Dushanbe. The parties announced that over the past four months the Kyrgyz and Tajik sides have reached an agreement on 196km of the state border, and to date almost 90% of their 975km border has been prepared for demarcation, the Tajik president’s press service said. Mr Rahmon and Mr Kulubaev also discussed the joint use of water resources of transboundary rivers, and the expansion of commercial and economic relations between the two countries. The delimitation and demarcation of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border has been an issue since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The issue has turned into an urgent problem in recent years after several deadly clashes took place along disputed segments of the border. Many border areas in Central Asian republics have been disputed since 1991. The situation is particularly complicated around the numerous exclaves in the Ferghana Valley, where the borders of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan meet.

2 years ago

Oil shipping

Kazakhstan To Increase Oil Shipping Along Trans-Caspian Route

Kazakhstan is carrying out major expansion projects at the Tengiz, Karachaganak, and Kashagan oil fields. The throughput capacity of the Kazakhstan section of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) pipeline has been increased from 54 million to 72.5 million tons per year, and the country has begun oil shipments along the Trans-Caspian route, which will be increased to 3 million tons within two years, the Kazakh government’s website reported on February 5th. In 2023 Kazakhstan increased crude oil shipments from the Caspian port of Aktau in the direction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline from 250,000 tons to almost 1.4 million tons. In 2022 Kazakhstan’s president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered that the volume of oil transported along the Trans-Caspian corridor be increased. Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company KazMunayGas and the state oil company of Azerbaijan, SOCAR, entered into an agreement to transport up to 1.5 million tons of oil per year from the Tengiz field in the direction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. The Kazakh government has also announced that work is underway to increase the production capacity of the Shymkent oil refinery in the south of Kazakhstan from 6 million to 12 million tons per year, which will fully meet the needs of the domestic market for motor fuel.

2 years ago