According to Uzbekistan’s Statistics Agency, in 2023 investments in the country’s fixed capital amounted to $28.5bn, with the share of foreign investment and loans in fixed capital reaching 53.4%.
The largest part of foreign investments and loans came from China (25.6% of the total). Russia was in second place (13.4%), Saudi Arabia was third (7.9%), followed by Turkey (6.4%), the United Arab Emirates (5.8%), and Germany (4.3%).
China has lifted restrictions on the import of poultry from Kazakhstan, as well as removing import restrictions related to foot-and-mouth disease in cattle, the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture has announced.
China’s ban on Kazakh poultry has been in place since 2005, and restrictions on the import of Kazakh meat due to foot-and-mouth disease concerns were introduced in 2022. The lifting of the restrictions allows exports of frozen beef and pork from the southeastern regions of Kazakhstan to resume, as well as of a wide range of poultry products.
The decision to lift the ban comes as a result of president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s visit to China last year, during which he raised this issue in talks with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
During 2023 China conducted a risk assessment for avian flu and foot-and-mouth disease in Kazakhstan. In December, specialists from the Chinese customs service and Ministry of Agriculture visited Kazakhstan to assess the country’s veterinary service, to make sure that it provides sufficient control over foot-and-mouth disease.
According to the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture, between January and October 2023 agricultural trade between Kazakhstan and China increased by 70% and exceeded $1bn, with Kazakh exports amounting to $811.1m.
Compared to 2022, Tajikistan imported 164,200 tons more oil products in 2023, an increase of 11.6%, Safarali Qurbanzoda, the Anti-Monopoly Service’s first deputy head has announced.
“According to the customs office, in 2023, 1,413,000 tons of oil products worth $892 million were imported into the republic with an average price of $631 dollars per ton. More precisely, 436,500 tons of diesel fuel, 348,100 tons of gasoline, 411,000 tons of liquefied gas and 218,000 tons of petroleum products were imported,” he stated at a press conference. Qurbanzoda added that 25.9 % of these products came from Kazakhstan, and 0.7 % from Russia, with the cost of purchases increasing by 20%.
Prices at gas stations in Tajikistan also increased throughout 2023. Buses in Khojand, the second-most populous city, were stopped in October 2023 because of a sharp spike in the cost of diesel fuel, according to a report from the regional portal, SugdNews. The anti-monopoly agency attributed the rise in domestic fuel prices to “increased prices in exporting countries.”
Kazakhstan and Great Britain will sign a Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (SPCA) in the near future, it was announced after a February 8th meeting between Kazakhstan’s deputy minister of foreign affairs, Roman Vassilenko, and the British ambassador to Kazakhstan Kathy Leach.
Mr. Vassilenko commented that the SPCA will contribute to the further growth of Kazakh-UK strategic cooperation, and pave the way for new trade and investment links.
The deputy minister and the British ambassador pointed out the positive evolution of political dialogue between the countries, growth in trade and economic relations, as well as cultural ties. They also spoke of their progress working together in the fields of science and education, including in attracting British universities to take an interest in Kazakhstan.
The United Kingdom is one of Kazakhstan’s most important trade partners and investors, with bilateral trade turnover in 2023 amounting to $1.2bn.
The Ecology Department of the Tashkent Region has inspected the Novo-Angren thermal power plant (TPP) and found violations related to the emission of harmful substances and the insufficient efficiency of dust and gas cleaning equipment. It was discovered that emissions exceeded the established norms, and the efficiency of the equipment had decreased by 80%.
These violations resulted in significant air pollution. In addition, the dumping of industrial waste in unsanctioned places was identified. In total, over a billion som ($80,000) of damage was caused.
To prevent further atmospheric pollution, a plan of urgent measures was developed to improve the efficiency of dust and gas cleaning equipment. In addition, with regard to 11 officials from TPP, relevant documents were sent to law enforcement authorities to take any necessary legal measures.
Karaganda activists insist on returning Nursultan Nazarbayev Avenue to its former name, Peace Boulevard, which it bore until 2019. However, the authorities refused to coordinate eight pickets planned in different parts of the city. For example, in one place, near the Stanislavsky Theater, they explained the reason for their refusal as “snow removal.” Reasons for the other refusals remain unknown, as representatives of the Akimat redirected journalists from one employee to another for two days. The actions were to be held near monuments and state institutions on February 17th.
The organizer of the action, Aitkozha Fazylov, said that if the proposed place is not suitable for the actions, the authorities are obliged to offer an alternative option. He also said that he had already been refused approval for the picket fifteen times already
According to him, Zhumabai Iskakov, another organizer of the action, the deputy akim of Karaganda explained their refusal by stating that holding a picket could lead to uncontrolled actions, whilst the removal of snow from the area was again cited as the second reason. However, according to Iskakov, sooner or later the renaming will happen anyway, so if people are already coming forward with this proposal the process should not be delayed.
In September 2022, having briefly been renamed Nursultan after the former president, the capital of Kazakhstan returned to its former moniker of Astana. But whilst monuments to Nazarbayev are now actively being removed, the fact that there has been no official decision on reversing the renaming of streets in regional cities remains a cause for consternation.
