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UAE Aviation Agreement

Tajikistan’s Parliament Ratifies Air Transport Deal with UAE

The lower house of Tajikistan’s parliament has approved an air transport agreement between the Tajik government and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that would allow more flights between the two countries and help develop Tajikistan’s role in international aviation. The agreement was signed in Dushanbe on July 17, 2025, and ratified by the lower house, or Majlisi Namoyandagon, on October 1 this year, according to the state Khovar news agency. Khovar said the deal will help Tajikistan become a “transit country” and expand travel opportunities for Tajik citizens. The agency expects it to promote trade and tourism and create “favorable conditions for attracting tourists, entrepreneurs, and investors, including from the Gulf countries.” Habibullo Nazarzoda, director of Tajikistan’s Civil Aviation Agency, told parliamentarians that the agreement “provides a legal basis for establishing and increasing the number of flights, as well as opening new flights to other cities between the two countries,” according to Khovar. The agency noted that the accord between the two countries provides for the development of air links “beyond their territories,” and is in line with Tajikistan's aim of becoming a transit country with expanded connections to international markets. Dubai is one of the world’s biggest transit hubs. The agreement last year followed Tajikistan's introduction of an “Open Skies” policy that lifted many market restrictions as a way to encourage competition, with the aim of generating better prices for passengers, more efficient service, and route diversification. Tajikistan and the UAE have already built up their air links, with flydubai increasing its flights between Dubai and Dushanbe from three a week to seven a week last year. Additionally, in August and September this year, Tajik national carrier Somon Air received delivery of two Boeing 737 MAX aircraft from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise in a leasing arrangement. The vote in the lower house of Tajikistan’s parliament completes the ratification process for the agreement with the UAE. An additional vote in the upper house, or Majlisi Milli, is not required. Under the law, the agreement would then appear in official publications.

4 weeks ago

Space Programs

Kyrgyzstan’s First Satellite to Launch Aboard SpaceX Falcon 9

Kyrgyzstan plans to send its first national satellite into low Earth orbit on October 1. The roughly five-kilogram spacecraft, developed over about two and a half years, is due to launch from California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. President Sadyr Japarov has arrived in Los Angeles to attend events marking the launch, Kabar reported on October 1, citing the presidential administration. SpaceX is targeting October 1 for its Transporter-18 mission, a dedicated rideshare launch for small satellites, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The 58-minute launch window opens at 11:18 a.m. Pacific Time, or 12:18 a.m. on October 2 in Bishkek. A backup opportunity is available the following day. Falcon 9 is scheduled to carry 130 payloads, including CubeSats and microsatellites. Under SpaceX’s rideshare model, several customers share capacity on the same rocket, making access to low Earth orbit more affordable for smaller countries. SpaceX does not separately name the Kyrgyz spacecraft in its published launch description. The satellite, equipped with high-resolution cameras, was unveiled on September 24 at the Lenin Plant in Bishkek. About 10 Kyrgyz engineers worked on the spacecraft, which is estimated to have cost 10–12 million soms, or approximately $115,000–140,000. Ilya Cherny, director of Kyrgyz Electronics, previously said that most of the technologies used were Russian. Developing all of the satellite’s systems from scratch, he said, would have taken considerably longer. The project also involves state-owned Kyrgyz Asman, which Kyrgyz authorities describe as the company responsible for developing and assembling the spacecraft. The satellite is intended for Earth observation. Its imagery is expected to be used to monitor crops and pastures for signs of drought and assess the effects of natural disasters. For mountainous Kyrgyzstan, satellite data are particularly important for monitoring water resources and glaciers because mountain rivers provide irrigation for farmland and feed the country’s hydropower system. Having its own spacecraft would give Kyrgyzstan an additional source of data on areas that are difficult to monitor from the ground. The developers say Kyrgyzstan may eventually need four or five satellites to meet these monitoring needs. Kazakhstan already operates communications and Earth-observation satellites, while Uzbekistan is also expanding its space program. In August, a Chinese-built satellite named Samarkand-2028 entered orbit carrying an artificial intelligence module developed by Uzbek engineers. Uzbekcosmos, the country’s space agency, has stressed that the spacecraft is not Uzbekistan’s national satellite. Uzbek engineers are separately working on the 6U-format Mirzo Ulugbek scientific satellite, which is planned for launch in 2028.

4 weeks ago

Galkynysh gas field

Turkmenistan Expands Galkynysh Gas Field With $5.1 Billion Fourth Phase

Turkmenistan has renewed its focus on the $5.1 billion fourth phase of the Galkynysh gas field, with Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov telling the Halk Maslahaty on September 23 that the expansion would increase gas production and boost the country’s export capacity. The CNPC-built project, launched in April, is expected to add ten billion cubic meters of commercial gas capacity a year. The fourth phase involves drilling production wells and building a commercial gas treatment facility. CNPC is also responsible for gas gathering and treatment systems, pipelines, and related infrastructure. Although CNPC is building the project, Turkmenistan is financing the expansion itself. In March, state-owned Türkmengaz was authorized to sign a turnkey design-and-construction contract with CNPC Amudarya Petroleum Company Ltd. Work on the fourth phase officially began on April 17. Galkynysh, in southeastern Turkmenistan, is one of the world’s largest gas fields and is central to Ashgabat’s plans to expand gas exports. China remains the main buyer of Turkmen gas, with supplies flowing through the Central Asia-China gas pipeline via Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Beijing imports around 30 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas annually, so the planned additional capacity at Galkynysh would be roughly one-third of current annual supplies to China. Turkmenistan has not said how the additional ten billion cubic meters will be divided between domestic use and exports, or which export routes would carry any additional volumes. One potential outlet is TAPI, the planned Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline, with a design capacity of 33 billion cubic meters per year. Construction of the 153-kilometer section from the Turkmen border toward Herat began in September 2024. By mid-September 2026, 122.3 kilometers of pipe had been welded and laid in Herat Province. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, construction of TAPI is advancing in Herat, while Turkmenistan is exploring supplying gas to the local Afghan market before the full pipeline reaches Pakistan and India. No timetable has been announced for extending the route beyond Herat.

4 weeks ago

Korean Heritage

K-PARK: A Space for Memory, Gratitude, and Cooperation

In the history of every nation, some places come to mean more than their architecture, squares, or parks. They become part of a country’s collective memory, preserving the experiences of previous generations while looking toward the future. K-PARK, an international cultural and business center under development in Alatau City, is designed to be such a space. The foundation stone was laid on September 12, 2025. The project was initiated by the Association of Koreans of Kazakhstan and is timed to coincide with the 90th anniversary of the Korean presence in Kazakhstan, marked in 2027. K-PARK is the first investment project in this new city, weaving the history of one of Kazakhstan’s ethnic groups into the fabric of a city still being built. Memory of an Arduous Journey The history of the Koryo-saram in Kazakhstan is inseparable from the tragic deportation of 1937, when most were forcibly relocated from the Soviet Far East to Central Asia. For the first generation of deportees, Kazakhstan was an unknown land to which they arrived against their will. Over subsequent generations, the Koreans of Kazakhstan became an integral part of the country’s society, contributing to agriculture and industry as well as to science and medicine. They became active in education and culture, in business and civic life. The approaching 90th anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on this journey, and K-PARK is designed to give that memory a spatial form. Plans include a memorial of gratitude to the Kazakh people and a Garden of Identity. A dedicated Koryo-saram area would use historical reconstructions and a traditional Korean hanok house to tell the community’s story; museum and exhibition spaces would offer further context. Gratitude as a Component of Historical Memory The collective memory of Kazakhstan’s Koryo-saram community preserves many stories from the early years following the deportation, including accounts of harsh living conditions and of help from the local population. The project’s creators describe K-PARK as a symbol of respect and gratitude toward the Kazakh people and Kazakh land. Remembering the deportation therefore has another dimension: the solidarity of those who helped the displaced and the capacity of different peoples to coexist. K-PARK seeks to preserve the memory of a traumatic past and show how an ordeal endured can become a foundation for mutual respect and constructive action. From Ethnic Park to Open Public Space K-PARK is not intended to be solely a Korean ethno-cultural site. The planned cultural and business center will accommodate conferences and exhibitions. Its library and interactive museum would offer other ways to encounter the community’s history. Outside, a 5,000-seat amphitheater and sports and children’s playgrounds would provide space for performances and recreation. The official concept also envisions public events and international gatherings. For Koryo-saram, it can serve as a place to preserve historical memory and pass it on to new generations. For other Kazakhstanis, it offers a space to learn about the history of the country’s Korean community and its place in Kazakhstan’s wider history. In September 2026, Yuriy Tskhay, chairman...

4 weeks ago

Archaeological Heritage

Paleolithic Sites and Pamir Petroglyphs Added to Tajikistan UNESCO Tentative List

Tajikistan has added two groups of archaeological sites to UNESCO’s World Heritage Tentative List: Paleolithic sites in southern Tajikistan documenting early human occupation, and petroglyph complexes in the high-altitude Pamirs. Tajik authorities announced the additions on September 21, although both entries were submitted to UNESCO on June 19, 2026. The first group comprises Kuldara, Lohuti, Obi Mazor, and Khonakho in the Khovaling district of southern Tajikistan’s Khatlon region. UNESCO describes the archaeological complex as one of the most significant Paleolithic heritage areas in Central Asia. The sites provide evidence of early human occupation and adaptation to mountainous and semi-arid environments and help researchers study the dispersal of early human populations across Eurasia. Kuldara is particularly significant. According to UNESCO, the site preserves cultural layers dating to the Lower and Middle Paleolithic periods and has yielded numerous stone tools. Together with the neighboring sites, the complex documents different stages of early human history and changes in stone-tool technology. The second group lies nearly at the opposite end of the country, in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO), which covers much of eastern Tajikistan and the Pamirs. The nomination includes five petroglyph complexes: Langar, Darshair, Shakhta, Nayzatash, and Bakhmaljilga. The rock carvings were created over thousands of years, from the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods through the Bronze and Iron Ages and into the medieval period. They depict ibex, argali sheep, deer and predators, as well as human figures, hunting scenes, symbolic compositions, and geometric motifs. The hunting scenes and other images give archaeologists a record of life in high-mountain communities. They also document cultural contacts in the Pamirs, a region that has long stood at a crossroads between Central, South, and East Asia and the Iranian cultural sphere. UNESCO's Tentative List is an inventory of properties a country intends to consider for future nomination. A property must first appear on that list before the country can formally nominate it for World Heritage status. With the two additions, Tajikistan now has 18 properties on its Tentative List. Five properties in the country are already inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. They include Sarazm, a settlement dating from the fourth to the third millennium BCE near Panjakent; the Cultural Heritage Sites of Ancient Khuttal in southern Tajikistan; and Tajik National Park, which encompasses a vast area of the Pamir Mountains. Archaeological finds in southern Tajikistan include a royal seal from the Kushan period. Around two millennia ago, the Kushan Empire extended across parts of present-day Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and northern India.

4 weeks ago

Central Asia-U.S. Relations

Opinion: Central Asia Is More Than Minerals

For years, Central Asia was one of those regions that Washington periodically rediscovered and then forgot. Officials visited and announced new initiatives, but the relationship hardly changed. That is no longer the case. Many pundits see the current surge of American interest in Central Asia through the lens of transactional foreign policy: nowadays the focus has been on critical minerals, supply-chain security, and competition with China. Valid so far as it goes, this approach misses the larger story. Central Asia is not suddenly important because of its minerals or because Washington has decided that it is. Increasingly, Washington must pay attention to Central Asia because the region itself is changing, and in largely positive directions. Over three decades, American investors largely dismissed the region as too poorly governed and too distant. Now the region itself is working to change the conditions that made it unattractive. The transformation is far from complete, but it is real. When the Central Asian states emerged from the Soviet Union in 1991, they faced grave disadvantages. State enterprises dominated their economies, and they fell short of Western investors’ expectations in both the rule of law and transparency. While such problems have not disappeared, they are everywhere being worked on. Uzbekistan provides the clearest example. Since 2017, Tashkent has undertaken reforms to liberalize its economy and improve the environment for private investment. The World Bank now describes Uzbekistan as one of the world's top reformers. Kazakhstan has also built more sophisticated financial and regulatory institutions. Its goal is to position itself as a regional hub for logistics, energy, and finance. The World Bank's new 2026–31 country strategy emphasizes a "business-ready Kazakhstan," with greater private-sector participation, improved infrastructure, and better natural-resource management. The pace of change in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan has been slower, for understandable reasons. Kyrgyzstan’s early political reforms long left the government rudderless, Tajikistan endured a five-year civil war, and Turkmenistan was stymied by Russia’s total control of its gas industry. Now these countries, too, are belatedly advancing. Central Asia has not become Switzerland. Corruption, political interference, and governance problems still afflict the countries’ economies, and the OECD continues to identify these as important obstacles to investment. The question is not whether Central Asia has solved these problems but whether it has changed enough to become investable. The answer increasingly is yes, it has. Moscow's offensive in Ukraine accelerated changes Washington had sought for decades. Secondary sanctions compelled Central Asians to develop new commercial avenues not subject to international restrictions. While Central Asian governments maintain important relations with Russia, they all seek pragmatic alternatives that reduce their former reliance on Moscow. The countries are expanding regional cooperation while reaching across the Caspian to the South Caucasus and beyond. The resulting Middle Corridor promises direct access to global markets. The measure of its success will be whether Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan gain trans-Caspian pipelines to transport their resources directly to Europe. In short, Central Asia is doing what Washington has long wanted it to do: become more...

4 weeks ago

Investment Forum

Ashgabat Hosts Turkmenistan Investment Forum This Week

Turkmenistan’s government says it expects more than 800 participants from dozens of countries to attend an investment conference in Ashgabat this week. A diverse group of more than 100 speakers is expected to participate in the Turkmenistan Investment Forum on October 1–2, including Saudi Prince Mansour bin Mohammed Al Saud, Deputy Trade Minister Mahmut Gürcan of Turkey, and Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan of Armenia. The forum is being organized by Turkmenistan’s finance and foreign ministries, in partnership with Turkmen Congress, a company that organizes international forums and other events. It aims to highlight the country as a place of untapped economic potential, endowed with “the world’s fourth-largest natural gas reserves, a steadily diversifying economy, and major infrastructure modernization underway,” according to conference organizers. Turkmenistan is seeking to expand its role as a transit point on the Middle Corridor, a trade network linking China and Central Asia to Europe via rail and marine infrastructure. Even so, foreign investors have long had concerns about tight government controls, opaque bureaucracy, and other challenges in the Central Asian country. Delegates to the forum at the Yyldyz Hotel in Turkmenistan’s capital will discuss diversification of export routes for oil and gas, development of the Trans-Caspian Transit Corridor, public-private partnerships, agriculture, and the efficient use of natural resources. Representatives from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and other international institutions will participate.

1 month ago

Economic Growth

Central Asia Growth Forecasts Remain Strong in Latest ADB Outlook

Four of Central Asia’s five economies are expected to grow faster in 2026 than developing Asia and the Pacific as a whole, according to the Asian Development Bank’s September Asian Development Outlook. ADB forecasts growth of 5% across developing Asia and the Pacific this year, compared with 8.9% in Kyrgyzstan, 7% in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and 6.3% in Turkmenistan. Kazakhstan is the exception, with growth forecast at 4.8%. Kyrgyzstan is growing faster than its neighbors but is also facing the highest inflation among the five countries. ADB forecasts inflation at 11.2% this year and 8.5% next year. Growth continues to be supported by domestic demand and sustained investment, while ADB says import dependence and electricity-generation shortfalls are contributing to inflationary pressures. For Uzbekistan, ADB forecasts gross domestic product growth of 7% and inflation of 6.7% in 2026. In 2027, the figures are expected to be 6.8% and 5%, respectively. Stronger-than-expected economic activity prompted ADB to upgrade Uzbekistan’s 2026 growth forecast in its September outlook. Tajikistan is also forecast to grow by 7% in 2026, with inflation at 4.5%. Growth is expected to slow to 6.8% in 2027, while inflation is forecast to edge up to 4.7%. ADB lowered its 2026 growth projection in September, saying the escalation of Russia’s war in Ukraine had disrupted fuel imports and constrained near-term economic activity. Kazakhstan, the region’s largest economy, is growing more slowly than its neighbors. ADB expects growth of 4.8% this year and 4.5% next year, with inflation forecast at 10.4% and 9.5%, respectively. The bank left its growth and inflation forecasts unchanged from its previous outlook, with inflation expected to ease only gradually. For Turkmenistan, ADB forecasts growth of 6.3% in 2026 and 6.2% in 2027, with inflation at 6% in both years. The country’s economic indicators remain more difficult to compare with those of its neighbors because of limited access to reliable and detailed economic data. Its economy also remains heavily dependent on natural gas exports, with China its main gas market. Central Asia’s growth figures look strong against the Asian backdrop, but ADB is warning of energy and climate risks across developing Asia and the Pacific. Prolonged disruption to global energy markets could keep oil and gas prices elevated and volatile. For energy importers, that means higher fuel costs and additional inflationary pressure, while hydrocarbon exporters may benefit from higher prices but remain vulnerable to disruption in production and export routes. Another risk is a very strong El Niño, which ADB expects to persist through the first quarter of 2027. Extreme weather could reduce agricultural production and push up food prices, while a decline in hydropower generation could increase demand for other energy sources. For Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, where hydropower supplies most electricity, weather and water availability add another layer of vulnerability. The differences between forecasts for the region remain substantial. In August, The Times of Central Asia compared projections from international financial institutions. The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) forecast 2026 growth of 10.2% for Kyrgyzstan, 8.3% for Tajikistan,...

1 month ago

AI Education

Opinion: Kazakhstan Is Betting on AI to Close Its Rural Education Gap. Is the Infrastructure Ready?

PISA 2022 exposed a persistent divide between Kazakhstan’s urban and rural schools. Students in rural schools trailed their urban counterparts by 18 points in mathematical literacy and 26 points in science. The gaps had narrowed since 2018, but they remained substantial. Kazakhstan is now betting that artificial intelligence can help narrow them further. On September 1, the government launched a pilot project in ten small rural schools in the Pavlodar and Kyzylorda regions. More than 50 fourth-grade students are taking part. The project is expected to expand in stages to about 2,600 small rural schools by July 2028. The potential is considerable. Students in remote communities can gain access to stronger teaching, more varied educational material, and learning tools that respond to their individual needs. But AI will not close Kazakhstan’s rural education gap by itself. Its success will depend on something less glamorous: reliable infrastructure and teachers who are properly prepared to use it. What AI Can Do, and What Distance Learning Does President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has argued that digital technology can help reduce differences in educational opportunity between cities and the regions. In his 2025 State of the Nation Address, he called for a small-school model based on distance learning and AI that would give rural students access to high-quality educational materials. The distinction between those two elements is important. In the current Qazaq Digital Mektebi model, experienced teachers in Astana deliver live online lessons from a specially equipped studio, while local teachers remain in the classroom to support students. That is distance learning. The AI layer has a different role: it analyzes students’ responses, identifies gaps in their knowledge, and helps teachers determine who needs additional support. This combination could be particularly valuable in small rural schools. Kazakhstan has about 2,600 such schools, and some classes have only five or six students. Recruiting an experienced specialist for every subject is difficult in many remote communities. Online teaching can widen access to expertise, while AI can help make that teaching more responsive to individual students. Used well, AI can assess a student’s pace, identify areas of weakness, and adjust exercises to an appropriate level. That could help move schools away from a uniform approach in which every student receives the same material regardless of progress. It can also give local teachers more information about where additional attention is needed. But this should not be confused with replacing teachers. The most promising feature of the pilot is precisely that it combines technology with human instruction. AI can process patterns in student performance, but teachers still have to interpret those signals, understand the child, and decide how to respond. Infrastructure Comes Before Ambition That model depends on infrastructure that cannot be taken for granted. Around 67% of Kazakhstan’s schools are in rural areas, and roughly half of those are classified as small-enrollment schools. Digital education therefore has to work across a large and geographically dispersed network. Internet access has improved significantly, but connection quality remains uneven. In August 2025, Prime...

1 month ago

Abraham Accords

Kazakhstan Takes Part in Abraham Accords Meeting as Trump-Promised Signing Awaits

Kazakhstan took part for the first time in an official meeting of Abraham Accords countries on September 24 in New York, as Washington works to revive and expand the framework after nearly three years of disruption following the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel. The meeting brought together officials from the United States, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. It was the first official gathering of the group since October 2023 and was hosted by the N7 Foundation during the UN General Assembly. U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker led the American delegation. Kazakhstan is the first Central Asian and first non-Arab Muslim-majority country to join the Abraham Accords, extending a framework originally built around normalization between Israel and Arab states into Central Asia. Erzhan Kazykhan, Special Representative of the President of Kazakhstan for Negotiations with the United States, told CBS News that “We see the Accords as a platform to reinforce political dialogue across the Middle East and neighboring regions,” adding that Kazakhstan sees opportunities to expand trade and investment, strengthen connectivity, promote technological cooperation and create tangible economic opportunities. Kazakhstan and Israel already have longstanding relations. The two countries established diplomatic relations on April 10, 1992 and have maintained embassies and bilateral cooperation for more than three decades. Economic cooperation has been part of the framework from the beginning. The original Israel-UAE Abraham Accords agreement identified energy, agriculture and food security, water, technology and investment among the areas for cooperation. N7 founder Jeffrey Talpins said the next stage should focus on strengthening existing relationships and finding practical areas where participating countries can work together. He said the Accords show what countries can achieve through shared interests and a common vision for a more integrated and prosperous region. During bilateral talks with Israel earlier this year, Kazakhstan and Israel discussed possible joint projects in high-tech agriculture, water resource management and digital technologies. Kazakhstan is also important to energy and critical-mineral supply chains. It is the world’s largest uranium producer and an increasingly important U.S. partner on critical minerals and secure supply chains. Within Central Asia, Kazakhstan accounts for 56.4% of the region’s combined GDP and 66.4% of its inward foreign direct investment stock. Kazakhstan is also a transport and logistics link between Central Asia, the South Caucasus and Europe, giving connectivity another practical role in its participation in the Accords. Signing Ceremony Still Pending Kazakhstan announced its accession after President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in November 2025. Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry subsequently announced the country’s accession, describing the decision as consistent with its balanced and peaceful foreign policy and reiterating support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Trump highlighted Kazakhstan’s entry at a dinner with the five Central Asian presidents on November 6. He said Kazakhstan had “officially joined the Abraham Accords” and described it as “a tremendous country with a tremendous leader”. Trump also said a formal ceremony would follow. “We will soon announce...

1 month ago

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