KARAGANDY, Kazakhstan (TCA) — Social reintegration of prisoners after release was in the spotlight of the high-level delegation visit from the EU, the UN and the Netherlands. The delegation visited two pilot male and female prison facilities in Kazakhstan’s Karagandy region within the framework of the programme “Supporting the management of violent extremist prisoners and the prevention of radicalization to violence in prisons”. The preliminary findings of the visit were presented on November 1 during the expert meeting hosted by the Akimat (administration) of Karagandy region, the Delegation of the European Union to Kazakhstan reported.

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BISHKEK (TCA) — Altynbek Muraliev, the jailed son of a former Kyrgyz prime minister, has been transferred to a more lenient penal colony where convicts live close to their work facilities, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported.

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TASHKENT (TCA) — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on October 31 called for commitment to openness in promoting cooperation with Uzbekistan as well as other member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Xinhua news agency reported.

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BISHKEK (TCA) — Human Rights Watch said on October 31 that draft amendments to Kyrgyzstan’s trade union law would severely inhibit independent trade union organizing and violate international labor treaties to which Kyrgyzstan is a party. Parliament should reject the amendments when they are presented for a third reading, the rights watchdog said in a statement.

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TASHKENT (TCA) — The government of Uzbekistan has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Israel-based company Watergen in an effort aimed at harnessing and using the company’s patented technology to make pure, clean-drinking water out of ambient air. The agreement was signed on October 29 by Uzbekistan’s Minister of Innovation, Mr. Ibrohim Abdurakhmonov and Watergen’s Vice-President of marketing and sales, Mr. Michael Rutman, the Israeli company said.

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NUR-SULTAN (TCA) — As part of his official visit to The Hague on October 30, Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin met with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and attended the opening of the Kazakhstan–Netherlands Business Forum.

During the meeting with Mark Rutte, prospects for further development of trade, economic and investment cooperation, interaction in the energy, financial, transport and logistics, agricultural, IT and scientific fields were discussed, the press service of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported.

The Netherlands is one of the key trade, economic and investment partners of Kazakhstan in Europe. Over the years of independence, the gross inflow of direct investment from the Netherlands to Kazakhstan exceeded $92 billion. Over 900 enterprises with the participation of Dutch capital operate in Kazakhstan. At the end of 2018, bilateral trade amounted to $6.5 billion.

Mark Rutte expressed his confidence that the official visit of the prime minister of Kazakhstan to the Netherlands would give a significant impetus to the further development of bilateral cooperation.

The prime ministers of Kazakhstan and the Kingdom of the Netherlands attended the opening of the V Kazakhstan-Netherlands Business Forum, in which five documents were signed in the presence of the heads of government of the two countries:

– an agreement between the Kazakh company K-Agro and the Dutch Farm Frites on the creation of a joint venture for the production of French fries in the Zhambyl region of Kazakhstan. The project is worth $145 million;

– an agreement between JSC NC Kazakhstan Garysh Sapary and the NEASCO group of companies on cooperation on the implementation of projects on Earth remote sensing and geographic information systems;

– a memorandum between the Kazakh National Agrarian University and the University of Wacheningen on cooperation in training Kazakhstani agricultural students. Wacheningen University is one of the world’s leading centers in the field of natural sciences, natural resource management, crop production and livestock raising;

– a memorandum between JSC Housing and Utilities Center and Witteven + Bos on mutual understanding on the implementation of the program on the construction and reconstruction of sewage treatment facilities;

– a memorandum between Dal Agro Park and Dutch Greenhouse Delta on cooperation on the construction of an agricultural park in Kazakhstan’s Turkistan region on 200 hectares.

The forum was attended by about 200 representatives of Kazakh and Dutch business. The forum participants held working meetings and negotiations with potential partners in business-to-business format.

The Kazakh prime minister met with representatives of the Dutch companies Shell, Bitfury, SuezGroup, Farm Frites, Dutch Fruit Solutions to discuss prospects for implementing projects in Kazakhstan in the fields of energy, data processing and blockchain technology, education, and agricultural processing.