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NUR-SULTAN (TCA) — The Government session on September 17, chaired by Prime Minister Askar Mamin, discussed measures to improve the position of Kazakhstan in the World Bank’s Doing Business ranking and other international ratings, the press service of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported.
TCA
BISHKEK (TCA) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $50 million policy-based grant for the first subprogram of the Promoting Economic Diversification Program, which supports the Government of Kyrgyzstan’s efforts to diversify the economy through reforms aimed at improving the country’s trade and investment competitiveness, small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) development, public–private partnerships, and the link between skills development and industry needs, the ADB country office in Kyrgyzstan said on September 17.
“The Kyrgyz Republic has the potential to achieve economic growth that is more sustainable, broad-based, and inclusive, but this is only possible if it maintains efforts to implement critical structural reforms that will help the economy transition to a more dynamic and globally oriented market economy,” said the Director of Public Management, Financial Sector, and Trade for ADB’s Central and West Asia Department Mr. Tariq Niazi. “ADB’s assistance will help the government to gradually reduce the economy’s reliance on gold extraction and remittances and strengthen the foundation for the creation of new businesses and jobs for the people of the Kyrgyz Republic.”
The Promoting Economic Diversification Program, which comprises two subprograms of $50 million each in 2019 and 2021, will support the government’s efforts to implement four high priority reform areas from the country’s National Development Strategy, 2018–2040: (1) trade and investment competitiveness reforms to develop the non-mineral sector and diversify exports and investments; (2) SME development reforms to broaden the economic base and promote entrepreneurship; (3) public–private partnership reforms to develop the country’s social and economic infrastructure; and (4) industry-linked skills development and training reforms to better equip graduates and workers to meet labor market needs.
ADB has been helping the government implement its economic diversification reforms since 2007. “Despite many challenges, including macroeconomic shocks and political crises that have slowed reform implementation, ADB’s annual country performance assessments demonstrate that the Kyrgyz Republic has made solid progress in improving the quality of its policies and institutions,” said ADB Country Director for the Kyrgyz Republic Ms. Candice McDeigan. “ADB’s strong partnership with the government will help efforts to progressively tackle more complex and challenging reforms in the future.”
TCA
KABUL (TCA) — A four-member Taliban delegation has traveled to Tehran for talks with high-ranking Iranian officials — the second such trip by the militants to a foreign country just days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that peace talks with the United States had collapsed, RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan reported.
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TERMEZ, Uzbekistan (TCA) — U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan Daniel Rosenblum and Uzbekistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Ismatulla Irgashev, on September 15 participated in an equipment handover ceremony at the Friendship Bridge connecting Afghanistan to Uzbekistan. The radiation detection equipment, provided by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA), will help Uzbekistan combat the smuggling of radioactive material at an important international border crossing point, the US Embassy in Uzbekistan said.
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ASHGABAT (TCA) — On September 18, U.S. Ambassador to Turkmenistan Matthew Klimow will visit the historic site of the Dayahatyn Caravanserai in Lebap region to mark the completion of the second phase of the Dayahatyn Caravanserai preservation project, a partnership between the United States Embassy in Turkmenistan and the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan, the embassy said.
TCA
TASHKENT (TCA) — In 2019, Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent for the first time became an official participant in the European Mobility Week, which takes place annually from September 16 to 22 and in which about 50 countries around the world take part. The initiators of the events within the framework of the European Mobility Week in Tashkent are the Hokimiyat (Municipality) of Tashkent city with the support of the Delegation of the European Union in Uzbekistan.
