British company Concrete Canvas Ltd. has established an office in Kazakhstan with the intention of building a plant to produce geosynthetic cement composite mats that eliminate water loss during filtration.

The decision, which comes in the wake the company’s abandonment of plans to localize production in Russia due to the geopolitical situation, was embraced by Kazakhstan’s national investment promotion company Kazakh Invest.

During a meeting on April 4 in Astana, chairman Yerzhan Yelekeyev assured UK representatives of the Kazakh company’s comprehensive support in realizing the project.

According to Concrete Canvas Ltd. the employment of their innovative technology will solve Kazakhstan’s recurring problems regarding the construction and renovation of irrigation systems. Once implemented, the project will significantly improve operational reliability, eliminate water loss in the country’s agro-industrial sector, and cut expenditure on the renovation of canals, protective dams, and other civil infrastructure facilities.

Kyrgyzstan’s Interbank Processing Center (IPC) reports that on April 5 it will stop servicing the Russian payment system ‘MIR’. The decision was made “to minimize the risk of secondary sanctions.”

Interbank is a Kyrgyz company that services the national payment system, called ElCard. In 2019 Interbank entered into a partnership with MIR, so that citizens of both countries could pay with their domestic bank cards while in either Russia or Kyrgyzstan.

On February 23 the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which is responsible for controlling foreign assets that involve U.S. dollars and/or the U.S. banking system, imposed sanctions on Russia’s MIR.

Earlier, the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic told The Times of Central Asia that it doesn’t interfere in the activities of commercial banks in Kyrgyzstan, but only monitors compliance with the country’s legislation on combating the financing of terrorist activities and laundering of criminal proceeds. Therefore, Kyrgyz banks can independently decide whether or not to work with the Russian payment system.

Kyrgyz banks that have accounts with western financial organizations ceased working with the MIR system in 2022, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. After ElCard severed its ties with the Russians, all financial organizations in Kyrgyzstan also stopped accepting MIR cards.

This decision has hit Kyrgyz citizens in Russia as well, because Russian ATMs and POS terminals have stopped accepting their ElCards. But, as the Kyrgyz National Bank has explained, this decision will not affect international transfers. “It should be noted that the possibility of money transfers from the Kyrgyz Republic to the Russian Federation and vice versa with the use of mobile applications of commercial banks in the presence of direct contractual relations between Kyrgyz and Russian commercial banks, as well as through money transfer systems without opening an account, will remain,” Kyrgyzstan’s financial regulator writes on its website.

Banks in several other Central Asian countries have refused to cooperate with MIR, also for fear of falling under U.S. sanctions. Since February 27 banks in Kazakhstan have stopped servicing MIR cards. At the same time, the Central Bank of Kazakhstan emphasizes that each Kazakh bank makes this decision independently. “Our position is as follows: we as a first-tier bank do not interfere in the operating system of second-tier banks… It is their commercial interests, economic expediency. They calculate their own risks and benefits by having compliance services,” said the Central Bank’s bank’s press service at the time.

Besides Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, Armenia has refused to cooperate with the MIR system for the same reasons. And now Tajikistan — and even Moscow’s closest ally, Belarus — are distancing themselves from it. The national payment systems of these countries — Belarus’s Belkart and Tajikistan’s Korti Milli — had agreements with the Russians that are similar to MIR’s arrangement with the Kyrgyz.

Currently Uzbek banks do not accept the MIR payment system either, as the UZCARD processing center has suspended work with the Russian system.

In response, the Russian Central Bank has commented that it is now considering expanding its ATM network in the countries where MIR cards have been rejected.

Kyrgyzstan’s ambassador to the United States and Canada, Baktybek Amanbaev, recently met with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s chief representative for Central Asia, Jennifer Miel, to discuss stepping up the nations’ trade and economic ties.

Kyrgyzstan’s foreign ministry reports that ambassador Amanbaev told Ms Miel about the country’s resource potential, as well as opportunities for private business development in Kyrgyzstan. According to Amanbaev, Kyrgyzstan is particularly keen to work with American investors on hydropower, mineral development, agriculture and textile projects.

American companies already working in Kyrgyzstan include General Electric, Visa, Coca-Cola, Valmont, Medtronic and Borusan.

According to Kyrgyzstan’s National Statistical Committee, in the first nine months of 2023 Kyrgyzstan imported from the U.S. goods worth more than $300,000, predominantly cars and car parts. Kyrgyzstan also buys spare parts for bulldozers, excavators and trucks from American suppliers. In turn, Kyrgyz businesses export textiles, antiques, wool and animal products to the U.S. Kyrgyz entrepreneurs sell most of their goods in the U.S. through Amazon, Walmart and Ebay.

The Kyrgyz Chamber of Commerce has told The Times of Central Asia that local businesses aiming to do more business in America have approached the Chamber to expand their contacts and find potential partners. The Chamber has already begun work on opening Kyrgyz trade missions in major U.S. cities, and negotiations with local authorities are underway. Soon Kyrgyz business will be represented in Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami.

A few weeks ago, Kyrgyzstan’s North American ambassador Amanbaev met with an executive of the satellite internet provider Starlink, to discuss providing the Kyrgyz public with high-speed internet via American Starlink satellites.

With bilateral trade between Uzbekistan and Pakistan rising sharply, Uzbekistan’s ambassador to its southern near-neighbor, Oybek Usmanov, believes that Pakistan’s Punjab province alone could potentially hold $1 billion in trade value with Uzbekistan.

Usmanov has commented that the two countries can each grow their exports of garments and textiles, chemicals and agricultural machinery. To this end, Uzbekistan has invited the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry to participate in the Tashkent International Investment Forum on May 2 — as well as in exhibitions of agricultural equipment to be held in the Uzbek capital in June.

Transportation companies from both countries have played a key role in Uzbek-Pakistani relations. The Trans-Afghan railway line is currently being designed, to pass through Afghanistan between the Uzbek town of Termez and Peshawar in Pakistan.

The idea to build a railway line through Afghanistan was conceived in 2018. At that time, the cost of the project — which could potentially carry 20 million tons of cargo per year — was estimated at $5 billion. In July 2022 Uzbekistan estimated the cost of the project at $4.6 billion, with a construction period of five years. In December 2022 Pakistan announced a figure of $8.2 billion. A year later, the cost of the railroad was adjusted downward to $7 billion.

The European Union Delegation to Uzbekistan has announced a new wave of project grants. Aimed at empowering civil society in Uzbekistan, particularly women and marginalized groups, funds of over EUR 3.5 million will be allocated to the development of eight initiatives.

In her report on April 3rd, Charlotte Adriaen, EU Ambassador to Uzbekistan, stated: “Today’s EU-funded project launch is just a glimpse into our ongoing commitment to bolster civil society organizations in Uzbekistan. Our yearly efforts are dedicated to empowering these vital entities, fostering inclusivity, vibrancy, and democracy. Prioritizing projects for women, children, and marginalized groups, we amplify voices, promote inclusive development, and drive or support Uzbekistan’s reform agenda. Together with civil society and state partners, we contribute to the pluralism and inclusivity crucial for a thriving democracy and a peaceful society.”

Scheduled to operate from 2024 to 2026, the projects will focus on enhancing work undertaken by organizations concerning inclusion, gender equality and gender-responsiveness, and advances in the Green Agenda.