ASTANA (TCA) — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the government of Kazakhstan have identified key areas of cooperation required to continue joint efforts aimed at the modernisation and diversification of the national economy. A corresponding protocol signed by the two parties on December 21 will provide for the continuation of joint activities in attracting investments, the development of the financial and small business sectors, the stimulation of entrepreneurship and sustainable regional development, the EBRD said.

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ASTANA (TCA) — A Kazakhstan citizen living in the New York City borough of Brooklyn has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for conspiring to provide material support to the extremist group Islamic State (IS), RFE/RL reported.

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BISHKEK (TCA) — Human Rights Watch on December 20 sent a letter to Kyrgyzstan’s new President Sooronbai Jeenbekov to share its recommendations for steps the Kyrgyz government can take from the beginning of his mandate to improve the human rights situation in Kyrgyzstan.

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ASTANA (TCA) — A regional meeting on harmonization of rules and regulations for facilitation of international rail transport was held on December 20 in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana under the auspices of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Committee and Organization for Co-operation between Railways (OSJD), the press office of Kazakhstan Railways national company (KTZ) said.

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KABUL (TCA) — Trade and investment have been steadily decreasing in Afghanistan in the past few years, the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) said at a meeting of heads of private companies in Kabul on Tuesday, TOLOnews reported.

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DUSHANBE (TCA) — Fifty sets of radio equipment (HF/VHF radios) were handed to the Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defence under the Government of Tajikistan by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe on December 19. The equipment will mainly be used for the early warning system for natural disasters in the region of Sarez Lake and to facilitate communication with the population of the settlements along the Bartang River in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan.

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