TCA
NUR-SULTAN (TCA) — A letter of intent was signed on June 20 between the International Green Technologies and Investment Projects Center (IGTIPC) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
TCA
NUR-SULTAN (TCA) — The Astana International Financial Center (AIFC), Kazakhstan’s regional financial services hub, says it is keen to attract Chinese investment in the Belt and Road Initiative projects and medium-sized enterprises in central Eurasia countries, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.
TCA
DUSHANBE (TCA) — Two projects that aim to address fragility risks and increase social resilience in Tajikistan’s vulnerable regions were approved on June 20 by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors. The grant financing of $30 million for the Rural Economy Development Project and $37 million for the Socio-Economic Resilience Strengthening Project were allocated from the International Development Association’s (IDA) Risk Mitigation Regime. The projects will be implemented in Tajikistan’s southern Khatlon region and eastern Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO), which both border Afghanistan.
TCA
BISHKEK (TCA) — The Kyrgyz parliament on June 20 voted to strip former President Almazbek Atambayev of immunity from prosecution amid a growing power struggle in the Central Asian nation.
The lawmakers approved the resolution 100-to-5 amid claims Atambayev abused his powers while in office. The vote follows a rash of arrests of former officials close to Atambayev as his successor seeks to consolidate power, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported.
Atambayev ruled Kyrgyzstan for a six-year term that ended in 2017, helping pass the reigns of power to his former prime minister, Sooronbai Jeenbekov.
While Atambayev expected Jeenbekov would continue his policies, his successor quickly turned against him.
A parliamentary commission this week accused Atambayev of six counts of misconduct, including corruption, prompting the June 20 vote to strip him of immunity.
The process of removing the former president’s immunity could take two weeks, lawmaker Kanybek Imanaliev said.
The June 20 decision comes as Jeenbekov’s government pursues officials close to the former president.
Kyrgyz authorities earlier this month arrested Manasbek Arabaev, the ex-chief of the presidential office’s department for judicial system reform, on corruption charges.
Sapar Isakov and Jantoro Satybaldiev, both of whom served as prime minister under Atambayev, have also been charged with corruption.
Earlier, Kyrgyz authorities arrested Adamkul Junusov, the former customs chief, and Ikramjan Ilmiyanov, a former adviser, on similar charges.
TCA
BISHKEK (TCA) — Kyrgyz authorities have launched an investigation into a heroin-smuggling case after customs officials at the German-Polish border discovered 670 kilograms of heroin in a truck that was meant to be transporting sweets to Belgium from a Bishkek-based company, RFE/RL reported.
TCA
TASHKENT (TCA) — A U.S. Department of Commerce Certified Trade Mission featuring 13 major US companies is visiting Tashkent this week to learn more about the business and investment climate in Uzbekistan, and to meet with top Uzbek government officials, American Chamber of Commerce members, state enterprises and other Uzbek companies, the US Embassy in Uzbekistan said on June 18. The certified trade mission fulfills a pledge made by US Commerce Department Secretary Wilbur Ross to Uzbek President Mirziyoyev during his visit to Tashkent last fall.
The group, which includes representatives from globally recognized U.S. firms GE, Bechtel, Procter & Gamble, and John Deere, hopes to identify possible trade and investment opportunities.
“While U.S.-Uzbekistan trade has more than doubled from approximately $150 million in 2017 to over $300 million in 2018, significant opportunities exist to strengthen commercial and economic ties,” Commerce Secretary Ross stated.
“Uzbekistan’s economic landscape is changing rapidly, thanks to ambitious reform efforts by the Government of Uzbekistan. More and more American businesses are exploring opportunities in the Uzbek market. We encourage deeper and broader contacts between the U.S. and Uzbek private sectors,” said U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Daniel Rosenblum. “The many business sectors represented by the trade mission participants reflect the growing trade and investment opportunities in Uzbekistan as this country seeks to diversify its economy and leverage its strategic geography in the heart of Central Asia,” he added.
The trade mission kicked off with a briefing from U.S. Ambassador Rosenblum and senior Uzbek government officials, led by the Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Sardor Umurzakov. Ministers from Energy, Transportation, and Health presented investment opportunities in their sectors and answered questions asked by the delegation of the trade mission.
“The United States of America is a strategic partner of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Further expansion of mutually beneficial trade and economic, investment, financial and scientific and technical cooperation between our countries is one of the key aspects to strengthen bilateral ties. I am convinced that events like this serve to strengthen contacts and trust between the business communities of our countries and helps find new areas of cooperation,” said Sardor Umurzakov, Uzbek Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade.
