27 Jun 2024

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Central Asia, Business & Economy, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Business & Economy

Tokayev Announces Referendum on New Power Plant

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has announced a referendum on constructing a nuclear power plant. The popular vote will be held in the fall of this year.

“You know that economic development is impossible without a stable energy supply. Therefore, I was tasked to work on constructing a nuclear power plant. A wide discussion is underway, and different points of view are being expressed. Mass media should also take an active part in this process,” Tokayev said during a speech at a ceremony to honor journalists.

He noted that Kazakhstan has excellent opportunities to develop nuclear energy.

“It is important to use them correctly and effectively. The people will decide on this issue, and the referendum will be held this fall. The government will determine the exact date,” Tokayev said.

Kazakhstan’s intentions to build a nuclear power plant have been discussed for years. The Ulken settlement, located on the shore of Lake Balkhash, is tentatively chosen as the site.

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27 Jun 2024

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Central Asia, Uzbekistan, Local Politics, Uzbekistan Local Politics

Uzbekistan to Protect Children from Religious Extremism

The Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis (Supreme Assembly of Uzbekistan) has adopted a draft law to further strengthen children’s rights and prevent their becoming “victims of ideas of religious extremism, separatism and fanaticism.”

The bill states that “the transfer of a child for religious education to unregistered or unlicensed organizations or persons who have no special religious education and who provide religious education without permission from the central governing body of religious organizations in Uzbekistan is prohibited.”

Parents or guardians registering children in illegal religious education will be fined the equivalent of up to $270 and repeated offenses could result in administrative arrest for up to 15 days.

 

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27 Jun 2024

photo: Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Economy & Commerce

Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyzstan International Affairs, Kyrgyzstan Business & Economy

Kyrgyz-Chinese Trade and Economic Cooperation Centre Opens in Urumqi

On June 26, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic Bakyt Torobaev attended the official opening of the Kyrgyz-Chinese (XUAR) Trade and Economic Cooperation Centre in Urumqi, in China’s northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR).

Established with authorization from the Trade Mission under the Ministry of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic in China, the centre occupies an area of over 400 square metres in the Xing Long Industrial Park, owned by Xing Long Corporation of Xinjiang.

The main remit of the centre is to serve as a platform for negotiations between Kyrgyz and Chinese businesses through thematic meetings, events, presentations of projects, as well as the provision of up-to-date information on investment and opportunities for cooperation on joint projects in Kyrgyzstan.

The Xing Long Corporation of Xinjiang earlier expressed interest in developing an industrial park in Kyrgyzstan to attract business from Chinese companies.

 

 

 

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27 Jun 2024

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Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan International Affairs, Kazakhstan Business & Economy

China’s Xinjiang Offers Kazakhstan Assistance in Cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao

The 3rd Forum of Interregional Cooperation of Kazakhstan and China was held on June 26 in Urumqi, the main city in China’s northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR).

On the eve of the Forum, the Secretary of the Communist Party Committee of the XUAR, Ma Xingrui, met Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin, during which he proposed a new direction in investment cooperation between Kazakhstan and China, with the assistance of Xinjiang.

“The third forum of interregional cooperation between Kazakhstan and China in Urumqi is a significant result of our close friendly relations,” said Ma Xingrui. “At this new stage of our relationship, we are ready to promote cooperation between Kazakhstan and Hong Kong through Xinjiang. We suggest considering cooperation with large enterprises from Hong Kong and Macao that are ready to invest in Kazakhstan. These are large companies that now at a stage of transforming their activities, are showing great interest in cooperation with Kazakhstan.”

Following his statement that in 2023, China became Kazakhstan’s largest trading partner, the Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister said, “XUAR is Kazakhstan’s key partner in China, accounting for almost half of the Kazakh-Chinese trade turnover. The practical expansion of interregional cooperation has significant growth potential. The most promising areas are transport and logistics, agriculture, investment cooperation, eliminating trade barriers, and tourism.”

Regarding the above, the parties discussed furthering cooperation in tourism, the development of railways and the construction of new border crossings. With reference to increasing supplies of agricultural products, Zhumangarin announced Kazakhstan’s readiness to raise beef exports to China by up to 500 thousand tons.

In 2023, the volume of trade between Kazakhstan and China reached $31.5 billion (+30.1%), including exports by Kazakhstan amounting to $14.7 billion (+12.6%). In January-April 2024, bilateral trade turnover amounted to $9 billion, 10.3% more than the same period of the previous year.

 

 

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27 Jun 2024

EU projects in Central Asia

Central Asia, International Affairs, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan International Affairs, Business & Economy, Kazakhstan Business & Economy

EU-Funded Projects Strengthen Central Asia’s Trade and Economic Ties

On 26 June, Almaty hosted the closing meeting of two regional projects in Central Asia funded by the European Union: the ITC Ready4Trade Central Asia and the OECD Policy Component of the EU Central Asia Invest Programme.

As reported by the Delegation of the European Union to Kazakhstan, both initiatives have done much to support Central Asian countries’ efforts to advance trade reforms, enhance competitiveness, foster connectivity and strengthen regional cooperation.

The event brought together policymakers and key stakeholders from private and public sectors in Central Asia, as well as representatives of the European Union, the International Trade Centre (ITC), and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

“The European Union has long been supporting the governments of Central Asian countries in their business environment and trade and transport connectivity reform efforts together with international partners, including ITC and the OECD,” said Kestutis Jankauskas, Ambassador of the European Union to Kazakhstan. “Going forward, we will endeavour to develop the potential of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor together with our Central Asian partners to make it a competitive, multimodal and sustainable corridor that can bring Central Asia and Europe closer together. We look forward to the new EU-funded Prosperity Programme to be implemented by ITC and the OECD to support the implementation of this goal.”

The ITC Ready4Trade Central Asia project has made significant progress in enhancing intra-regional and international trade across five Central Asian countries. In close collaboration with the governments, the project tackled obstacles to cross-border trade by simplifying and digitalising trade procedures, ensuring greater transparency and efficiency terms of cost and time.

The project also established national SME Trade Academies, providing tailored on-the-job coaching and enhancing the capacity of SMEs to participate in the global market.

The OECD has supported reforms in areas including  private sector development, internationalization, digitalisation, trade and transport connectivity, and resilience to shocks.

Zhanel Kushukova, Vice-Minister of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan, commented: “In recent years, significant work has been done in Central Asian countries to simplify and optimize trade procedures, reduce the time for trade operations and automate customs processes. This has allowed us to almost double the volume of trade turnover over the past five years, to $10 billion. In the medium term, Kazakhstan plans to increase trade turnover with Central Asian countries to $15 billion.”

Kazakhstan’s QazTrade agency estimates that the implementation of the recommendations proposed by the above projects and the transition to paperless trade will lead to a 30 percent increase in trade turnover in the medium term.

 

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27 Jun 2024

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Home, Life & Culture, Kyrgyzstan Life & Culture, Local Politics, Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyzstan Local Politics, Features, Kyrgyzstan Features

Kyrgyzstan’s President Apologizes Over Niece’s Use of State Helicopter

It was a fairytale setting for a marriage proposal. The fiancée of the niece of Kyrgyzstan’s president asked her to marry him after the pair traveled by helicopter to the mountains near Bishkek.

The problem? The helicopter belonged to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, a revelation that prompted scorn on social networks and drew an apology from President Sadyr Japarov, who has campaigned against corruption.

The ministry said the aircraft was “legally leased” and Japarov said the government sometimes rents its helicopters for the benefit of the state’s coffers. But the ostentatious use of the government asset, flaunted in a slick video showing Japarov’s niece, Lazat Nurkozhoeva, in the helicopter, was too much for some commentators who fumed about alleged government hypocrisy.

“Relatives of the country’s leadership should be an example to others. I am trying to stop waste,” Japarov said in an interview with the official Kabar news agency on Wednesday. He said his niece, Lazat Nurkozhoeva and her fiancée loved each other and the proposal would have gone off without a hitch if it had been handled in a simpler way.

“If an ordinary citizen, a businessman, a tourist, or an investor wants to rent helicopters, the state will gladly provide them. Because every penny received from the lease goes to the state and is concentrated on the purchase of new helicopters. Thus, the aircraft fleet is continuously updated,” Japarov said. The Kyrgyz government has a total of about 20 helicopters, he said.

“I used to criticize others. Now it’s come back to me,” Japarov said in his apology.

In a statement, the Ministry of Emergency Situations said the “rental of the helicopter discussed in social networks” was arranged with a legal contract and that it received the equivalent of about $1,800 for the flight that lasted 56 minutes and occurred on Monday.

Lazat Nurkozhoeva has a high profile on social media. She has created her own clothing brand and won the Miss Kyrgyzstan beauty pageant in 2020.

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