Our People > Times of Central Asia

Articles

court case

Kyrgyz Bank Wins Brussels Court Case Over Sanctions Accusations

Kyrgyzstan's Bakai Bank has announced victory in a Brussels court case against the non-governmental organization Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF), which had previously published materials calling for sanctions against the bank. The court said the allegations were not supported by sufficient evidence. According to the bank, it filed the lawsuit to protect its business reputation after the Open Dialogue Foundation published materials in 2023 calling for sanctions against the financial institution to be considered. The ODF publications alleged that the bank may have been involved in schemes to circumvent European Union anti-Russian sanctions. Bakai Bank denied these allegations and initiated legal proceedings in Brussels. According to the bank’s statement and reporting on the ruling, a Brussels court held that ODF had made serious allegations without sufficient evidence. As a result, the court ordered the organization to remove the relevant publications, publish the text of the court decision on the main page of its website, and reimburse legal costs. At the time of publication, the Open Dialogue Foundation had not publicly commented on the court's decision. Bakai Bank stated that the court's decision stands as confirmation of the allegations' groundlessness. "We welcome this decision, which confirms the lack of basis for the charges and protects the bank's business reputation. We consistently comply with international law and adhere to the principles of transparency in our operations," the bank's representatives said. Askat Alagozov, press secretary to the President of Kyrgyzstan, commented on the situation on social media. He noted that this is not the first time Kyrgyz banks have faced accusations of evading sanctions. Specifically, Keremet Bank has been sanctioned by the United States and the United Kingdom, while Capital Bank of Central Asia, also known as Kapital Bank, has been sanctioned by the United Kingdom. According to Alagozov, such measures are accusatory in nature, and no public evidence of violations has been presented. He also added that President Sadyr Japarov previously rejected such accusations and stated the country's readiness to conduct an independent international audit of the banking sector. Moreover, Capital Bank of Central Asia, one of the banks targeted by sanctions, is state-owned.

1 week ago

tennis

Kazakhstan’s Bublik Remembers Clay Court Moment with Monfils

Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik shared a memory at the net with Gaël Monfils after defeating him at the Monte-Carlo Masters, in the French veteran’s last appearance at the Roland Garros tune-up. “Do you know what? Exactly 10 years ago, I was a hitting partner here,” Bublik, ranked 11th in the world, told Monfils after beating him 6-4, 6-4 in the round of 32 on Tuesday. As the two men embraced and the crowd cheered, Bublik asked Monfils if he remembered what he had said a decade ago. Monfils responded: “I told you grass is not the main, here is your main! Remember that.” The 39-year-old Frenchman, who has said the 2026 season will be his last in professional tennis, was onto something when he told Bublik to focus on clay court tennis all those years ago. Although the Russia-born player was once open about his distaste for the surface, he reached the French Open quarterfinals and won two clay titles last year during a resurgence that propelled him up the rankings. Bublik, 28, was in command against Monfils, mixing up baseline drives with feathered drop shots that his opponent couldn’t reach. Monfils was once ranked as high as sixth in the world and has won 13 ATP titles. Bublik has won nine titles. The two men are considered among the most entertaining on the tour, for their shotmaking and flamboyance on the court. In Monaco on Tuesday, as they approached the umpire’s chair for a handshake, Monfils said to Bublik: “Good luck, brother.”

1 week ago

Middle East Crisis

Tokayev Welcomes Middle East Truce, Reaffirms Kazakhstan’s Support for Peace Efforts

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the "ceasefire and truce” announced in the Middle East, praising the mediation efforts of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir. According to Kazakhstan’s presidential press office, Tokayev stated that “this agreement became possible due to the goodwill and wisdom of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and the senior leadership of Iran, as well as all countries involved in the military conflict.” He added that he hoped the agreement would be lasting and would contribute to global trade and the economic prosperity of nations. Tokayev’s statement is consistent with his broader support for diplomatic peace initiatives. On January 22, 2026, Tokayev signed the Charter of the Board of Peace in Davos. At the Board’s inaugural meeting on February 20, Tokayev said Kazakhstan’s decision to join the Abraham Accords was fully aligned with the Board of Peace’s mission and could help advance peace, security, and wider humanitarian and economic cooperation in the Middle East. Kazakhstan has also framed its decision to join the Abraham Accords as part of a larger effort to reduce confrontation and encourage dialogue. In official remarks, Tokayev said the move was intended to contribute to lasting peace in the Middle East and reflected Kazakhstan’s multilateral diplomacy aimed at promoting peace and security. By linking the truce to trade and prosperity, Tokayev underscored Kazakhstan’s view that peace and economic stability go hand in hand. The statement reinforces Astana’s position that dialogue, bridge-building, and sustained diplomacy remain the strongest path toward regional stability and long-term growth.

1 week ago

Critical Minerals

Opinion: Supply Chains of Power: How Critical Minerals Are Shaping China–U.S. Competition in Central Asia

Central Asia is no longer a distant frontier for global geopolitics. It is developing into a central arena of competition for critical minerals, supply chains, and industrial power, where minerals are no longer simple commodities but have instead become key components of contemporary statecraft. In essence, this transformation highlights a recognition in Washington and other capitals that critical mineral supply chains are fundamental to next-generation energy systems, the development of artificial intelligence (AI), and strategic defense capabilities. Even as the global economy is multipolar, critical mineral supply chains remain highly concentrated and dominated by China. Control of rare earths is increasingly geopolitical, with clear economic, political, and security consequences. The significance of that imbalance is now shaping U.S. foreign policy, Central Asia’s development strategies, and the future of global economics. China’s Strategy: Control the Chain, Not Just the Mine Though many years in the making, China’s critical minerals strategy is still often misunderstood as focused primarily on resource access. However, Beijing’s efforts are far broader and more effective. Not only securing raw materials, the Chinese leadership has also worked to control the entire supply chain—from extraction to processing, refining, and manufacturing. China’s long-term focus and investments began in the 1980s with efforts that culminated in the Made in China 2025 plan for national and overseas manufacturing. In 2023 alone, Chinese firms invested more than $120 billion in overseas mining and processing, targeting key elements used in energy supply chains. Beijing also fed its industrial base by providing over $220 billion for the production of electric vehicles, batteries, and renewable infrastructure. As a result, China now controls approximately 60% of lithium processing, more than 70% of cobalt refining, and over 90% of battery material manufacturing. Strategically, China controls roughly 90% of global rare earth refining and associated technologies. Early investments in supplies enabled Beijing to subsequently concentrate funds into refining capacity to feed its industrial sector. This integrated approach has shifted the power dynamic for global supply chains tied to the critical minerals economy. As evidenced by Beijing’s near monopoly on processing, market control is not just associated with geological supplies but with processing capacity. China’s willingness to weaponize access not only to rare earths but also to processing technology demonstrates Beijing’s market muscle. This distinction is critical. Rare earth elements are not inherently scarce, but they are rarely found in concentrated deposits, making them difficult to extract and refine. Over decades, Beijing developed unique refining capabilities and subsidized an industrial base that disincentivized competition and encouraged processing to shift to China. The Vicious Circle Prohibitive investment costs, long development timelines, and market volatility have discouraged Western investment in alternative supply chains. Each stage (mining, processing, refining, manufacturing) is interdependent: miners won’t invest without buyers and offtake agreements, processors and refiners need secure financing and stable mineral supply, and manufacturers need steady inputs. Such interdependence creates an investment standoff and heightens perceptions of risk. By integrating all stages, Beijing exerts influence across global markets, from pricing to production. This has conditioned global markets...

1 week ago

U.S.-Uzbekistan Relations

The American-Uzbek Business Council Launches in Washington

Washington D.C. - At the launch of the American-Uzbek Business and Investment Council in Washington on April 6, the most revealing line came early. Ambassador Sergio Gor, the White House’s special envoy for South and Central Asia, and Co-Chair of the Council, did not begin with trade statistics or a list of deliverables. He began with a blunt assessment of how the region has been treated in Washington. “For too long, this region has not found the attention that it deserves,” he said. That observation is hardly novel to anyone who follows Central Asia. What made it notable was the speaker and the setting. U.S. policy toward the region has often been episodic, driven at different times by Afghanistan, by Russia, by sanctions enforcement, or by concern over Chinese influence rather than sustained by a coherent regional economic strategy. Gor’s remarks suggested an attempt, at least by the current administration, to correct for that pattern. He was equally clear, however, that this was a political opening, not yet a settled doctrine. “Take this opportunity that the next two and a half years present,” he told the room, an unusually candid acknowledgment that Washington’s attention may be real without yet being durable. His other key formulation explained how the administration wants to make that attention count. “Never before in the history of the U.S. government has commercial diplomacy been such a major pillar of U.S. foreign policy,” Gor said. Whatever the phrasing, the intended shift was clear. Washington is signaling that in Central Asia, economic statecraft will not be treated as a side channel to politics, but as a primary instrument of policy. In that sense, the new council is less a ceremonial bilateral upgrade than a mechanism for turning political attention into projects, financing, and institutional follow-through. [caption id="attachment_46673" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] Image: TCA[/caption] Saida Mirziyoyeva, head of Uzbekistan’s presidential administration and the Uzbek co-chair of the council, answered that shift with a line that was just as pointed. “We are no longer at the stage where we speak about potential,” she said. “We are at the stage where we must deliver.” For a government that has spent years presenting Uzbekistan as a reforming economy open to outside capital, that was a significant change of emphasis. The argument is no longer that Uzbekistan deserves credit for opening up but that it now expects to be judged by execution. Her most substantive remarks were about institutions rather than ambition. The council matters, she said, because it should help “solve problems quickly, without unnecessary bureaucracy” and ensure that “no project is lost along the way.” That is a more serious claim than the language of partnership that usually fills these forums. Mirziyoyeva was effectively acknowledging the gap that often opens between political endorsement and project delivery. Uzbekistan’s challenge is no longer simply attracting attention from foreign partners but getting projects through financing, approvals, and implementation without losing momentum inside the state apparatus. That urgency reflects the scale of the opportunity. Uzbekistan, with a...

1 week ago