Page 827 – The Times Of Central Asia

12 Mar 2024

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

Trans-Caspian Corridor High on Agenda of Kazakh President’s Visit to Azerbaijan

June 28, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

On March 11th, Kazakhstan’s president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev attended the first meeting of the Interstate Council of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan in Baku where freight and oil shipment across the Caspian Sea was high on the agenda.

The leaders also participated, by teleconference, in a ceremony marking the arrival of the first container train in Azerbaijan’s Absheron station following its departure on February 28th from the Kazakh transport and logistics centre in China’s Xi’an, via the new section of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR).

At the ceremony, Tokayev emphasized that against current global geopolitical turbulence, the creation of a new transport and logistics framework for Eurasia has a key role to play in nurturing close and fruitful cooperation between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

Following talks with the Azerbaijani president, Tokayev spoke of the intensifying degree to which other countries struggle to access transport and logistics opportunities. “This is a strategic area. As testified by today’s ceremony, the close interaction between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, as natural partners, is therefore both gratifying and highly significant.”

Outlining other issues raised at the meeting, the Kazakh president told the press, “We discussed joint efforts in the fields of digitalization, the creation of artificial intelligence, and the construction of fibre-optic communications along the bed of the Caspian Sea. Each is a unique project.”

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev reiterated that the Trans-Caspian transport corridor will determine the level of regional cooperation. “It is impossible to become a transit country without good relations with neighbours. Both Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have demonstrated their commitment to regional cooperation and strengthening their relations with their neighbours. We are separated the Caspian Sea but this is no longer an obstacle. On the contrary, with the Trans-Caspian transport route set to reach its full potential, the Caspian Sea is a bridge not only between our countries, but also between many others too.”

In his report to the Kazakh-Azerbaijani Business Council on cargo transported via the TITR between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, Satzhan Ablaliev, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Transport, stated: “The volume increased by 65% in 2023, and in the current year, is planned to increase by a further 43%, of up to 4.2 million tons. In January alone, the volume of transportation increased 2.5-fold compared to January last year. The transit of Chinese containers has increased almost 3-fold.”

During Tokayev’s visit, Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company KazMunayGas and Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR signed an agreement to increase the transit of Kazakh oil across the Caspian Sea through Azerbaijan along the Aktau-Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan route to 2.2 million tons per year. This represents significant progress on an agreement drawn up in 2022 to transport up to 1.5 million tons of oil along the same route.

The two companies also signed a Memorandum of Strategic Cooperation on the purchase and sale of Kazakh oil for further processing at SOCAR’s refineries and subsequent trading in the regional and global markets.

12 Mar 2024

Central Asia, Tajikistan International Affairs, Tajikistan

U.S. Ambassador Calls on Tajik Government to Protect Journalists’ Rights

June 27, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

The government in Tajikistan must support journalists’ rights to free speech, according to a statement by U.S. Ambassador, Manuel P. Micaller Jr. in honor of Tajikistan’s Press Day, which is observed on March 11th. He said in a Facebook post commemorating the holiday that he was speaking on behalf of the U.S. Embassy in Tajikistan. The statement was first reported by the ASIA-Plus news portal.

“Mass media that is free and independent enables society to hear various viewpoints, make just and reasonable decisions, and stay informed about events,” he wrote in the post. He called independent mass media the foundation of democracy in Tajikistan and around the world.

The United States supports Tajikistan’s efforts to train journalists, the post reminded readers, stating that “this is accomplished through study tours, English language classes, exchange programs, and technical assistance for the media.”

Additionally, Micaller asked the U.S. Government to uphold journalists’ freedom of speech and defend their rights.

12 Mar 2024

Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Business & Economy

Southern Kazakhstan Residents Earn Lower Incomes Than Peers in Other Regions

June 27, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

Kazakhstanis’ average cash income in the third quarter of 2023 was $662.30 per person, according to statistics cited by Finprom.kz analysts in a report, That’s 21.5% more than in the same period in 2022. Total income growth in Kazakhstan for the full-year 2023 amounted to 16.5%. The earners who saw the smallest gains are all residents of the five southern regions.

Kazakhstan’s inflation rate last year at the end of the third quarter was 12.9% in annual terms. In terms of incomes, there were nine regions out of 20 where income was higher than the average for the whole country. First place in terms of earnings was Astana – almost $966 per month. In second place by average income level was Almaty at $870. Karaganda region, with an average income of $843, closes out the top three. The East Kazakhstan region ($802.7) and Ulytau region ($784.7) filled out the top five best regions in terms of earned incomes.

The lowest per capita monthly earnings in Kazakhstan were found in the Zhetysu region ($506), Kyzylorda region ($502.6), Shymkent city ($492.6), Zhambyl region ($474.6), and Turkestan region ($472).

Looking at the breakdown of incomes nationally, 75% of earnings were derived from labor activity ($496). Social transfers as a component of incomes accounted for almost $140 per capita. Material aid from relatives and acquaintances, as well as alimony, on average, amounted to $15.3 per month. Incomes from other sources accounted for only $11.5 per month.

12 Mar 2024

Central Asia, Local Politics, Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyzstan International Affairs, Kyrgyzstan Business & Economy

Japan and UN WFP Support Vulnerable Citizens in Kyrgyzstan

October 7, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

An agreement has been signed by Gulnara Baatyrova, Kyrgyzstan’s Minister of Labour, Social Security and Migration, Hideki Goda, Ambassador of Japan to Kyrgyzstan, and Kojiro Nakai, Country Director of the UN World Food Program (WFP) in the Kyrgyz Republic, to enhance self-sufficiency amongst Kyrgyzstan’s most vulnerable citizens.

An allocation of $3.5 million will be invested in a basic infrastructure to provide import-dependent food products such as flour and vegetable oil, and improve skills in entrepreneurship and agriculture amongst low-income residents of Batken, Issyk-Kul, Jalal-Abad, Naryn, and Osh.

Expressing her gratitude for aid pledged by the Government of Japan and the UN, Minister Baatyrova said: “This program is aimed at strengthening the food security of vulnerable groups and will boost the development of sustainable economic independence, thereby contributing to economic and social stability in the country. Supported by the Japanese government, existing enterprises for the production of apricot oil in the Batken region, and the processing of medicinal herbs in the Naryn region, have already created additional jobs.”

12 Mar 2024

The C5+1 Concept: The Idea Behind This Week’s B5+1 Forum in Almaty

June 28, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

Recognizing that the Central Asia region could benefit more from initiatives in global security, business and trade if its countries strengthened their cooperation in key areas, the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) created the ‘C5+1’ platform last year for just this purpose. The Center’s 5+1 group features the governments of the five Central Asian republics – Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan – plus the United States, whose State Department and international chambers of commerce are central to the platform’s work.

An inaugural C5+1 Summit was held in September 2023, on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York. At this high-level meeting, the presidents of each of the Central Asian nations joined US president Joe Biden in dialog on enhancing the region’s stability and prosperity through economic, energy, and security partnerships within the C5+1 framework.

Building on this start made by C5+1, CIPE is now launching the ‘B5+1’ format, focused on cooperation in the global business context. The inaugural B5+1 Forum will take place this week in Kazakhstan’s business capital of Almaty, and will include presentations and panel discussions with policy makers from the United States, Central Asia and several other countries. On 14 and 15 March leaders from the public sector will discuss Central Asia’s economic integration, international trade and investment alongside dozens of influential private companies.

The B5+1 Forum will pick up where the C5+1 Summit left off in exploring opportunities for American companies in Central Asia. This potential lies in key sectors such as critical minerals, renewable energy and manufacturing.

The Almaty event will also continue the conversation on enhancing regional connectivity via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the Trans-Caspian Corridor. At a time of geopolitical upheaval and disruption of existing supply chains, international investment in this trade route is being sought through the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment.

The B5+1 Forum forms part of CIPE’s program called “Improving the Business Environment in Central Asia” (IBECA). CIPE themselves are affiliated to the US Chamber of Commerce – the catalyst behind the B7 and B20 platforms – and receive funding from the US Department of State.

The establishment of B5+1 is closely aligned with commitments made during the C5+1 Summit last September, and outlined in a document called the New York Declaration. The upcoming Forum aims to deliver on two key commitments in the declaration.

The Times of Central Asia will be in attendance at the B5+1 Forum on 14-15 March, and will be publishing insight and analysis from the event.

12 Mar 2024

Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Business & Economy

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Digital Development Takes Steps to Aid Victims of Data Leaks

June 27, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

In Kazakhstan, the State Technical Service has discovered a leak of personal data of more than 2 million people comprising those who have ever been clients of the microfinance organization zaimer.kz.

The situation was immediately communicated to the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan (MDDIAI). Representatives of the ministry said that the data leak occurred from the platform Robo.finance, which contained the data of more than 3.6 million clients of various microfinance organizations.

IMDDIAI had the necessary competencies to notify citizens whose data may have been compromised through the state application eGov Mobile. Those notifications contained recommendations and instructions that seek to minimize the negative aftereffects of the data breach.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Finance asked citizens who received the notification, but have never been a client of the micro finance organization, to immediately contact the MDDIAI Information Security Committee. This is necessary in order to better understand the scope of the data breach and the punishment to be incurred by the guilty parties under Kazakh laws.

Before the discovery of the zaimer.kz breach, there was information on the Internet about the leakage of personal data through a spy program which was developed by a Chinese company.

Kazakhstan’s Unified National Pension Fund (EPPF) commented on this situation, specifying that a data leak involving citizens’ information from their database is impossible and has never occurred. Kazakhstan’s largest air carrier, Air Astana, also denied any data breach from their databases.

Currently the Ministry of Digital Development, together with the National Security Committee, are monitoring the situation.