Page 692 – The Times Of Central Asia

08 Jun 2024

Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Business & Economy, Kazakhstan Home

Kazakhstan’s Unexploited Potential of Deep Processing of Coal

June 28, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

During the 5^th Coal Industry Forum at the 14th International Mining and Metallurgical Congress on 6-7 June in Astana, Yerzhan Yelekeyev, Chairman of the Management Board of Kazakh Invest, presented new investment opportunities to produce high-tech goods from Kazakh coal.

Substantiating his claim that the coal chemistry industry has the means to help grow Kazakhstan’s chemical industry and developments in manufacturing, Yelekeyev stated:

“Having an extensive resource base and an advantageous geographical location, we must realize the potential of the coal chemical industry. In total, more than 400 different products can be obtained by processing coal, the cost of which is 20-25 times higher than the cost of coal itself. With the deep processing of coal, it is possible to obtain products that cost 25-30 times more than raw materials. Currently, the share of coal products in Kazakhstan is 3%; an indicator of the low level of development of coal chemistry. The price of coal is lower and more stable than that of gas and oil. According to preliminary calculations, the unused potential is worth $25 billion.”

In his presentation on “Partnership of Kazakhstan and the European Union in the field of critical minerals,” Timur Izbasarov, Deputy Director of the Strategy Department at Kazakh Invest, added that according to the World Bank, Kazakhstan has over 5,000 undiscovered deposits valued at over 46 trillion US dollars, and hence, significant opportunities for investment and cooperation in the field waiting to be untapped.

08 Jun 2024

Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Life & Culture, Kazakhstan International Affairs

Kazakhstan’s Goodwill Ambassadors

October 8, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

A Goodwill Ambassadors of Kazakhstan project has been newly launched by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Initiated by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the project aims to increase the country’s visibility and promote its achievements abroad.

Under the scheme, Kazakhs excelling in art, sports, science, medicine, and other fields are enlisted to expand cultural and humanitarian communications by serving as conduits of peace, friendship, and international solidarity.

Addressing the ‘ambassadors’ at the launch ceremony on June 6, Deputy Prime Minister–Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu announced:

“In an unprecedented geopolitical environment, public and cultural-humanitarian diplomacy is becoming increasingly in demand. Thanks to your victories and outstanding performances on world stages, arenas, and conferences, our turquoise flag is raised across the globe, and our national anthem resounds with pride.”

The profile of participants, publicly recognized for their contribution in shaping a positive image of the country internationally, is wide-ranging and to date, includes:

Violin virtuoso, conductor, and director of the Alliance of Orchestras of the Asia-Pacific region Marat Bisengaliev; Olympic champion cyclist Alexander Vinokurov; artist and anti-nuclear activist Karikbek Kuyukov; pop singer Mirhidai Mirfarukh, known globally by his stage name Adam; Chairman of the Executive Board of the University Medical Center Corporate Fund and cardiac surgeon Yuri Pya; political scientist and historical map researcher Mukhit-Ardager Sydyknazarov; chief conductor of the State Academic Folklore and Ethnographic Orchestra named after Tlendiyev “Otyrar Sazy” Dinara Tlendiyeva; and powerlifting world record holder and Guinness Book record holder Sergey Tsyrulnikov.

07 Jun 2024

Central Asia, Tajikistan Justice, Home, Justice, Tajikistan Local Politics, Tajikistan, Tajikistan Features, Tajikistan Home, Features

Human Rights Organization Demands Release of Tajik Journalist

June 17, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

The Washington DC.-based human rights organization Freedom Now and the American law firm Dechert LLP have sent a letter to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, calling for the release of the Tajik journalist and human rights activist Mamadsulton Mavlonazarov.

The letter says that the 72-year-old Mavlonazarov, also known as Muhammadi Sulton, was imprisoned for criticizing Tajikistan’s authorities. The journalist, a former state security colonel, was arrested in 2022 and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison on charges of publicly calling for a violent change in the constitutional order, and insulting representatives of the authorities through the media or the internet.

In their appeal to the UN, the signees state that Mavlonazarov’s current condition is unsatisfactory, and voice fears for his health. He has severe swelling of his legs and kidney problems, due to which he has been hospitalized several times.

“We hope that the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention will conclude that Mavlonazarov’s detention violates his fundamental right to freedom of expression, in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and he should be released,” the letter reads.

It is also reported that after he resigned from the state security agencies, Mavlonazarov became a journalist, and was repeatedly threatened for his critical articles, which were published on his Facebook page. Human rights activists claim that he was convicted for his posts and comments about the May 2022 events in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAR).

Mavlonazarov’s detention came in June 2022 after he sharply criticized Tajik security forces’ “counter-terrorism” operation in Rushan district and Khorog, which, according to official figures, resulted in 16 deaths and, according to independent sources, about 40. A month earlier, the Tajik authorities had announced the “neutralization of an organized criminal group” in GBAR.

07 Jun 2024

Central Asia, International Affairs, Business & Economy

EDB Concept for Eurasian Transport Network

June 28, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

On 6 June, the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) announced that it is preparing a concept for the Eurasian Transport Network aimed at enhancing connectivity across Eurasia and stimulating economic development, trade and mobility in the region.

The EDB is a multilateral development bank with investments in the Eurasian states of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.

The Eurasian Transport Network is a system of international transport corridors and routes spanning over 50,000 kilometres. In 2023, five key corridors — the Northern, Central and Southern Eurasian Corridors, TRACECA (including the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route) and the International North-South Transport Corridor — carried 260 million tons of freight and 3.6 million international containers. According to the EDB, container traffic has tripled over the past decade.

Having mooted the notion of the Eurasian Transport Network back in 2021, the EDB is now poised to present a detailed concept of its development. Analysis has shown that the synergy of corridors is ensured not through their competition, but through the connection and complementarity nature of its routes.

The concept includes ten key elements, including addressing Central Asia’s challenges by making the region a transport crossroads, focusing on intra-regional connectivity, and providing a strong impetus to realize the region’s vast agro-industrial potential through new logistics and specialized rolling stock.

The EDB’s new report, titled The Eurasian Transport Network, also examines promising transport infrastructure development projects and initiatives, including cooperation between countries and multilateral development banks towards their implementation.

The report will be launched at the EDB Business Forum, scheduled for 27–28 June 2024 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

07 Jun 2024

Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan Business & Economy, Uzbekistan International Affairs

Uzbekistan and Turkey Deepen Strategic Partnership

June 28, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

On 6 June, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a Joint Declaration in Ankara on deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations.

During the third meeting of the Uzbek-Turkish High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, chaired by the presidents, Mirziyoyev emphasized that the establishment of the Strategic Cooperation Council “opened a new page in the history of Uzbek-Turkish relations and gave a powerful impetus to the further development of partnership in all areas.”

It was stated that in recent years, trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Turkey has increased 1.5-fold, the number of joint ventures has doubled, and Turkish investments in the Uzbek economy has grown 2.5-fold. Ninety flights operate weekly between the countries’ major cities and the number of Turkish tourists in Uzbekistan has tripled.

The two countries now aim to increase the volume of bilateral trade turnover to five billion dollars in the shortest possible time.

Leading Turkish companies as Cengiz Holding, Aksa Energy, Çalık Holding, Akay Inşaat, Anadolu Group, Özgüven, and Eczacıbaşı Holding are currently implementing over 100 projects in Uzbekistan and during President Mirziyoyev’s visit, a portfolio of new investment projects worth $10 billion was formed.

The agenda focused on strengthening industrial cooperation, deepening the localization of production of goods with high added value, and joint entry into the markets of third countries.

Emphasis was also placed on the need to reduce customs tariffs within the framework of the Agreement on Preferential Trade and on the introduction of a trade mission of Uzbekistan in Istanbul.

The importance of cooperation in increasing the transport and logistics potential of the two countries, including effective harnessing of opportunities of the Middle Corridor, was discussed.

In recognition of his role in their countries’ allegiance, President Erdogan awarded President Mirziyoyev with the Order of the Republic; the highest state order awarded to foreign nationals by the President of Turkey.

Thanking the president, Mirziyoyev announced: “It is a great honor for me to receive such a high award from the Republic of Turkey on the day of signing the Declaration on Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between our countries. This award is a symbol of thousands of years of fraternal ties between our peoples, confidential dialogue at the highest level, as well as rapidly developing multifaceted bilateral relations.”

07 Jun 2024

Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan International Affairs, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan Business & Economy, Kyrgyzstan Business & Economy, Uzbekistan International Affairs

China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan Railway Project to Begin

August 8, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

On 6 June, an intergovernmental agreement on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project was signed in Beijing.

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is a strategic infrastructure project designed to create a new land transport corridor between Central and East Asia.

The agreement, which marks an important step in progressing the project, lists principles and mechanisms for cooperation between the three countries concerning financing, construction, operation, and maintenance of the railway.

In accordance with the agreement, the railway will run through Kashgar (China) – Torugart – Makmal – Jalalabad (Kyrgyzstan) – Andijan (Uzbekistan), with a modern transit and logistics infrastructure, warehouses and terminals created along the route.

Once completed, the railway will transport an annual cargo of 15 million tons, and reduce time taken for delivery to consumers by 7 days.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov, and Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev attended the event via a video link.

Kyrgyz President Japarov described the agreement as “a historical event marking the long-awaited start of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway construction project – which will – open new transportation routes to European countries and the Persian Gulf.”

Uzbek President Mirziyoyev likewise remarked on the historical significance of the signing, and stated, “This railway will become the shortest land link connecting China with our region. In the future, it will allow access through the promising Trans-Afghan corridor to the capacious markets of the countries of South Asia and the Middle East.”

Chinese President Xi emphasized that the railway is a strategic project of connectivity between China and Central Asia and a landmark in the three countries’ cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

According to the Chinese leader, China is ready to work with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan on the launch of the project as early as possible, to boost the regions’ economic and social development .