BISHKEK (TCA) — Bishkek Business Club is organizing the New Year’s Ethno Festival of Craft and Organic Products in the frame of the NICE-TAK project (Networking Intermediaries and Competitive Enterprises in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan), funded by the European Union and co-funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, the Delegation of the European Union to Tajikistan reported.

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DUSHANBE (TCA) — A two-day expert meeting on how to address the digital dimensions of violent extremism in Central Asia opened on December 12 in Dushanbe for some 70 experts from all the Central Asian states and Afghanistan. The participants include representatives of law enforcement agencies, relevant state institutions, the ICT industry, civil society, youth organizations, academia, and the media.

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BISHKEK (TCA) — A court in Bishkek has ruled to freeze the bank accounts of RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service, locally known as Azattyk, its correspondent, and the Kyrgyz news site Kloop following their joint investigation about possible widespread corruption in the country’s customs service and massive outflows of cash, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported.

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NUR-SULTAN (TCA) — Small enterprises and women-led businesses in Kazakhstan are set to benefit from a US $40 million loan package provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for Bank CenterCredit (BCC), a leading local lender, the EBRD said on December 12.

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NUR-SULTAN (TCA) — During his working trip to London, Kazakhstan Prime Minister Askar Mamin met with President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Suma Chakrabarti. Mamin and Chakrabarti signed a document on modernization of healthcare infrastructure in Kazakhstan, the prime minister’s press service reported on December 12.

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NUR-SULTAN (TCA) — As part of his working trip to the USA, Kazakhstan Prime Minister Askar Mamin visited San Francisco and met with the leadership of leading world companies in the field of innovative and digital development, venture financing and energy, the prime minister’s press service reported on December 11.

The prime minister met with the leadership of the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution of the World Economic Forum and discussed promising areas of cooperation in the field of regulation of innovative technologies with the WEF Managing Director Richard Samans.

Following the meeting, the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Astana International Financial Center signed a document on strategic partnership in the development of the Internet of Things, which was the first step towards the opening in 2020 in Kazakhstan of the WEF Affiliate Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Similar institutions operate in Israel, India, China, the United Arab Emirates, Colombia, South Africa, the USA and Japan, contributing to the provision of systemic state support for the development of the latest technologies and innovative projects.

Prime Minister Mamin also held talks with CEO of 500 Startups venture fund Christine Tsai, as a result of which an agreement was signed on QazTechVentures JSC Kazakhstan national development institute’s joining the V Global Fund 500 Startups.

The document provides for the creation of a joint Thematic Venture Fund in Kazakhstan. The project will give an impetus to the development of venture financing and innovative entrepreneurship, providing start-up companies with venture capital.

Following Mamin’s negotiations with Chief Financial Officer of the BrightSphere Investment Group Suren Rana, Kazakhstan Direct Investment Fund and BSIG signed a memorandum of cooperation in creating a joint fund in 2020 to finance infrastructure projects in Kazakhstan.

BSIG is a leading global investment group that manages over $200 billion. It implements projects in 30 countries through 7 management companies, has 20 offices around the world and more than 850 institutional and large corporate clients.

Mamin discussed the development of an innovative ecosystem, venture capital and start-up projects in Kazakhstan with the management of Plug and Play, whose office is planned to open on the Astana Hub site.

During the negotiations with the C3.ai Chief Executive Officer Thomas Siebel, the Kazakh prime minister discussed cooperation in the use of artificial intelligence in the oil and gas and other sectors of Kazakhstan.

During the meeting with the CEO of One Web Adrian Steckel, the prospects for the implementation of the project on the widespread coverage of the territory of Kazakhstan, including remote and inaccessible areas, with high-speed broadband Internet via communication satellites were considered. As a result of the negotiations, AIFC Governor Kairat Kelimbetov and the head of One Web Adrian Steckel signed a document on further project promotion.

In a conversation with Executive Vice President of Chevron Exploration and Production Corporation James Johnson, the prime minister discussed the development of the Future Expansion Project, the further increase of Kazakhstani content for goods and services at the Tengizchevroil project, as well as the development of joint measures to improve social security and labor conditions of Kazakhstani workers.

During the negotiations with ValvTechnologies President Kevin Hunt, Askar Mamin considered the possibility of opening a plant in Kazakhstan for the production of valves and gate valves for the oil and gas sector. It is planned to use the manufactured products within the framework of the Tengizchevroil Future Expansion Project, as well as export to the markets of neighboring countries.

The prime minister also visited the office and factory of the Tesla company, where, as part of a meeting with the company’s management, questions of expanding the network of gas stations in Kazakhstan and opening service centers for electric vehicles were discussed.