Page 590 – The Times Of Central Asia

03 Sep 2024

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

Russia Donates School Buses for Remote Regions of Kyrgyzstan

October 8, 2024
By Sergey Kwan

A Russian non-profit organization, Eurasia, has given 50 school buses to secondary schools in remote areas of Kyrgyzstan.

The handover ceremony was held on September 2 in Bishkek. It was attended by the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic, Akylbek Japarov, Deputy Speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Boris Chernyshov, and State Duma deputy and chairperson of Eurasia, Alena Arshinova.

At the ceremony, Japarov lauded the long-lasting, strong partnership relations between Kyrgyzstan and Russia and highly appreciated “the contribution that our Russian colleagues make to the development of Kyrgyzstan’s educational sphere.”

The head of the Kyrgyz Cabinet of Ministers emphasized that in 2023, Kyrgyzstan built 105 secondary schools, compared to 15 schools constructed in 2010. He added that during this period, the number of schoolchildren in the country increased by almost half a million.

At a meeting with Chernyshov and Arshinova on the same day, Japarov noted that Kyrgyzstan has begun implementing large-scale educational projects with Russia in recent years, such as the construction of nine secondary schools in all regions of Kyrgyzstan through Russian funding, construction of new campus of the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University in Bishkek and a branch of Moscow State University in the city of Karakol, as well as a program in which teachers from Russia teach in rural schools across Kyrgyzstan.

03 Sep 2024

Central Asia, Uzbekistan, Justice, Kazakhstan Local Politics, Tajikistan Local Politics, Tajikistan, Local Politics, Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyzstan Local Politics, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan Justice, Kyrgyzstan Features, Uzbekistan Local Politics

Kyrgyzstan Proposes Amendment to Laws Regulating Religious Sphere

September 3, 2024
By Sergey Kwan

The authorities in Kyrgyzstan have moved to introduce stricter control of the religious sphere in the predominantly Muslim nation.

The State Commission on Religious Affairs has submitted draft amendments to the laws regulating religion for public discussion. The Commission proposes banning the creation of political parties on a religious basis, and the participation of political organizations in spiritual activities. It also proposes banning the financing of political parties by religious activity and organizations.

The proposed amendments prohibit deputies of the Jogorku Kenesh (national parliament) and local Keneshes (councils) from combining their parliamentary work with religious activities. They also ban religious figures from being elected as deputies of local Keneshes, and propose that the dissemination of religious information be prohibited in electoral campaigning.

The amendments broach introducing a fine for wearing clothing that does not allow a person’s identification in government offices and public places, such as a niqab. The exceptions are clothing required for work, and clothing that covers the face for medical reasons.

Authorities in neighboring Kazakhstan are also trying to restrict the wearing of religious clothing – hijabs (headscarves) and niqabs – in public places. Kazakhstan’s parliament will consider a bill on the issue during the fall session.

In the fall of 2023, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan signed a law prohibiting the wearing of the niqab in public places.

In Tajikistan, authorities have encouraged wearing national dress and prohibited women from wearing black clothing and hijabs, considering them “alien” to Tajik culture and traditions. Earlier this year, the Tajik parliament passed a law regulating traditions and rites, banning the wearing of clothing considered to be “foreign to Tajik culture.”

03 Sep 2024

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Special Report: Prospects Look Good for Kazakh Wheat Exports

September 4, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

According to the International Grains Council, Kazakhstan’s wheat harvest for the 2024/2025 season is expected to reach 16 million tons. As the harvesting campaign begins, the country’s lack of elevator capacity and the problem of mainline railroads are concerns. Idle trains are still a problem, which leads to the introduction of regular restrictions and bans on the acceptance and shipment of wheat due to congestion on the railroad.

Market participants note that the railroad cannot cope with the volume of shipments during the autumn rush, with its infrastructural ceiling on shipments at only 1 million tons of grain per month. This leads to a collapse at border railroad crossings and, consequently, a price drop in the domestic market.

One obvious solution is to expand Kazakhstan’s elevator capacity and grain storage facilities; this is one of the reasons for the increased load on the railroad infrastructure. Thus, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, 191 licensed grain-receiving enterprises have a total storage capacity of more than 13.2 million tons. In addition, agricultural producers have storage capacities for 15.8 million tons of grain, which, as the ministry assures, is enough to store grain considering the projected harvest. Also, according to the ministry, the construction of new grain storage facilities and the expansion of existing ones are envisaged. In 2024-2026, it plans to operate five granaries with a capacity of 30,200 tons.

The national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) has already established a grain headquarters, involving representatives from local executive bodies, the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs “Atameken,” and shippers. This headquarters ensures adequate transportation for the upcoming season’s harvest. As Salamat Abzhaliyev, Deputy General Director for Marketing and Planning of KTZ-Gruzovye Transportations LLP, noted during the briefing held at the end of August, for seven months of the current year, the total volume of grain loading on the network of railroads of the country amounted to 4.7 million tons. Only in Kazakhstan did wheat transportation increase by 3%, amounting to 1.1 million tons.

An important factor affecting the efficiency of transporting grain and milling products is the availability of specialized wagons. In addition to boxcars, grain carriers are designed to transport these specific cargoes. Today, the total fleet of boxcars and grain cars on the railroad is about 16,000 and 12,000, respectively. According to KTZ, this fleet is sufficient to fulfill all agreed transportation plans.

According to forecasts of the International Grain Council, the export of Kazakhstani wheat in the 2024/2025 season is projected at 10 million tons. During the first six months of the year, 2.4 million tons of wheat have already been shipped. The main buyers of domestic grain are traditionally Uzbekistan, China, Tajikistan, Italy, and Afghanistan. Grain exports to China have grown 5.7 times in the last three years, which makes China a key export destination.

China is ready to accept large volumes of grain from Kazakhstan. Today, the country buys about 10 million tons of wheat worldwide, including from Kazakhstan. However, further development of trade is constrained by limited transportation logistics. Since the beginning of the year, KTZ has repeatedly imposed restrictions and bans on the shipment and acceptance of grain and milling products to be transported in the direction of China. Nevertheless, KZT plans to export over 2 million tons of grain to China this year.

For its part, China has already implemented a number of infrastructure projects in the border cities of Alashankou and Khorgos to increase the volume of grain cargo transportation and improve its efficiency. These projects have built modern grain terminals with a capacity of 6,000 tons per day and the possibility of automated unloading of the entire train.

It is worth recalling that at the end of March of this year, KTZ, together with employees of the Chinese railroad at the Dostyk-Alashankou border crossing, already set a daily record of 21 trains for the transfer of trains to China, which indicates the potential for further increases in freight traffic to increase exports to China.

Afghanistan remains a promising market for Kazakhstani wheat and flour. The change in the political situation in Kabul led to the suspension of trade operations with all partner countries, including Kazakhstan. For some time, interbank transactions and delivery of railroad cars were impossible, as the owners feared for their safety and return. However, the problems have been resolved. Today, transactions are made through third-country banks, and railcar delivery has been restored. Among other things, Afghanistan remains a priority flour market for Kazakhstan, accounting for 70% of its total exports. In eight months of the 2023/24 marketing year, Kazakhstan exported 172,840 tons of wheat to Afghanistan. The annual demand for the Afghan market is from 2 to 3 million tons. Despite an increase in wheat crops, the country’s leadership has agreed with Kazakhstan to import grain at an affordable price. During the recent visit of an Afghan delegation to Kazakhstan, the issues of establishing a stable trade between the countries, purchase of wheat, and increase of exports through the railroad network were discussed. As a result of the meeting, the Kazakhstani side reduced the duties by 50% on Afghan exports.

An alternative route through the Aktau seaport is also being worked out to transport grain cargoes to Afghanistan. This will allow loading the capacities of western terminals — Aktau Northern and Akbidai, with a total capacity of 82,000 tons — as well as Beineu grain terminal, which can simultaneously store 100,000 tons of grain, receive up to 500 railcars daily, and send up to 2 million tons per year in packaged form and grain trucks.

Agrarians in neighboring Uzbekistan are breaking records in their wheat harvests. For the first time in the country’s history it has exceeded 9 million tons this year. This is even though the republic has been a top importer of Kazakhstani wheat for several years. The volume of shipments for the first six months of the current year has already exceeded the volume for the whole of last year. In the September-February 2023/24 marketing year, Kazakhstan exported 1.6 million tons of wheat to Uzbekistan. Tashkent accounts for more than 40% of Kazakhstan’s grain exports.

Uzbekistan in 2024 reduced the transit tariff for railroad transportation of grain from Kazakhstan. It is also worth noting Kazakhstan’s large-scale efforts to ease the load on the Saryagash station border crossing with its southern neighbor, which currently handles about 80% of Kazakhstan’s grain exports. It is about constructing a new railway line, Darbaza-Maktaaral, which will significantly help the transportation of grain, not only cargo, to Central Asia. In addition, last year, KTZ increased the number of railroad tracks from four to eight at the Kuprik border station, allowing for the exchange of trains at the Saryagash-Kuprik border crossing. Six more tracks are under construction this year.

Europe has become a significant market for Kazakhstan’s agricultural products. Given the current geopolitical situation in the region and sanctions restrictions against Russia, one of the largest grain suppliers, the European Union opens vast opportunities for developing Kazakhstan’s export potential.

According to a report from the European Commission, the republic is already in first place among durum wheat exporters to the West, ahead of Turkey and Canada. Kazakhstan supplied the European Union with 19,000 tons of durum wheat in the season 2024-2025.

Kazakhstan optimizes the railway and elevator infrastructure in the current export market situation to reduce the seasonal three-month peak. In the conditions of an active increase in wheat-grown volumes and the development of its grain processing by importing countries, Kazakhstan plans to diversify its export structure by developing deep grain processing with the sale of value-added products. Thus, only neighboring China is planning a significant increase in grain production in the coming years. According to the action plan released by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, by 2030, China intends to increase its capacity by more than 50 million tons. By then, the area under crops in the PRC will amount to about 117 million hectares.

Under these conditions, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Kazakhstan, in the coming years, plans to implement 13 projects for grain processing, including the construction of three enterprises for deep processing of wheat and corn in the Astana, Kostanay, and Turkestan regions. It is also planned to reduce areas in grain-growing regions of the country to diversify and move away from monoculture. By 2028, their volume will be reduced by 855,000 hectares. At the same time, due to the reduction of spring wheat crops, the area of highly profitable and socially essential crops will be increased.

03 Sep 2024

Home, Life & Culture, Kazakhstan Life & Culture, Kazakhstan

Putintseva Breaches Tennis Etiquette in U.S. Open Loss

September 3, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

Kazakh tennis player Yulia Putintseva once said: “I’m like a gangster on court, but like an angel off court.”

The comment, reported by the Women’s Tennis Association in 2022, was emblematic of Putintseva’s fiery on-court demeanor, which has propelled her to some big wins over the years.

But take out frustrations on a member of the ball crew, as Putintseva appeared to do at this year’s U.S. Open? That’s taboo in tennis circles, and players cross the line at their peril when social media is the judge.

Moscow-born Putintseva, 29, has been the target of withering online criticism since her dismissive treatment of a ballgirl during a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Jasmine Paolini of Italy in Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York on Saturday.

Video of the incident shows the world No. 32 standing virtually immobile as the ball crewmember, her hands aloft as her training dictates, bounces one ball and then another toward the player. Putintseva lets the balls bounce off her, suggesting indifference or even disdain. Putintseva nonchalantly catches a third ball before walking off to resume play. Some in the crowd start to boo and whistle while watching the uncomfortable encounter.

“Who does Putintseva think she is … Terrible behaviour towards the ball girl !!!” Boris Becker, who won six Grand Slam singles titles, said on X.

“Shame on her!!! Humiliation of a ball kid is the last thing you do on a tennis court,” said retired Spanish player Feliciano López (who once accidentally clocked a ball boy in a sensitive area with one of his big serves).

Putintseva issued an apology on social media to the ball crewmember, saying “it was not about her” and that she was upset with herself for failing to win the previous game during the match, according to Sports Illustrated and other media. Some online pundits panned the apology, saying it should be made in person.

It was a fraught exit from the last Slam of the year for Putintseva, a Florida resident who switched from representing Russia to Kazakhstan in 2012 and has received support from the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation. She was on the Kazakh Olympic team, which later said she pulled out of the Paris games because of injury.

Putintseva has won three WTA singles titles, including on grass in Birmingham this year, and notched wins over some of the best in the game – Naomi Osaka in the Wimbledon first round in 2019, top seed Coco Gauff in Cincinnati this year, and No. 1 Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon, also in 2024.

There are rigorous guidelines for ball crews at the majors. At the U.S. Open, anyone 14 years or older can apply for the job and the average age of a ball crew member is about 21.

Ball teams sometimes contend with intense heat on court and balls flying at high speed in their direction. Tournament winners often thank the ball crews in trophy speeches. Some champions were once ball kids.

“At heart, I’m always going to be a ball boy,” Roger Federer told TennisTV in 2019.

03 Sep 2024

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Bridging Continents: The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway – A Tale of Opportunities, Challenges, and Controversies

September 26, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

On June 6, 2024, an agreement was signed in Beijing to begin the construction of a railway between China and Uzbekistan which will pass through Kyrgyzstan, a strategic infrastructure project designed to create a new land transport corridor between Central and East Asia.

For 27 years, this project remained a pipe-dream. Now, the presidents of the three countries have confidently declared that this railway, with a length of 523 kilometers, is extremely necessary and will be highly profitable for the entire region. However, such sentiments were not always the case, and doubts have long lived in the heads of multiple Kyrgyz presidents.

Both Askar Akayev, who ruled the country from 1990 until the revolution in 2005, his successor Kurmanbek Bakiyev, also overthrown as a result of revolution in 2010, and Almazbek Atambayev, were not sure of the benefits of this project. Until 2017, that is, shortly before Atambayev’s resignation and the transfer of power to his, as it seemed to him at that time, reliable friend Sooronbay Jeenbekov, Atambayev was more or less consistent in defending the interests of his country, but later his focus shifted towards China. Why was there such a turn from Atambayev towards Beijing? This later became clear.

On January 26, 2018, an accident occurred in the old part of the Bishkek Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHP), which was supposed to have been modernized by that time. This incident served to reveal large-scale corruption and financial violations at the CHP. The contract for implementation of the modernization was signed on July 16, 2013 between the owner of the CHP, Electric Stations OJSC, and the Chinese company, TBEA, in the amount of $386 million dollars. The financing was provided as a loan by a state fund of China, the Export and Import Bank of China (Eximbank), and Kyrgyzstan had to return approximately $500 million including interest.

However, after the accident and the transfer of the case to court, it transpired that the real cost of the subhead modernization was a maximum of $250-260 million. Hence, the cost was hugely inflated; as an example, a pair of pliers was invoiced for $640, and fire extinguishers for $1,600.

A similar situation occurred with the Datka-Kemin power line, the construction of which began in 2012, when Atambayev was president. The project was implemented by the same Chinese company, TBEA, which carried out work on modernization of the CHP, and the amount cited for the project was the same, $386 million. Again, the loan was issued by Eximbank. As a result of corruption scandals which were revealed in 2019, Atambayev was deprived of presidential immunity and paid with his freedom. Kyrgyzstan’s accumulated debt since its independence in 1991 is estimated at $6.2 billion – 45% of GDP – around $1.7 billion of which is owed to Eximbank.

After Sadyr Japarov came to power in November 2020, issues surrounding the Kumtor Gold Mine came to the fore. Discovered by geologists in 1978, the largest open pit gold mine in Central Asia, Kumtor is located 60 kilometers south of Lake Issyk-Kul and 60 km from the border with China. The mining industry is the most important sector in Kyrgyzstan’s economy, and its foundation is gold. Until its nationalization in 2021, Kumtor was owned by the Canadian company, Centerra Gold, through a highly-dubious arrangement which involved an oligarch mentioned in a leaked FBI report and the suspicious death of the first Prime Minister of independent Kyrgyzstan; this led to decades of the Kyrgyz Parliament fighting to annul the contract.

Now, Kumtor is part of the state-owned Kyrgyzaltyn OJSC, which has served to add to the ratings of populist President Japarov. In 2023, at a solemn ceremony dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the development of Kumtor, Japarov called events surrounding the deposit the “scam of the century” and a symbol of corruption which had led to the enrichment of foreigners and a handful of local officials, adding not without pride that Kumtor has now been returned to the people.

However, there is a striking difference between official statistics coming out of Bishkek and those of the countries importing Kyrgyz gold, which in 2023 alone amounted to 1.8 tons. If these reported irregularities prove to be true, violations at the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, the CHP-Bishkek, and the Datka-Kemin power lines may be just the tip of the iceberg.

At the end of 2023, construction of the railway on the territory of Kyrgyzstan was preliminarily estimated at a cost of $4.7billion. However, on June 13, 2024 Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Akylbek Japarov confirmed a statement made by President Japarov in April 2024 that construction of the railway would begin in August, and the budget would be $8 billion.

Questions therefore arise about the difference of $3.3 billion. In an interview with Kabar TV at the time, Japarov offered platitudes, saying that the economy is developing rapidly, so additional loans taken from China and the increase in public debt to $10-15 billion will not affect the country’s budget or the pockets of Kyrgyz citizens. At the same time, Japarov stated this would be his last interview on the subject, and he would not answer any further questions about foreign debt.

In May of this year, specifically referencing the “disease” that was Kumtor, Akylbek Japarov declared that a huge increase in the state budget had been made possible by the “elimination of corruption.”

02 Sep 2024

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Kazakhstan: Tokayev Delivers Address to the Nation

October 7, 2024
By Andrei Matveev

A new political season has started in Kazakhstan.

Following tradition, it opened with a joint session of the chambers of Kazakhstan’s parliament, at which the head of state, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, delivered his regular Address to the Nation, this year entitled: Fair Kazakhstan: Law and Order, Economic Growth, Social Optimism.

As predicted by State Counselor, Yerlan Karin, the president’s new address contained over a hundred initiatives, instructions, and proposals that “develop the line of reforms laid out in his previous messages and election platform.”

Tokayev began his address by mentioning the parliament’s adoption of 102 laws in the previous session, including norms on public control, countering human trafficking, science and technology policy, heat and energy, etc.

Social issues, especially child protection, remain a top priority and whilst many systematic steps have been taken to improve people’s welfare, the president emphasized that much work lay ahead.

“The people of Kazakhstan today live in a completely new political reality,” he stated. “Over the past five years, large-scale reforms have been implemented; the political system has radically transformed. Fundamental changes are taking place in public consciousness; the level of legal culture of citizens is increasing, and new models of behavior and new values are taking root in society. The renewal of political and public life, as well as the mentality and cultural norms of the nation, has begun. The construction of “Fair Kazakhstan” is underway, and what is especially important is that all this fully corresponds to the people’s aspirations. Therefore, we will continue to follow our course steadfastly and not turn off the path.”

Expanding on how the past five years have changed the country, Tokayev explained, “Since 2021, about 2.5 thousand akims of villages have been elected, which is ninety percent of the total number of heads of rural settlements. In the remaining villages, elections will be held after the expiration of the terms of office of their akims. The average age of newly elected akims is 46 years. Sixty percent will have no previous experience of working in public service, and their number includes entrepreneurs and members of various parties. The corps of akims elected by the people has been largely renewed.”

The head of state recalled that in the fall of last year, Kazakhstan began to hold elections for the first time for akims of districts and cities of regional significance. Under the new rules, 45 akims were elected in all oblasts. According to the president, the latest election system will go even further.

“After a comprehensive study of the election results and analysis of the work of elected akims, it was decided to finally switch to the new system from next year. In the future, akims of districts and regional cities will be elected only through direct elections, which will be held as the powers (i.e., rotation terms) of incumbent akims expire,” Tokayev emphasized, calling it another essential step in the transformation of the political system and stressing that if required for the development of the state, reforms will continue.

The logic of granting Kazakhstani people more rights and freedoms dovetails with urgent instructions to akims and the government to improve the welfare of citizens; destabilization similar to Bloody January 2022 is the last thing Kazakhstan needs during the current geopolitical turbulence. Therefore, the task of economic growth in the country is to strengthen and consolidate the middle class and reduce social inequality.

“This is the only way we can strengthen the potential of our state. For this purpose, efficiency should be the key criterion in every endeavor. Every decision and every project should be considered based on its usefulness for the state,” Tokayev announced to representatives of the government and regional authorities.

The president also highlighted the need to reform vocational education, deemed critical for ensuring the growth of the economy and its attractiveness for investment.

To this end, he announced that 2025 will be the “Year of Working Professions.”

The technical and vocational education system will be reformed, and “this initiative will also promote the idea of diligence and professionalism in our society. The values of hard work and professionalism must always come first in our society,” Tokayev stressed. “This aligns perfectly with our Responsible Citizen—Honest Labor—Deserved Success principle. We will continue to take consistent measures to elevate the status of workers.”