TASHKENT (TCA) — Permanent Representative of Uzbekistan to the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva, Ulugbek Lapasov, on July 23 met with World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevêdo, the Jahon information agency reported.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, at the meeting, Roberto Azevêdo was handed over the updated Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime of the Republic of Uzbekistan, which, according to the head of the organization, marks the beginning of the official negotiation process of the country’s accession to the WTO. It was emphasized that for the first time in 15 years, Uzbekistan has prepared an official document for submission to WTO members, which will become a good basis for the entire negotiation process.

The Director-General also expressed full support for intensification by Uzbekistan of the accession process to the WTO and noted that large-scale reforms implemented under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev are a key factor for further development of the country’s foreign policy and foreign economic relations, as well as bringing normative-legal acts in accordance with the norms and regulations of the organization’s agreements.

Roberto Azevêdo assured that the WTO Secretariat will provide all necessary assistance and support to Uzbekistan in this process, including the successful holding of the next meeting of the Working Group on Uzbekistan’s accession to the WTO in 2019.

NUR-SULTAN (TCA) — The jailed former president of Kazakhstan’s uranium giant Kazatomprom, Mukhtar Dzhakishev, has been denied early release for the second time in months, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported.

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ASHGABAT (TCA) — Uzbekistan’s presidential press service said that Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov spoke by telephone with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev on July 24 to congratulate him on his birthday. The statement was the first official report about activity by Berdymukhammedov since July 21, when rumors on social media and unconfirmed reports by Russian news outlets claimed he had died.

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BISHKEK (TCA) — Kyrgyzstan’s former President Almazbek Atambayev, who faces five counts of criminally abusing his office when he held power from 2011 to 2017, has left Kyrgyzstan aboard a private jet headed to Moscow, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported.

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ASHGABAT (TCA) — The isolated and reclusive nature of Turkmenistan’s regime caused the situation in which false reports appeared over the past weekend of the Turkmen president’s death. This happened as Turkmenistan has experienced a severe economic crisis and has found itself in the center of geopolitical rivalry between the West, China, and Russia. We are republishing the following article on the issue, written by Paul Goble:

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BISHKEK (TCA) — Over 19,000 citizens of the Kyrgyz city of Cholpon-Ata will have regular access to safe drinking water and improved wastewater services thanks to a joint investment in the amount of €5.1 million provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Union, the EBRD said.

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