TASHKENT (TCA) — World Bank Chief Executive Officer Kristalina Georgieva on January 18 welcomed Uzbekistan’s wide ranging reforms to boost the country’s economy and improve the lives of all Uzbek citizens. Georgieva met with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, senior government and parliamentary leaders, and representatives from the private sector and civil society. She offered World Bank Group support to the country’s reform program, in particular in the areas of agriculture modernization, public service delivery, and private sector development.

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BISHKEK (TCA) — Political leaders in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan should use the window of opportunity offered by political change in their countries to improve human rights, Human Rights Watch said on January 18 in releasing its World Report 2018. Leaders of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan should also end repressive policies documented during 2017 and prioritize rights, the rights watchdog said.

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KABUL (TCA) — The British Embassy in Afghanistan, in collaboration with the Independent Directorate of Local Governance and the Aga Khan Foundation, has launched a $6.7 million project ACCESS aimed at improving the delivery of services to Afghan citizens, TOLOnews reports.

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ASTANA (TCA) — At least 52 people have been killed in a fire that broke out on a bus in Kazakhstan’s northwestern Aqtobe region, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reports.

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TASHKENT (TCA) — The year 2017 was marked in Uzbekistan by the President’s efforts to reform the tightly-controlled economy and financial sector, liberalize the internal political sphere, and improve the country’s tense relations with neighboring Central Asian states. Although much has been done on the domestic and foreign fronts, it is yet to be done much more to bring in the real changes to Uzbekistan, and to make such changes irreversible. We are republishing this article by Umida Hashimova on the issue, originally published by The Jamestown Foundation’s Eurasia Daily Monitor:

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BISHKEK (TCA) — The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute (CACI) on January 22 will organize a Forum event in Washington, DC on the subject “Uzbekistan’s New Foreign Policy: Change and Continuity under New Leadership”.

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