DUSHANBE (TCA) — U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan Elisabeth Millard on February 8 attended a launch ceremony for the new $9.7 million Feed the Future Tajikistan Land Market Development Activity Project. The ceremony was also attended by key stakeholders and other counterparts who make significant contributions to promote land use rights, including Rajabboy Ahmadzoda, Chairman of State Committee for Land Management and Geodesy of Tajikistan, as well as representatives from Parliament and the Government of Tajikistan, the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe said.

Continue reading

ASHGABAT (TCA) — Turkmenistan’s appalling human rights record undermines the possibility of a free and fair presidential election on February 12, 2017, Human Rights Watch said on February 7. The election climate in Turkmenistan denies its citizens the ability to choose their president freely or enjoy freedom of expression or access to information.

Continue reading

TASHKENT (TCA) — Tashkent hosted a ceremony of awarding certificates of the inclusion of Western Tien-Shan (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan) in the UNESCO World Heritage List, as well as of the celebration of Navruz and the cultural traditions associated with the national dish pilaf in the Representative List of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the Jahon information agency reported on February 5.

Continue reading

KABUL (TCA) — During talks in Moscow on February 7, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Salahuddin Rabbani discussed the security situation in Afghanistan and prospects for promoting the national reconciliation process in the country, including the formation of a new regional format of consultations on Afghanistan issues. They noted the feasibility of expanding the membership of the trilateral Russia-China-Pakistan consultations to include the countries of the region, first of all, Afghanistan itself, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Continue reading

ASTANA (TCA) — During the visit of Kanat Alpysbayev, the head of Kazakhstan’s national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), to Iran on February 6, documentation was updated for the establishment of a joint venture between KTZ Express (a subsidiary of KTZ) and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), the KTZ press service reported.

Continue reading

BISHKEK (TCA) — In 2016, projects financed by the European Union helped many rural communities in Kyrgyzstan to achieve a higher standard of living, the Delegation of the European Union to the Kyrgyz Republic reported. Integrated Rural Development is one of three focal sectors of the European Union development cooperation with Kyrgyzstan, along with Education and Rule of Law.

Continue reading