ASTANA (TCA) — During the 30th plenary meeting of the Foreign Investors’ Council in Astana on June 22, chaired by Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakh Minister for Investment and Development Zhenis Kassymbek reported on the implementation of the instructions for the establishment of the Astana International Financial Center, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported.

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ASTANA (TCA) — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on June 22 said it is deepening its efforts to promote economic inclusion in the energy sector and the extractive industries of Kazakhstan with a US$ 140 million loan to Bakyrchik Mining Venture LLP for the development of the Kyzyl gold deposit.

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KABUL (TCA) — The security situation in Afghanistan remains “intensely volatile,” according to a new report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, RFE/RL reports.

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ASTANA (TCA) — Following the opening last week of Expo-2017 in Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana, over 100 top officials, senior business executives, and global thought leaders came together on June 21 for an interactive discussion at Moving Forward, Fueling the Future, the General Electric-hosted forum focused on emerging trends and technologies in the energy and transportation industries, including the digital revolution that is radically reshaping the industrial world, GE said.

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ASTANA (TCA) — Transnational companies have established a consortium to implement the Eurasia project to develop super-deep hydrocarbon deposits in Kazakhstan’s section of the Caspian Sea, Kazakh Energy Minister Kanat Bozumbayev said after the signing of cooperation agreements between the Government of Kazakhstan and international companies on June 21, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported.

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ASTANA (TCA) — The relationships between Moscow and Astana over Russia’s use of Kazakhstan’s Baikonur cosmodrome have never been smooth since the Soviet Union’s collapse, but Moscow has always been consistent in its desire to remain at Baikonur. We are republishing this article by George Voloshin on the issue, originally published by The Jamestown Foundation’s Eurasia Daily Monitor:

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