ASTANA (TCA) — Tourism is becoming one of the leading sectors of Kazakhstan’s economy and one of the drivers of economic diversification. In Kazakhstan, the E-tourism portal will be launched, the Gamification of Sacred Sites project via a mobile application will begin. In Almaty region, it is planned to open a Disney park with Kazakh color. Rashid Kuzembaev, chairman of Kazakh Tourism national company, told about this in an interview with PrimeMinister.kz.

Kuzembaev said that in order to stimulate domestic tourism, Kazakh Tourism will implement the project “Gamification of Sacred Sites” through a mobile application. “The target audience is young people. Most of the sacred places in the country are far from cities, where there is a weak undeveloped infrastructure. It takes a considerable amount of time to make them interesting and convenient for tourists. And due to stimulation through gaming, we can interest young people to start visiting these sacred places,” he said.

Asked about what can attract foreign investors to the tourism industry in Kazakhstan, Kuzembaev said the country should rely on eco- and ethno-tourism. “We should hold festivals. They must be international and appear on the calendar of international events. This year we plan to hold a festival of nomadic culture ‘Uly Dala Ruhy’ near Astana in the framework of celebrating the 20th anniversary of the capital. Representatives of 10 countries will take part in it. Among them are Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey, the countries of Central Asia.”

As for projects involving foreign investment, Kuzembaev said that this should be thematic entertainment parks. “There is a very interesting project, which is planned for implementation in the Almaty region. We have previously met with potential investors – with the Shanghai Shendi Group, which implemented the ambitious Disney Park project in Shanghai, which is the most modern and most technologically advanced park of the six that exist. They are interested. We want a thematic color, which will be connected with historical persons, nomadic culture of Kazakhs in our Disney park,” Kuzembaev said.

He added that now the project is at the stage of concept, the master plan, but the initiator of the project has already concluded a memorandum with the administration of Almaty region on allocation of land, and work is currently under way to develop a feasibility study.

ASTANA (TCA) — At the meeting of Kazakhstan’s Government on January 30, Minister of National Economy Timur Suleimenov and Chairman of the National Bank Daniyar Akishev reported on the main directions of the country’s economic policy for 2018, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported.

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ASHGABAT (TCA) — Iran plans to take Turkmenistan to international arbitration over the price and quality of natural gas it has imported from the Central Asian neighbor, Iran’s PressTV reported.

Iran’s Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh was quoted as saying on January 29 that Iran plans to sue Turkmenistan’s state gas company TurkmenGaz over the quality of the delivered gas. “We have another complaint to file with the International Court of Arbitration in order to have the company reconsider the price of the exported gas because we believe it is too high and has to be lowered,” he said.

Iran’s complaint has three parts: Turkmenistan’s cutting off the gas supply without prior notice on 1 January 2017, low quality of the gas, and the high price, Iran’s IRNA reported.

Turkmenistan stopped gas exports to Iran on 1 January 2017, demanding quick payment of what it views as arrears which are disputed by Iran.

The row relates to Iran’s imports of gas for distribution in its northern provinces, especially during winters, because the country’s natural gas fields are mostly located in the south.

Turkmenistan claims Iran owns it about $1.8 billion, but Zangeneh reiterated that the figure is not correct.

Turkmenistan’s halt to gas exports last year came just after Zangeneh said the two sides had reached a temporary agreement to continue the supplies.

The dispute dates back to the exports between 2007 and 2008 when freezing winters led to severe shortages across 20 Iranian provinces, forcing the country to raise gas imports from its northeastern neighbor.

At the time, Turkmenistan used the occasion to demand a nine-fold hike in the price up to $360 from $40 for every 1,000 cubic meters of gas.

Iran imported about 35-40 million cubic meters of gas a day from Turkmenistan under a deal which had stood for 20 years.

BISHKEK (TCA) — Small and medium-sized private enterprises (SMEs) in Central Asia will benefit from a new Regional Small Business Programme (RSBP) launched in Almaty on January 30. The EU-funded project will be managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and will equip financial institutions in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan with new digital business tools for effective work with small businesses, the EBRD said.

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BISHKEK (TCA) — The Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei on January 30 said that by relocating Daesh (Islamic State) militants from Iraq and Syria to Afghanistan, the United States is pursuing its objectives in the region, TOLOnews reported.

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TASHKENT (TCA) — The son of Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of the late longtime Uzbek President Islam Karimov, has asked for political asylum in Great Britain, RFE/RL reported.

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