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ASTANA (TCA) — At a press conference on September 5, the First Vice Minister for Investment and Development Alik Aidarbayev explained the reasons for the high energy intensity of Kazakhstan’s economy, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported.
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ASTANA (TCA) — The Chairman of the Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan, Timur Kulibayev, and Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) Governor Kairat Kelimbetov on September 5 signed a Cooperation Agreement between Atameken and AIFC aimed at uniting efforts to bring Kazakhstan’s business to the level of international standards, Atameken reported.
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BISHKEK (TCA) — During his official visit to Kyrgyzstan on September 5, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said that the two countries have reached serious agreements on water issues and on construction of hydro power plants in Kyrgyzstan — particularly the Kambarata HPP on the Naryn River.
“We are ready to take the most active part, including financial… We need the construction of Kambarata, this power plant is needed [by both countries],” Mirziyoyev said following his talks with Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz presidential press service reported.
Atambayev called Mirziyoyev’s visit to Bishkek a “historic event for both nations.”
“Both the Kyrgyz and Uzbek people have been waiting for this visit for more than 20 years. [This visit] will solve many issues as it opens a new era, a new epoch in the relations between our two nations,” Atambayev said.
Mirziyoyev called Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan’s “strategic partner,” adding that Uzbekistan’s “priority now is improving ties with its neighbors.”
On September 5 Atambayev and Mirziyoyev signed an agreement on delimitation of 85 percent of the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border, Atambayev’s press service reported.
“We were convinced that we can agree if we want to and have a political will,” Atambayev said after the signing.
“We have to turn our [Uzbek-Kyrgyz] border into a border of friendship,” Mirziyoyev said.
Some 230 kilometers of the nearly 1,400-kilometer-long Uzbek-Kyrgyz border are still disputed between the two countries.
Mirziyoyev’s visit is the first official visit by an Uzbek president since late Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s trip in 2000.
Ties have been improving since Mirziyoyev came to power in September 2016 following the death of Karimov, who had ruled Uzbekistan with an iron fist since the Soviet era, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported.
During Karimov’s rule, Uzbekistan was at odds with its neighbors over issues ranging from border disputes and ethnic stand-offs to economic disagreements linked to water distribution and energy transportation across the region.
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ASTANA (TCA) — On September 5 the United Nations held a press conference to sum up the results of its participation in the international specialized exhibition EXPO-2017 “Future Energy” in Astana, Kazakhstan. EXPO brought together global leaders to assess where the world stands on sustainable energy and how to boost that agenda together.
LONDON (TCA) — In Central Asia job supplies do not match job demand since governments and their investment policy do not offer the required political stability and sufficient incentives to attract local and foreign investors. This simply means that migration of Kyrgyz, Tajik and Uzbek working forces toward Russia and in less number other countries is here to stay for quite a while.
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KABUL (TCA) — Representatives of Afghanistan, China, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan will meet within the next two months in Iran to discuss progress of a new railway project that will directly connect the five countries, Afghanistan Railway Authority said on September 4, TOLOnews agency reported.
The railway authority said the meeting will be convened so that concerned parties can discuss problems and construction progress.
According to the authority, technical and economic assessments of the first and second phases of the railway line in Afghanistan have been completed and that construction work will start soon.
The Afghan railway officials said that 50 percent of the total railway line will run through Afghanistan.
“A big part, almost 50 percent of the route, goes through Afghanistan. In fact, Afghanistan is the closest route to connect China and other countries to Iran’s ports,” the head of Afghanistan’s Railway Authority, Abdul Bari Sediqi said.
Meanwhile, the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) said once the railway line has been built, transit costs between the participating countries will decrease significantly.
“Two things are important in goods transit: the first one is time and the second one is cost. Less money and time will be spent if transportation is done by rail,” ACCI spokesman, Seyam Pesarlay, said.
The five-nation railway project that includes Iran, China, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan will eventually be 2,200 km long. In Afghanistan the railway will run from Kunduz to Herat province.
