Page 54 – The Times Of Central Asia

04 Nov 2025

Central Asia, Education, Home, International Affairs, Kazakhstan International Affairs, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Home

Moscow International Relations University Opens Branch in Astana

November 4, 2025
By Sergey Kwan

The Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), a leading Russian university affiliated to Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has officially opened a branch at L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University in Astana.

On November 1, the inaugural class of 103 students at the new MGIMO Astana campus received their student ID cards from Kazakhstan’s Minister of Science and Higher Education, Sayasat Nurbek, and MGIMO Rector Anatoly Torkunov.

According to Torkunov, the academic programs at the Astana branch are designed to train specialists for key sectors of Kazakhstan’s economy, business, and international relations.

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education reported that MGIMO Astana currently offers two undergraduate programs, World Mineral Resources and Energy Markets and Analysis and Modeling of Socioeconomic and Business Processes, as well as two master’s programs: Financial Economics and Financial Technologies and Multilateral Institutions and Management of Global Technological Development.

Artem Malgin, director of the MGIMO Astana branch, noted that undergraduate students will spend two semesters studying in Moscow, while master’s students will study there for one semester. Courses at the branch are taught by faculty from both MGIMO and the Eurasian National University.

MGIMO Astana is the university’s second international campus. Its first overseas branch, MGIMO Tashkent, opened in Uzbekistan and currently offers six undergraduate and graduate programs tailored to the local academic context and taught by MGIMO faculty.

04 Nov 2025

Home, Uzbekistan, Life & Culture, Uzbekistan Features, Uzbekistan Life & Culture

UN Women and ACWA Power Partner to Advance Gender Equality in Uzbekistan

November 4, 2025
By Sadokat Jalolova

UN Women and ACWA Power Uzbekistan have signed a landmark agreement to promote women’s empowerment, marking the first-ever collaboration between a United Nations agency and a private company in Uzbekistan.

As part of the 12-month partnership, ACWA Power will contribute $50,000 to support initiatives under UN Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) programme. The project seeks to strengthen women’s participation in education and the labor market through gender equality training, leadership development, and the launch of a pilot Gender Equality Curriculum at Shirin College. It also includes capacity-building in gender-based violence prevention and the organization of a national Women’s Empowerment Forum.

Image: ACWA Power

UN Women, which officially began operations in Uzbekistan in May 2025, will provide technical expertise and training to support national gender equality goals. ACWA Power, Uzbekistan’s largest investor in renewable energy, will oversee project implementation and funding.

The partnership aligns with Uzbekistan’s ongoing national reform agenda, particularly the Strategy for Achieving Gender Equality 2030 and the National Programme for Increasing the Activity of Women in Economic, Political, and Social Life (2022-2026). These initiatives aim to create equal opportunities and broaden women’s participation in education, public service, and the economy.

Image: ACWA Power

“Partnering with UN Women allows us to advance concrete initiatives that promote safer workplaces, fairer opportunities, and stronger representation of women in Uzbekistan,” said Dr. Jon Zaidi, Country General Manager of ACWA Power Uzbekistan. “By investing in training, curricula, and leadership development, we aim to help embed practices that benefit institutions, companies, and communities alike.”

“This partnership demonstrates how private sector engagement can accelerate progress on gender equality,” added Ceren Guven Gures, Head of the UN Women Central Asia Liaison Office and Representative of the UN Women Kazakhstan Country Office. “With ACWA Power’s support, we will expand opportunities for women and strengthen protections in education and the workplace.”

04 Nov 2025

Central Asia, Tajikistan Justice, Home, Justice, Tajikistan, Tajikistan Features, Tajikistan Home, Features

Tajikistan Improves Ranking in U.S. Human Trafficking Report

November 4, 2025
By Vagit Ismailov

Tajikistan has improved its standing in the U.S. State Department’s 2025 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, moving up from the Tier 2 Watch List to Tier 2. This designation means the country still does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking under U.S. legislation, but is making significant efforts to comply.

According to the report, released on the State Department’s official website, Tajikistan’s progress reflects expanded anti-trafficking efforts in 2024. Authorities initiated 57 criminal cases related to human trafficking, down slightly from 60 in 2023 but the number of identified victims surged from 47 to 272. Of these, 238 were victims of forced labor, and 34 were victims of sexual exploitation.

In the first half of 2025 alone, Tajik law enforcement registered 39 new cases, including five involving the sale of children.

Tajikistan’s shift to Tier 2 signals a positive trajectory. However, the report notes persistent shortcomings. Authorities, for instance, often fail to clearly distinguish between labor exploitation and sexual violence, frequently conflating these with irregular migration or illegal adoption cases.

Despite an official ban, the report highlights that schoolchildren and university students in Tajikistan continue to be mobilized for cotton harvesting under the guise of “hashar” or community work days.

The TIP Report also raises concerns about coercive recruitment tactics used in military conscription, though it does not elaborate on specific methods.

Refugees and stateless individuals are another focus of concern. According to the report, some citizens of Afghanistan and Bangladesh have been subjected to forced labor at construction sites in Tajikistan. U.S. estimates indicate that more than 12,000 refugees and asylum seekers live in the country, the majority of whom are Afghan nationals.

Tajikistan’s Criminal Code criminalizes human trafficking-related offenses such as kidnapping, trafficking in persons, the sale of minors, and the use of children in the production of pornography. It also covers crimes such as organizing illegal migration, forging documents, and misusing official seals and stamps.

While the U.S. report acknowledges improvements in victim identification and data collection, it emphasizes that Tajikistan must strengthen victim protection measures, improve transparency in investigations and expand its prevention strategies to continue advancing in the global anti-trafficking effort.

04 Nov 2025

Central Asia, Home, Uzbekistan, Life & Culture, Uzbekistan Features, Uzbekistan Home, Uzbekistan Life & Culture

Uzbekistan Introduces Visa-Free Travel for U.S. Citizens Starting January 2026

November 4, 2025
By Sadokat Jalolova

Uzbekistan will implement a visa-free regime for U.S. citizens beginning January 1, 2026, according to a presidential decree signed on November 3, 2025. The announcement was reported by UzA, the country’s official state news agency.

Under the new policy, American citizens will be permitted to stay in Uzbekistan for up to 30 days without a visa from the date of entry. The measure aims to strengthen trade, economic, cultural, and humanitarian ties between the two countries, while also enhancing tourism.

Since 2021, Uzbekistan has allowed visa-free entry for tourists aged 55 and older from the United States and several other nations, with a maximum stay of 30 days, according to Kun.uz. The expansion of this policy to include all U.S. citizens marks a major step in promoting bilateral travel and business engagement.

The proposal to lift visa requirements for U.S. nationals was first introduced in May 2025 through a presidential decree focused on boosting foreign tourist inflows. The same document instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to initiate negotiations with Washington on easing visa conditions for Uzbek citizens traveling to the United States.

In a related development, the Uzbek government recently extended visa-free entry to citizens of six more countries, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, following a Cabinet of Ministers decision issued on October 21.

04 Nov 2025

Education, Central Asia, Home, Kyrgyzstan, Local Politics, Kyrgyzstan Local Politics, Kyrgyzstan Home

Bishkek City Hall Tightens School Meal Oversight After Mass Food Poisoning

November 4, 2025
By Anton Chipegin

A mass food poisoning incident at a Bishkek school has prompted city authorities to intensify oversight of school meal programs. Eighty children and four adults were affected after consuming shawarma (flatbread wraps filled with grilled meat) prepared with allegedly poor-quality ingredients, according to the Bishkek City Hall.

The Bishkek Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology has launched an inspection of all schools in the capital. Dozens of children sought medical care, reporting symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.

Twelve individuals were hospitalized, while the remaining victims are receiving outpatient treatment. The school cafeteria involved has been shut down pending an epidemiological investigation.

Deputy Mayor of Bishkek Victoria Mozgacheva met with the school’s director and underscored the zero-tolerance policy for violations of the approved meal plan and sanitary protocols.

“All general education institutions in the capital, regardless of their ownership, have been ordered to strictly follow the approved meal regulations,” the mayor’s office stated. “Any deviation from the menu, which is approved in consultation with medical and epidemiological experts, is strictly prohibited.”

Preliminary findings suggest the source of the poisoning may have been improperly handled chicken used in the shawarma served.

In response, Bishkek authorities have instructed schools to tighten food quality control measures. The Ministry of Health of Kyrgyzstan has also initiated legislation to ban the sale of unhealthy food products in close proximity to schools.

04 Nov 2025

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

Kazakh Boxing Legend Gennadiy Golovkin Nominated to Lead World Boxing

November 4, 2025
By Dmitry Pokidaev

Gennadiy Golovkin, Kazakhstan’s former middleweight world champion, and current head of the National Olympic Committee, has been nominated for the presidency of World Boxing, the international boxing federation. He is also running concurrently for a vicepresidential post and a seat on the Board of Directors.

World Boxing was created in April 2023 as an alternative to the International Boxing Association (IBA) after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended it from hosting Olympic qualifying tournaments citing governance problems, corruption scandals and nontransparent refereeing.

At its founding the association included only six countries, United States, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the Philippines but by late 2025 it has grown considerably. In September 2024 Golovkin became Chair of World Boxing’s Olympic Commission, whose key task is to work with the IOC to keep boxing in the Olympic programme and gain official recognition for the new organisation.

The next World Boxing leadership elections will take place on 23 November 2025 in Rome as part of the World Boxing Congress. The incumbent president, Dutchman Boris van der Vorst, has announced he will not seek reelection.

According to the organisation’s press service, Golovkin has been nominated for three positions simultaneously, president, vicepresident and board member. Election to one position automatically excludes voting for the others.

Two other candidates for the presidency have been announced: Mariolis Charilaos of Greece. A number of other candidates are also running for the vicepresidential and board seats.

As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, in 2025 World Boxing held its first amateur world championship, with Kazakhstan’s team winning the overall team competition.