ASTANA (TCA) — Kazakhstan’s economic growth is projected to accelerate in 2017, owing to higher oil prices and oil production, says the World Bank’s latest Kazakhstan Economic Update. According to the special topic of the report, dedicated to agriculture, better utilization of agricultural land and higher labor productivity in the sector can greatly benefit Kazakhstan’s economy, the World Bank said on May 17.

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ASTANA (TCA) — A new World Bank policy report was presented in Astana on May 16, urging the country and international development agencies to rethink their approach to governance as a key to overcoming challenges related to security, growth, and equity.

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ALMATY (TCA) — Kazakhstan, in cooperation with the United States Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA), opened its Nuclear Security Training Center (NSTC) on May 12 at a site adjacent to Kazakhstan’s Institute of Nuclear Physics at Alatau, near Almaty.

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KABUL (TCA) — Afghanistan obtained World Trade Organization membership one year ago, but no one has so far been appointed to represent the country at the organization, TOLOnews agency reports.

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ASTANA (TCA) — Sustainable water governance with a focus on advanced education standards in the water sector was the focus of an OSCE-supported roundtable discussion on 16 May that took place at Kazakhstan’s Parliament in Astana.

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TASHKENT (TCA) — French car manufacturer Groupe PSA and Uzbekistan’s state automobile company Uzavtosanoat have decided to jointly create an equally owned Joint Venture — Uzbekistan PCA, the companies said on May 16. This partnership aims at building a production plant in the Free Industrial Zone of Jizzakh, located 200 km from Tashkent, in Uzbekistan, to produce Peugeot and Citroën LCVs, for passenger and freight carriage. The Charter capital of the new JV will represent around 30 million euro, with equal shareholding. Global investments represent around 130 million euros.

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