Page 954 – The Times Of Central Asia

21 Mar 2024

Central Asia, Tajikistan Local Politics, Tajikistan Business Economy, Tajikistan

Tajikistan Intensifies Efforts to Train Locals for Work Abroad

June 28, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

Tajikistan is stepping up efforts to teach its citizens global job skills which will facilitate access to higher-paying trades and expand the range of migrant-labor opportunities. The state-administered Adult Education Center of Tajikistan offers training in more than 100 professions, with new specializations emerging every year.

This year, the Asian Development Bank project plans to open three modern centers in Tajikistan for pre-departure training of migrants. These centers will train specialists in demand in the labor market, providing relevant international certificates. In addition, foreign languages, financial literacy and the basics of law and legal processes of different countries will be taught.

According to Deputy Labor Minister Shakhnoza Nodiri, working abroad is crucial for Tajik citizens to earn more. A worker’s qualifications are becoming one of the important requirements in the labor market, and the need for specifically trained personnel will grow in the future.

Russia remains one of the key destination countries for migrant labor from Tajikistan. Under a 2023 agreement on organized employment of citizens of Tajikistan with the Russian Federation, the Agency for Employment Abroad placed about 5,000 Tajiks, or 77% of the 6,500 Tajik foreign workers they placed abroad, into positions in Russia.

At the beginning of 2024, representatives of about 40 companies seeking employees from 13 countries visited the Agency for Employment Abroad to engage with Tajikistan’s labor resources. Most of the requests came from companies in Russia — where more than 100 companies applied to hire more than 20,000 workers from Tajikistan.

In addition to Russia, last year Tajik citizens were employed in Turkey, Kazakhstan, Poland, Romania, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, the UAE and Japan. Currently Tajikistan’s Ministry of Labor, Migration and Employment is actively working on signing agreements on labor migration with the UK, the U.S., Korea, Canada, Germany, Singapore, the Philippines and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In that way, Tajikistan is strengthening its efforts to diversify the geographical pathways of labor migration, helping to give Tajik migrant laborers a choice in where to go.

21 Mar 2024

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

FAO to Improve Soil Health In Uzbekistan

June 28, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

Earlier this month, The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and its Global Soil Partnership (GSP), in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan, held a seminar in Tashkent on the ‘Recarbonization of Agricultural Soils’ (RECSOIL). The meeting concluded with unanimous approval of the development of an action plan for the development of the initiative in Uzbekistan.

RECSOIL will be implemented in collaboration with two other FAO projects in Uzbekistan funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF): ‘Integrated Natural Resources Management in Drought-Prone and Salt-Affected Agricultural Production Landscapes in Central Asia and Turkey’ and ‘Sustainable Forest and Rangelands Management in the Dryland Ecosystems of Uzbekistan.’ In recent years, both projects have proven effective in supporting agricultural development in drought-prone regions of Uzbekistan through the use of advanced resource-saving methods, and continue to increase farmers’ incomes through the contribution of technical equipment to farms, and by maintaining land degradation neutrality.

The initiative addresses challenges related to climate change by promoting sustainable soil management (SSM) and by enhancing its health, make soil more productive and shock resilient. Aimed at maintaining and increasing carbon stocks to boost soil health which in turn, will secure and increase production and income, SSM practices include using cover crops, crop rotation and agroforestry.

The new scheme to tackle both carbon sequestration and mitigation of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, will be piloted through the provision of training for farmers and financial compensation to support their adoption of SSM practices. RECSOIL also provides robust methods to monitor and assess both soil health and levels of GHG emissions reduced through the project.

21 Mar 2024

Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan, Business & Economy, Kyrgyzstan Business & Economy

Launch of a Clinker Line for Kyrgyzstan’s Largest Cement Plant

June 28, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

On March 20th, First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic, Adylbek Kasymaliev attended a ceremony to launch the construction of a new clinker line at the cement plant in Kant.

Kasymaliev reported that in 2023, the plant received $8.5 million from the Kyrgyz-Russian Development Fund for an export-oriented aerated concrete line. This year, thanks to a loan of $50 million from the Eurasian Development Bank and $20 million of internal investments, the construction of a new clinker line has begun.

Clinker is essential for cement production and its versatility allows it to be stored and transported globally without risk of degrading. With the completion of the new line, the production of high-quality clinker will total 800 thousand tons per year.

Located 20km east of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s largest cement plant currently produces over 1.1 million tons of cement per year and since it cooperates with 45 companies – from manufacturers of bags for cement to end consumers – the plant’s activities have a widespread impact on Kyrgyzstan’s economy.

20 Mar 2024

Central Asia, Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan Business & Economy, Uzbekistan International Affairs

AIIB Allocates $670 Million for Uzbekistan’s Economic Transition

June 28, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved the allocation of $670 million to Uzbekistan to support reforms and its ongoing transition to a market economy. The project is supported by the special fund for Covid-19 crisis recovery and is co-financed by the World Bank.

The borrower will be Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, who will use the funds to finance reforms in such areas as improving fiscal risk management, supporting social inclusion, improving environmental sustainability, and market formation.

The project will improve the energy, railroad and chemical sectors, as well as agriculture. In addition, funds will be used to create environmentally friendly markets, improve Uzbekistan’s fiscal management and procurement system, and develop a more socially adapted economy. Planned reforms will serve to improve the efficiency of health care and public services.

“We are pleased to continue to support Uzbekistan’s journey towards a sustainable market economy. By strengthening social safety nets and helping to mitigate climate risks, we aim to improve the effectiveness of social assistance initiatives and facilitate Uzbekistan’s transition to a green economy, which is in line with AIIB’s mission to finance promising infrastructure,” said Konstantin Limitovsky, Vice President for Investment Operations at AIIB.

In late January 2024, Uzbek president Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with AIIB President Jin Liqiong in Beijing. During the meeting, the two sides signed a three-year investment program for further support of Uzbekistan’s development in a number of sectors. To date, the bank has approved 14 projects in Uzbekistan worth $3.1 billion, making it the seventh-largest portfolio among its membership. The AIIB’s annual meeting in Samarkand is scheduled for September 2024, which will be the bank’s first such event in Central Asia.

20 Mar 2024

Central Asia, Turkmenistan International Affairs, Turkmenistan, Turkmenistan Business & Economy

Turkmenistan and EU Discuss New Projects

June 28, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

A roundtable discussion called Turkmenistan and the European Union: Towards a New Economic Partnership took place in Brussels, Belgium on Monday.

The event featured business meetings between Turkmen representatives and members of EU business circles. Turkmenistan’s minister of foreign affairs, Rashid Meredov, held meetings with the leaders of the Walloon Export and Investment Agency, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the vice-presidents of Picanol and Philips.

The director of the country’s Transport and Communications Agency Mammetkhan Chakiyev met with the management of Cargolux, Exagon Global BV, Royal IHC, and the Dredging, Environmental and Marine Engineering NV (DEME Group), in addition to executives from the Port of Antwerp.

The parties talked about Turkmenistan’s production of equipment logistics, digitalization, industrial technologies, and service centers. Discussions touched upon prospective projects and investment activities.

20 Mar 2024

Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Business & Economy

Kazakhstan Bank Deposits Decline by $1.1 Billion

June 28, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

Bank deposits by Kazakhstani citizens have declined by 2.5%, according to data from January of this year. Analysts from Ranking.kz say that the portfolio “lost weight” by $1.1 billion and amounted to $44 billion at the end of January 2024. Experts say that it’s a common seasonal occurrence, when after December inflows, there’s an outflow of money from second-tier banks, which is called a “calendar pit.”

Correspondingly, according to analysts’ data, there’s only one financial institution among the largest banks of Kazakhstan that had an inflow of deposits in January — Home Credit Bank’s $725 million (+1.2%). Experts say that was expected, considering the bank has kept rates on its retail deposit products above the average level on the market. Currently the bank’s offered rates on savings products range from 14.5% to 16.7% per annum.

All other large Kazakh banks showed reductions in their portfolios of individual deposits. However, at Bereke Bank, the volume of savings deposits barely changed (-0.02%) and remained at $951 million. By year-on-year measure, Bereke Bank’s portfolio of retail deposits has doubled.

Out of 21 Kazakhstani banks and four foreign financial institutions, Russia’s VTB Bank saw an increase of 36.6% to $128 million, and two Islamic banks — Al Hilal, whose deposits rose 1.5 times to $8.1 million, and Zaman Bank, up 8.5 times to $2.4 million — showed strong deposit growth.

In total, the volume of all bank deposits in Kazakhstan at the end of January 2024 amounted to $76.5 billion — which is 1.4% less than at the end of 2023.