BISHKEK (TCA) — In its 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released on January 27, Transparency International ranked 168 countries based on perceived levels of public-sector corruption. The most corrupt countries in Central Asia, according to the index, were Afghanistan (ranked 166th), Turkmenistan (156th), and Uzbekistan (153rd).
BISHKEK (TCA) — The European Commission has approved the release of EUR 15 million as part of the EU’s Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) programme for the Kyrgyz Republic, the Delegation of the European Union to the Kyrgyz Republic said on January 27.
DUSHANBE (TCA) — Tajikistan President Emomali Rakhmon has appointed his elder daughter, Ozoda Rakhmon, as head of the presidential administration. The appointment was announced on January 27, the president’s website said.
BISHKEK (TCA) — The World Bank has lowered its 2016 forecast for crude oil prices to $37 per barrel in its latest Commodity Markets Outlook report from $51 per barrel in its October projections. Low oil prices hit oil-producing countries in Central Asia, mainly Kazakhstan, and Russia.
BISHKEK (TCA) — The year 2016 will not be less difficult than last year as external risks continue to persist, Kyrgyzstan’s Economy Minister Arzybek Kojoshev told a news conference on the country’s results in 2015 and tasks for 2016, the press service of the Economy Ministry said.
DUSHANBE (TCA) — In 2015 gold reserves of the National Bank of Tajikistan grew 40 percent and the total gold and foreign-currency reserves increased by 28 percent, National Bank Chairman Jamshed Nurmakhmadzoda told reporters in Dushanbe on January 26, Avesta news agency reported.
