Page 21 – The Times Of Central Asia

28 Nov 2025

Central Asia, Home, Uzbekistan, International Affairs, Uzbekistan Home, Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyzstan International Affairs, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan International Affairs, Uzbekistan International Affairs, Kyrgyzstan Home, Kazakhstan Home

EU Supports Connectivity Improvements in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan as Part of Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor

November 28, 2025
By Sergey Kwan

On November 27, Tashkent hosted the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor (TCTC) and Connectivity Investors Forum, where representatives of the European Union, Central Asian and South Caucasus states, Türkiye, and international development banks reaffirmed the strategic importance of the TCTC as a fast and reliable route linking Europe and Asia.

The TCTC is the EU’s designation for the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor. This multimodal route connects China and Southeast Asia to Europe via Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye in no more than 15 days, offering an alternative to the northern route through Russia.

Participants discussed efforts to modernize both hard infrastructure, roads, railways, ports, and logistics hubs and soft connectivity, including digitalization, regulatory alignment, and trade facilitation.

According to the EU Delegation in Uzbekistan, the forum, attended by European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela and European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, produced several new agreements to enhance multimodal connectivity in Central Asia.

The EU has committed EUR 10.4 million within an EBRD loan of EUR 35 million to modernize Aktau Port in Kazakhstan, a key logistics hub on the Caspian Sea. The project will expand berths, introduce energy-efficient cranes, and increase container-handling capacity, strengthening the Middle Corridor’s competitiveness.

An envisaged EIB loan of EUR 150 million, backed by an EU guarantee of EUR 8.8 million, will support road rehabilitation in Kazakhstan. The financing for national operator KazAvtoZhol aims to improve sustainable transport infrastructure linked to the TCTC.

The EU will contribute EUR 15.46 million within an EBRD loan of EUR 35 million for the modernization of the Karabalta-Chaldovar road in Kyrgyzstan. Upgrading the 31.7-kilometer section will enhance connectivity between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, reduce travel time and costs, and improve road safety.

In Uzbekistan, an anticipated EIB loan of up to EUR 100 million, supported by an EU guarantee of EUR 6 million, will finance the Nukus Highway Development Project. The upgrade of 87 kilometers of the A380 highway, one of the country’s main transport arteries, is expected to strengthen regional trade and streamline transport flows with neighboring states.

Speaking at the forum, Commissioner Marta Kos stressed the geopolitical and economic value of reliable east-west transport links: “All of us have learnt the hard way that excessive dependencies make us vulnerable,” she said. “Investments in transport infrastructure, digital and energy connectivity create more options and less risk of blackmail. We need credible, long-term alternatives to the Northern Corridor. Cargo along the Middle Corridor has grown four-fold between 2022 and today. By 2030 it could again triple, if the right investments are made to increase capacity and close gaps.”

28 Nov 2025

Central Asia, Home, Life & Culture, Kazakhstan Life & Culture, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Home

Kazakh Archaeologists Contribute to Landmark Discovery on the Origins of Dog Domestication

November 28, 2025
By Vagit Ismailov

A groundbreaking study co-authored by Kazakh archaeologists has challenged long-held assumptions about the history of dog domestication. The research, titled “Wide Diversity of Dogs Thousands of Years Before Modern Breeding Methods,” was published in Science, the oldest scientific journal in the U.S.

The study was led by researchers from the University of Exeter (UK) and France’s National Center for Scientific Research and included contributions from 40 institutions worldwide. Kazakh scientists V.K. Merz and I.V. Merz of Toraygyrov University, along with E.R. Usmanova and V.V. Varfolomeev of the E.A. Buketov Karaganda National Research University, were among the co-authors.

The international team conducted a comprehensive comparative analysis of 643 dog and wolf skulls spanning the last 50,000 years from the Pleistocene to the present day. Using high-resolution 3D scanning, they analyzed over 600 specimens, revealing that dogs already displayed significant morphological diversity during the early Holocene epoch.

This diversity, previously believed to be the result of 19th-century selective breeding, was shown to have originated far earlier. The analysis traced the emergence of distinct dog types, including variations in size and skull structure, as early as 11,000 years ago. By the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods, dogs had already begun to differ in form, likely reflecting specialized roles such as hunting, guarding, and herding within human societies.

The researchers concluded that functional differentiation was a key driver in the development of what would eventually become distinct breeds. Their findings refute the common belief that modern breed variation is a relatively recent phenomenon. In fact, many differences in skull shape and size long predate the advent of formal breeding practices.

Kazakhstan’s archaeological collections and local expertise played a significant role in the project, underscoring the country’s growing contributions to global archaeozoological research.

Kazakhstan’s Broader Scientific Advances

In addition to this landmark discovery, Kazakh scientists continue to make technological strides across disciplines.

Researchers at the Institute of Combustion Problems have developed a device capable of converting hydrocarbon gases into 98.9% pure hydrogen and technical carbon in a single stage. Operating at plasma temperatures of up to 2,700°C, the unit requires no catalysts and consumes less energy than traditional methods. It also produces giant nanotubes with diameters reaching 100 nanometres.

Meanwhile, scientists at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University have introduced a mobile preservation unit capable of drying and storing a wide range of food products from fruit to fish for up to 10 to 50 years using specialized packaging.

These developments signal Kazakhstan’s expanding role in cutting-edge research and innovation across multiple scientific domains.

28 Nov 2025

Central Asia, Home, Tajikistan, Tajikistan Business Economy, Business & Economy, Tajikistan Home

Tajikistan to Repay Over $500 Million to Foreign Creditors in 2026

November 28, 2025
By Vagit Ismailov

Tajikistan plans to allocate $548 million to repay its principal external debt in 2026, according to the country’s draft state budget. This would be one of the largest annual external debt payments in recent years for the republic.

Most of the repayment will be covered directly from the national budget. A portion will also come from state-owned companies and enterprises that previously received sub-loans backed by government guarantees. These entities are now participating in the repayment process.

In addition to external debt, Tajikistan’s domestic obligations in 2026 are projected at more than $51 million. Of that amount, $16 million will be serviced from the budget, while the remaining $34.5 million will be financed through the Ministry of Finance’s deposits at the National Bank of Tajikistan, as well as revenue from the sale and lease of assets belonging to the now-liquidated Agroinvestbank and Tajiksodirotbank, both of which have been transferred to state ownership.

Despite these substantial repayments, Dushanbe plans to continue attracting foreign financing for development purposes. More than $678 million is earmarked for state investment projects in 2026, with funding to be directed toward the energy, infrastructure, and social sectors.

According to the Ministry of Finance, as of October 1, Tajikistan’s total external debt stood at $3.037 billion, down $151 million, or 4.7%, from the beginning of the year. The figures indicate a gradual reduction in the country’s debt burden.

The vast majority of the debt, 95.5%, or nearly $2.9 billion, is classified as direct government debt. Debt secured by state guarantees amounts to slightly over $138 million.

China remains Tajikistan’s largest creditor, with over $700 million in outstanding loans. Other major lenders include the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

28 Nov 2025

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

Kazakhstan to Establish National Register of Crypto Wallets Linked to Criminal Activity

November 28, 2025
By Dmitry Pokidaev

Kazakhstan’s Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA) will create a national register of cryptocurrency wallets linked to criminal proceeds, according to Rashid Orazbek, Head of the agency’s operational analysis department. The announcement was made during a Senate session.

Orazbek stated that the FMA is being granted new powers to maintain a centralized database of crypto wallets involved in illicit transactions and money laundering schemes. The system will enable authorities to apply advanced blockchain analytics, accelerate transaction risk assessments, and prioritize oversight of crypto-related activities.

He added that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has recommended Kazakhstan implement licensing for cryptocurrency service providers. In response, new anti-money laundering (AML) regulations are being developed, and supervisory powers are being expanded to ensure compliance.

A key requirement under the proposed framework is adherence to the “travel rule,” which mandates that crypto service providers identify both parties to a transaction and retain counterparty information. This data must be stored and made available to authorities upon request. Transactions lacking this information will be suspended, and failure to meet deadlines for disclosure will result in cancellation. The FMA expects these measures to substantially curb the criminal use of digital assets.

Miras Zakiev, Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Digital Assets and Breakthrough Technologies, highlighted plans to integrate cryptocurrency into everyday financial operations. He said the “CryptoCity” initiative aims to create an ecosystem in which Kazakhstani citizens can pay for goods and services using cryptocurrency via bank terminals.

According to Zakiev, the National Bank’s regulatory “sandbox” is currently testing the integration of crypto exchange tools and mechanisms developed by the Astana International Financial Centre into Kazakhstan’s banking infrastructure. At the same time, second-tier banks are upgrading their terminals to support crypto transactions.

Zakiev also clarified Kazakhstan’s mining regulations, noting that two categories of mining activities require licenses: data center owners and individuals or firms operating equipment housed in leased facilities. All miners must work through accredited domestic mining pools and are subject to corporate income tax, as well as capital gains tax for individuals.

The digital asset sector has already generated significant fiscal returns. According to the State Revenue Committee, the industry contributed $14.8 million to the national budget in the first half of 2025. Zakiev said these figures reflect sustained positive momentum in the sector.

Separately, Deputy Chairman of the National Bank Berik Sholpankulov told reporters that the government is exploring a potential investment of approximately $300 million in crypto assets. He described these instruments as comparable to securities and derivatives traded on global financial markets. If deemed profitable and viable, they may be included in Kazakhstan’s broader investment portfolio.

Previously, The Times of Central Asia reported that the country is also considering converting part of the National Fund’s assets, as well as gold and foreign exchange reserves, into cryptocurrency.

28 Nov 2025

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

Kazakh Businessmen in Talks to Acquire Stakes in KazZinc and Kazakhmys

November 28, 2025
By Vagit Ismailov

Kazakh entrepreneurs Shakhmurat Mutalip and Nurlan Artikbayev are in negotiations to acquire stakes in two of Kazakhstan’s largest industrial giants, KazZinc and Kazakhmys, according to a report by Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources.

Bloomberg reports that Mutalip, the owner of construction firm Integra Construction KZ, has been offered the chance to purchase Glencore’s 70% stake in KazZinc. Meanwhile, Artikbayev, the majority shareholder of Qazaq Stroy, is in discussions over acquiring a stake in Kazakhmys.

Sources emphasized that the negotiations are still in early stages. No final agreements have been reached, and key terms such as pricing and payment structures remain unresolved.

As of the end of 2024, 99.1% of Kazakhmys shares are held by Kazakhmys Copper, through its parent entity Kazakhmys Holding Limited, which is registered with the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC).

KazZinc is majority-owned by Glencore International AG, which controls 69.74% of the shares. The remaining 29.82% is held by the state-owned enterprise Tau-Ken Samruk, with 0.44% owned by minority shareholders.

Both businessmen have recently been received by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Artikbayev, ranked 44th on Forbes Kazakhstan’s 2025 list, met with the president on November 4, while Mutalip met with him on November 21. Both meetings focused on the development of Kazakhstan’s construction sector and the role of private business in infrastructure projects.

Financial analyst Rasul Rysmambetov suggested that the potential deals reflect an effort to consolidate domestic control over key strategic assets.

“This looks like an unfolding of what I call economic nationalism. Local players are expected to control subsoil assets, as they can invest more intensively in downstream processing. Much like Korea’s chaebols, the goal will be to extend the value chain within the country,” he wrote on his Telegram channel.

28 Nov 2025

Home, Opinion Head, Kazakhstan Lead Story, International Affairs, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan International Affairs, Opinions, Features, Kazakhstan Opinions

Opinion: Abraham Accords Can Help Kazakhstan Reshape Its Energy Future

November 28, 2025
By Dr. Robert M. Cutler

On 6 November 2025, after speaking with Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Kazakhstan would join the Abraham Accords. Astana and Jerusalem have maintained full diplomatic relations since 1992, but Kazakhstan’s entry pushes the Accords beyond the Middle East and North Africa and into the Eurasian heartland. This matters at a time when Washington wants to re-energize the initiative and deepen its C5+1 engagement with the region.

Kazakhstan’s decision fits its multi-vector policy. The decision also builds on the country’s role as a key component of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, “Middle Corridor”), which links Chinese production to European markets. Cargo volumes reached about 4.5 million tons in 2024 and are expected to rise to around 5.2 million tons in 2025. A recent report by Boston Consulting Group expects rail freight through the Middle Corridor to quadruple by the decade’s end.

The Accords do not change Kazakhstan’s formal status with Israel. The question is, rather, whether they unlock deeper economic cooperation. The Times of Central Asia has already reported on clear opportunities for cooperation in sectors such as water and agricultural efficiency, grid and industrial productivity, and cybersecurity and administrative modernization. In the energy sector, like the others, the Accords give Israeli companies a clearer political and legal framework for working with Kazakhstan’s energy and infrastructure sectors. Gulf Cooperation Council states, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in particular, could provide project finance as well.

Hard Energy, Nuclear Fuel, and Israeli Technology

Astana’s principal concern in the energy sector is how to raise net revenue: the goal here is to make the sector more resilient to external pressure without incurring prohibitive capital costs. Israeli firms can address that problem at an operational level. The PrismaFlow sensing system developed by Prisma Photonics is a proven technology that uses existing optical fiber as a sensing system. Thousands of kilometers of pipeline can be monitored in real time for leaks, third-party interference, and attempted theft, without having to install physical sensors along the route. KazTransOil and Prisma Photonics could develop a program through an Abraham Accords framework to overlay this technology on selected trunk network segments and on the systems that deliver crude to export pipelines.

Energy-sector cybersecurity is another area where Israeli companies can help Kazakhstan’s hard-energy system. The Israeli firm Radiflow specializes in operational-technology (OT) cybersecurity for oil and gas installations, tailored to pipeline and production environments. Its systems provide continuous network visibility and better anomaly detection. Its risk-based threat management reduces both the likelihood and the cost of cyber incidents that might interrupt flows or force precautionary shutdowns. KazMunayGas, KazTransOil, and their joint ventures could implement a structured audit and remediation program with Radiflow as a strategic partner.

The uranium sector presents another opportunity for Kazakhstan–Israel cooperation, potentially a more strategic one. OT security systems can provide monitoring and control layers for uranium mining, in-situ leaching fields, and logistics chains. Kazakhstan accounts for over 40% of the world’s uranium mine output. Kazatomprom maintains at least a 20% share of global primary production through an asset base of 14 uranium mining operations. Under an Abraham Accords umbrella, a partnership linking Kazatomprom, selected Israeli technology providers, and interested Gulf or U.S. utilities would strengthen Kazakhstan’s access to premium markets and long-term contracts.

Energy Transition, Water, and Critical Minerals

Kazakhstan has set medium and long-term targets for a structural shift in its power mix. The official goal is that renewables should reach roughly 15% of generation by 2030 and 50% by 2050. Progress has been uneven, though, and coal still dominates. Grid operator KEGOC, a subsidiary of the Samruk-Kazyna sovereign wealth fund, is planning multibillion-dollar upgrades and new transmission lines. These will integrate large volumes of wind and solar while connecting the western power zone more tightly to the unified system. The UAE company Masdar has already entered Kazakhstan’s market through a 1-gigawatt wind farm with a 600 MWh battery in the Zhambyl region. Israeli technology could slot into ongoing Gulf-financed projects under the Abraham Accords umbrella in other regions as well.

Israel’s renewable-energy sector has several company types that fit Kazakhstan’s needs right now. Consortia could be structured as Kazakhstan–Israel operational partnerships with the UAE or wider GCC financing under an Abraham Accords label. A “Middle Corridor Renewables Integration Program” under KEGOC and Samruk-Energy, for instance, could invite Israeli firms to co-design grid-friendly solar and wind clusters near key rail and logistics nodes. Israeli control systems and forecasting tools would reduce curtailment and help balance variable output. Ecoppia, another Israeli company, deploys water-free robotic cleaning systems that would be useful in Kazakhstan’s arid regions for large solar fields.

Kazakhstan’s position in critical minerals rounds out the opportunity. These minerals sit upstream of the clean-energy and electronics supply chains central to Israel’s technology economy and to Western industrial policy. Abraham Accords cooperation could mean joint feasibility studies and demonstration plants for low-carbon processing of battery and magnet materials. Potential Kazakhstani partners include Eurasian Resources Group, Kazgeology, and Tau-Ken Samruk. On the Israeli side, numerous firms are involved in process optimization, AI, and environmental engineering. UAE and Saudi investors want secure, ESG-compliant feedstock. A cooperative structure would let Kazakhstan host higher-value industrial operations drawing on Israeli know-how and Gulf capital.

Finance, Gulf Capital, and Multi-vector Diplomacy

The financial architecture for Kazakhstan–Israel cooperation under the Abraham Accords already exists, at least in outline. Using this would, by itself, be an expression of Tokayev’s diplomatic method. The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) operates under a common-law framework and hosts the Astana International Exchange, which has attracted several billion dollars in capital to Kazakhstan’s economy. Within it, the AIFC Green Finance Centre has become a regional reference point for green and sustainability-linked instruments. This institutional design was not accidental. The separate Astana International Forum (AIF), which developed from the Astana Economic Forum and has its own history, increasingly works in parallel with AIFC where appropriate. These structures were developed by Tokayev as instrumentalities for bringing in diversified capital and signaling regulatory compatibility with global markets.

Institutional investors and venture platforms on the Israeli side have already used the Abraham Accords framework to identify opportunities in the Gulf and North Africa. An “Abraham Accords Energy Window” at AIFC could structure bonds for projects in Kazakhstan and help raise long-dated capital for complex infrastructure less expensively. In such AIFC-registered projects, Masdar or other Gulf developers might lead construction while Israeli firms supply equipment and software, and Kazakhstani companies serve as long-term off-takers and operators. Tokayev could point to this arrangement to show how his decision to enter the Accords translates into actual investment flows, channeled through institutions Kazakhstan itself has built.

Tokayev has framed the new initiatives primarily as tools for economic modernization, climate resilience, and better regional connectivity. These opportunities still fit within a non-aligned foreign-policy framework that remains explicitly multi-vector. The expansion of Kazakhstan–Israel cooperation under a U.S.-brokered framework, backed by Gulf capital, weaves together three vectors: two Middle Eastern, one trans-Atlantic. It shows Kazakhstan’s diplomacy under Tokayev playing a leading role in raising Central Asia’s profile in the international system.

Kazakhstan Adjusts Its Multi-vector Diplomacy

Kazakhstan’s decision to enter the Abraham Accords is about upgrading its relationship with Israel, but it is also Astana’s way of updating multi-vectorism for a new era. Cooperation with Israel and the UAE can extend Kazakhstan’s Caspian energy and technology corridor not just through the South Caucasus, but all the way to the Gulf and the eastern Mediterranean. Tokayev wants to use institutions like the AIFC to structure this cooperation, embedding the corridor in rules and practices that global capital markets recognize and trust.

For Central Asia as a whole, Kazakhstan’s move sets a benchmark. If the Abraham Accords yield a modest but concrete portfolio of projects over the next several years – in hydrocarbons, nuclear fuel, renewables, and critical minerals – the decision will look like an early step toward a more diversified regional energy order. Other states in the region will draw their own conclusions about whether and how to engage, and they may test their own versions of energy and technology partnerships with Israel and the Gulf. For now, the initiative underlines that Kazakhstan remains Central Asia’s principal node where Eurasian transit, energy transition, and cross-regional diplomacy converge.

For Tokayev personally, joining the Abraham Accords fits how he has governed since taking office. It is another incremental move that shifts Kazakhstan’s position in a changing world without breaking old relationships. In recent months, he has become more active in the C5+1 process and launched a targeted search for technological partners in fields that determine long-term competitiveness, all while preserving the formal language of multi-vectorism. By choosing to connect Kazakhstan’s energy system to Israeli innovation and Gulf capital inside a U.S.-brokered framework, he is exploring whether a more fragmented world economy will limit the strategic options of a medium-sized state.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the publication, its affiliates, or any other organizations mentioned.