Page 856 – The Times Of Central Asia

15 Feb 2024

Central Asia, Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan International Affairs

Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan Move to Simplify Travel Rules for Each Other’s Citizens

June 27, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

Citizens of Uzbekistan will now be able to stay in Azerbaijan without registration for up to 15 days, according to Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs. The same rules apply to citizens of Azerbaijan in Uzbekistan, due to a protocol entering into force that amends an agreement between the government of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan on visa-free travel. Previously, the period of stay without registration in Uzbekistan was five days, and in Azerbaijan for Uzbeks — 10 days.

The visa-free regime between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan is already in force: Uzbeks can stay in Azerbaijan for no more than 90 days, and Azeris in Uzbekistan for no more than 30 days.

In August of last year, Uzbek president Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited Azerbaijan following his re-election and signed a document on the establishment of the Supreme Interstate Council between the two countries with his counterpart, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev

A key component of bilateral cooperation is logistics. Currently the countries are discussing the creation of a logistics company within the Trans-Caspian corridor — and building warehouse infrastructure and logistics centers in the ports of Baku and those located in third countries.

The two countries actively cooperate in many spheres, as evidenced by the sharply increasing trade turnover between the two republics: it has grown by 40% since the beginning of 2023. The two countries plan to increase bilateral trade to $1bn annually. This will be facilitated in part by the Uzbek-Azerbaijani investment fund, which now has authorized capital of $500m. Three-quarters of that capital is slated to go to Azerbaijan, with a quarter for Uzbekistan. Today, over 200 companies operate in Uzbekistan with Azerbaijani investments.

15 Feb 2024

Central Asia, Uzbekistan Environment, Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan Business & Economy

Uzbekistan Builds First Wind Farm

June 28, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

A wind power plant with a capacity of 500 MW is being built by the UAE company Masdar in Uzbekistan’s Navoi region. The first 100 MW of the plant was put into operation in December 2023, and since then the wind farm has generated 31 million kWh of electricity – equivalent to the monthly consumption of over 150,000 Uzbek households, the Ministry of Energy has said.

During this short period, the wind farm has saved 9.4 million cubic meters of natural gas and prevented the emission of 13,000 tons of harmful substances into the atmosphere.

The next 200 MW of the wind farm will be commissioned before the end of this year, and it will be operational at full design capacity in 2025.

Wind turbines with a capacity of 4.7 MW from China’s Goldwind are being installed at the site. To date, 34 of a total of 111 turbines have been installed.

15 Feb 2024

Central Asia, Uzbekistan Environment, Uzbekistan

Global Ecological Connectivity Partnership Launches in Uzbekistan

June 28, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

The Global Partnership on Ecological Connectivity (GPEC) — a major new initiative to ensure that areas that are important to migratory animals are identified, protected and connected — was launched on February 14th on the margins of the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) is an environmental treaty of the United Nations that provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of terrestrial, aquatic and avian migratory animals and their habitats.

Amy Fraenkel, the executive secretary for the CMS, commented: “The launch of this new global partnership is a direct and immediate response to some of the key recommendations of the flagship CMS report, the State of the World’s Migratory Species, released just two days ago at the opening of the conference. The report calls for increased actions to identify, protect, connect and effectively manage important sites for migratory species. This is exactly what this alliance is about, as it will ensure that actions to address ecological connectivity are mobilized around the world. GPEC’s objective is to ensure that ecological connectivity is maintained, enhanced, and restored in places of importance for migratory species of wild animals. But ecological connectivity is not just relevant to migratory species. It also plays a major role in addressing effective biodiversity conservation, land restoration and climate change mitigation and adaptation across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems”.

Aziz Abdukhakimov, the minister of ecology, environmental protection, and climate change of Uzbekistan, added: “Nature does not recognize man-made boundaries. Uzbekistan is acutely aware of this fact, as evidenced by the devastating effects of the Aral Sea’s depletion on humans and wildlife across Central Asia and beyond. By contributing to the CMS Global Ecological Connectivity program, Uzbekistan is participating in a worldwide effort to protect migratory species. This collaboration underscores Uzbekistan’s belief in the power of nature to unite nations, necessitating a collective effort to protect it.”

15 Feb 2024

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

EBRD Acquires Stake in Air Astana

June 28, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on February 14th said it has invested $41.1m (€39m) into shares of Kazakhstan’s flagship carrier, Air Astana, supporting the country’s first partial privatization through an initial public offering (IPO). The EBRD’s investment represents a 5% shareholding in Air Astana.

The shares will be listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange. The IPO is a significant privatization benchmark for Kazakhstan’s economy, which is predominantly controlled by the state.

The IPO funds, including the EBRD’s investment, will be used to support Air Astana’s fleet expansion and renewal program, the construction of an aircraft maintenance facility and the acquisition of a flight simulator, the EBRD press service said.

Air Astana plans to expand its current fleet to 80 aircraft by 2029 by acquiring new fuel-efficient planes.

The EBRD said it will be working with Air Astana towards achieving its target of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. The bank will also use this opportunity to play a greater role in the decarbonization of aviation and to assist in setting up the sustainable aviation fuels industry in Central Asia.

15 Feb 2024

Central Asia, Uzbekistan Environment, Kazakhstan Environment, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan Environment, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan Environment, Tajikistan Environment

One Health Nature Conservation Project Launches in Central Asia

July 26, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and its international partners have launched the One Health Central Asia project, aiming to mitigate the risk of zoonoses – diseases that are naturally transmissible from animals to humans – in Central Asia. The new initiative was announced on February 13th at the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP14) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

The risk of zoonotic diseases in Central Asia is exacerbated by biodiversity loss and changes in human-wildlife interactions. As part of the new initiative, IUCN and national and international partners, including all five Central Asian countries, will implement actions to prevent the emergence and spread of zoonotic diseases, IUCN reported on its website.

The experts will work to consolidate a fair and effective regional network of protected and conserved areas, strengthen conservation measures and wildlife management for disease risk mitigation, and promote the latest advancements in zoonosis research and technology.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, IUCN’s director general, Dr Grethel Aguilar, said that nature conservation can contribute to mitigating the risk of zoonotic disease outbreaks, and this important new initiative will strengthen the resilience of Central Asian landscapes, bringing numerous benefits to communities. “We will continue to support the governments here to build regional capacity to apply IUCN’s tools and standards, including the IUCN Green List, best practices in species management, and the latest advancements in zoonosis research.”

Aziz Abdukhakimov, the minister of ecology, environmental protection, and climate change of Uzbekistan, commented that: “Over the past few years we have observed how the spread of zoonotic diseases like COVID-19 can have a global impact. This has resulted in entire countries being demobilized, transportation connections being disrupted, an increase in food security issues, and massive socio-economic consequences. We are committed to expanding regional cooperation for sustainable management of protected natural areas, preserving unique biological diversity, and contributing to the environmental balance in the Central Asian region, which will receive a significant boost through this project on One Health in nature conservation.”

Supported by a €11m contribution from the German Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection via the International Climate Initiative, this major regional initiative will spearhead the One Health approach in Central Asia over the next six years. The initiative, entitled Enhancing landscape resilience to zoonotic disease emergence by consolidating nature conservation systems in Central Asia, will focus on the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health.

“Obstacles to migration reduce the habitat available to migratory species. This phenomenon has been observed across Central Asia with species such as the Saiga, Wild Ass, and even those with relatively small ranges, like the Bukhara Deer,” said Amy Fraenkel, the executive secretary of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), one of the international partners of the One Health Central Asia initiative. “In the diminished and fragmented habitats, migratory species of wild animals often find themselves in contact and competition with livestock for pasture and water which heightens the risk of transmission of disease between these sectors to the detriment of both. Therefore, preserving habitat connectivity not only helps in mitigating the risk of disease outbreaks in wildlife but also reduces the transmission of diseases between wildlife and livestock, and decreases the risk of zoonotic diseases i.e. those affecting humans.”

Coordinated by IUCN, the One Health Central Asia initiative gathers international partners, including the Michael Succow Foundation, the Secretariat of the Convention of Migratory Species (CMS), UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). They will collaborate closely with national authorities and expert organizations across the region, such as CAMP Alatoo in Kyrgyzstan, the Institute of Zoology of Kazakhstan, the Institute of Zoology of the Uzbek Academy of Sciences, and the Tajikistan Nature Foundation.

15 Feb 2024

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

Air Astana: LSE’s largest IPO of 2024 Set to Test Appetite of Investors

August 19, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

Shares of Central Asia’s largest airline Air Astana are now for sale to the public in London, with the company’s global depositary receipts (GDRs) trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The GDRs were priced for this month’s IPO at $9.50 a piece last week when conditional dealings in began on the LSE and Kazakhstan’s Astana International Exchange (AIX). Today, Air Astana’s local shares trading on the Almaty’s KASE bourse are up 6.1% to 1,241 tenge, whilst dollar-priced GDRs trading on Astana’s AIX are down 1.1% to $10.08 at an intra-day volume of just under 30,000 GDRs.

The LSE’s largest IPO of 2024 to date is set to gauge the demand of frontier and emerging market equity investors for exposure to Central Asian stocks in the aftermath of Russia’s 2022 attack on Ukraine. Companies like Air Astana, and notably its low-cost carrier unit Fly Arystan, have in some ways benefited from the disruptions caused by the war and its consequent matrix of international sanctions as people and goods are re-routed through Kazakhstan. Conversely, the threat of more instability in the region and the risks of higher inflation, fuel and operating costs will undoubtedly remain on the minds of potential investors.

The IPO in London and Kazakhstan represents a meaningful step for the latter’s sovereign wealth fund, Samruk Kazyna, which plans to continue putting the shares of state companies on public markets.

According to one former IPO manager from a European bank who declined to be named as the IPO process was underway, Air Astana’s offering is the “clearest test in the IPO market to date of investor belief in Kazakhstan’s continued economic development.” He also noted that it’s “positive to see that four of the nine directors are independent, with three of those independent directors being from outside Kazakhstan” in terms of corporate governance.

Air Astana’s results for the first nine months of 2023, which were published on December 12th, showed positive top-line growth in revenue, operating profit, and passenger-kilometers flown metrics versus 2022, though the carrier did see a 1% dip in EBITDAR margin (operating profit as a percentage of its revenue) to 28% which investors may focus on going forward.