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ALMATY (TCA) — The OSCE-supported eighth annual Central Asian Forum on Internet Development began on May 24 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
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ASHGABAT (TCA) — Wang Chen, vice chairman of China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee, praised the fruitful cooperation between Turkmenistan and China under the Belt and Road Initiative during his visit to Turkmenistan on May 22-24, Xinhua reported.
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BISHKEK (TCA) — NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on May 24 reiterated the organization’s commitment to Afghanistan but also called on Russia to support an Afghan-led peace process, Afghanistan’s TOLOnews agency reported.
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ASTANA (TCA) — Kazakhstan’s lawmakers have given preliminary approval to controversial bills that would ban independent candidates from running in presidential elections and enable the authorities to strip “terrorists” of Kazakh citizenship, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reports.
Paul Goble
BISHKEK (TCA) — Different opinions between the five littoral states of the Caspian Sea — Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan — have for many years blocked energy projects and other initiatives planned without the participation of Russia. A proposed agreement announced in January did not materialize and now the littoral states are finding alternative ways directing their traffic to other carriers and ports. The following article by Paul Goble, entitled ‘Collapse of Russian Shipping in the Caspian Puts Moscow’s Regional Strategy at Risk’, originally published by The Jamestown Foundation’s Eurasia Daily Monitor, explains the ongoing situation at various ports and the great decline in traffic through the Russian ports:
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BISHKEK (TCA) — The U.S. Government, through USAID, partnered with the Kyrgyz Mountain Guides Association to train 75 trekking guides from May 10 through May 24. Trekking guides from across the country were trained on customer care, international safety, and geographical orientation. The five-day training included a mix of classroom studies and a two-day mountain trek at an altitude of 2,300 meters in the Jyrgalan Valley. This was the first large-scale trekking guide training in Kyrgyzstan—an event which the Kyrgyz Mountain Guides Association intends to continue in the future, the US Embassy in Kyrgyzstan said.
