ASTANA (TCA) — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says Iran can be the shortest route for Uzbekistan’s exporters to access the Persian Gulf and international waters, Iran’s PressTV news agency reports. Rouhani made the remarks in a meeting with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the sidelines of the first Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit on science and technology in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, on September 10.

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ASTANA (TCA) — The 11th KAZENERGY Eurasian Forum was held in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana on September 7 and 8, as one of the key events of the International Specialized Exhibition EXPO-2017 ‘Energy of the Future’ which was held in Astana from 10 June until 10 September. The main theme of the KAZENERGY Forum was ‘Creating the Energy of the Future’.

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ASTANA (TCA) — Nine investment documents for a total of $590 million were signed between Kazakhstan and the largest Turkish holdings, such as Calik Holding, Yildirim Holding, Yildizlar SSS Holding, and Agrobest Group, on September 9 in Astana, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported.

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BISHKEK (TCA) — As part of its Belt and Road initiative, China is boosting its economic and transport cooperation with Iran, which will be used as a transport and logistics hub for China’s trade with Turkey and Europe. This creates new opportunities for Central Asia countries, which would increase the transit of Chinese goods by rail to Iran. We are republishing this commentary by Tristan Kenderdine on the issue, originally published by EurasiaNet.org:

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BISHKEK (TCA) — Uzbekistan’s president’s statement that his country is ready to take part in building a major hydropower plant located upstream in Kyrgyzstan was perhaps the most important result of Mirziyoyev’s visit to Bishkek. However, it remains to be seen if the words will translate into actions. We are republishing this article on the issue, originally published by EurasiaNet.org:

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BISHKEK (TCA) — The Publisher’s note: Central Asia is an important geopolitical area between Europe, Russia and China. It is in Central Asia that world powers have confronted each other for centuries; it is here that China needs to succeed with its new Silk Road Belt for direct access to the Western markets; and it is here that a large wealth of raw materials has its origin. Every week thousands of news appears all over the world in printed and online media and it is quite understandable that many of them may escape the attention of busy readers. At The Times of Central Asia, we strongly believe that more information can better contribute to peaceful development and better knowledge of the region, and for this reason we are presenting this Weekly Digest of Central Asia which compiles what other media have reported during the past week.

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