ALMATY (TCA) — More than 500 government and business leaders from 18 countries in Central Asia, South Asia, and Europe are participating in the seventh annual Central Asia Trade Forum, which is taking place on October 18 and 19 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. This year, the event focuses on the theme of Future Growth: Trade, Transport & Horticulture. Attendees discuss how enterprises throughout Central Asia can better compete in the global economy and provide jobs for the region’s growing workforce, the USAID said in a press release.

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BISHKEK (TCA) — Kyrgyzstan Prime Minister Sapar Isakov late on October 18 held talks with Kazakhstan Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev in Astana to discuss the ongoing crisis on the Kyrgyz-Kazakh border, where vehicles and people have been stuck in long lines after Kazakhstan tightened customs checks from October 10.

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TASHKENT (TCA) — Landlocked countries of Central Asia, including Uzbekistan, badly need sea and rail transport routes for the transit and export of goods to foreign markets. One such transport corridor will soon connect Central Asia, across the Caspian Sea, to the Caucasus, Turkey, and Europe. We are republishing this article by Fuad Shahbazov on the issue, originally published by The Jamestown Foundation’s Eurasia Daily Monitor:

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BISHKEK (TCA) — The World Bank has been working in Central Asia for more than 20 years to support the region’s countries in their efforts to end poverty and boost shared prosperity for all, Lilia Burunciuc, World Bank Regional Director for Central Asia, wrote in her article entitled ‘Dream Bigger: Building the Middle-Class in Central Asia’, published on the Bank’s website on October 17, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

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DUSHANBE (TCA) — Prosecutors in Tajikistan say that authorities have drawn up a registry of more than 300 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the Central Asian nation, a move purportedly aimed at protecting sexual minorities and halting the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports.

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ASHGABAT (TCA) — The opening of the first golf course in Turkmenistan took place in the capital Ashgabat on October 17 with the participation of Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, the State News Agency of Turkmenistan reported.

The ceremony gathered the chairperson of the Mejlis (Turkmen parliament), members of the Government, heads of military and law enforcement agencies, and mass media.

The new golf club occupies more than 70 hectares and is located in the south-west part of the capital, next to fashionable Yilduz Hotel. The golf club includes administration and operation facilities, an 18-hole course, four artificial ponds and one spring, and open and underground parking lots for 90 vehicles.

Design and consulting works were carried out by Nicklaus Design from the USA, whose head Jack Nicklaus was met by President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov several times to discuss the opportunities of the golf development in the country.

The presence of the golf course meeting the highest criteria of similar facilities will allow holding international championships and world tournaments in the Turkmen capital, as well as attracting more tourists.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the President of Turkmenistan noted that the Turkmen government pays special attention to development of mass physical training, sports and Olympic movement. All these measures support wide implementation of a healthy life style, achievement of success of Turkmen sport and recognition of Turkmenistan as a world-class sport center.