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KABUL (TCA) — U.S. officials have “exchanged views” with representatives of Russia and China on the current status of the Afghan peace process, RFE/RL reports with reference to the State Department. Continue reading
KABUL (TCA) — Afghanistan's presidential election has been postponed by more than two months to give the authorities more time to organize the ballot and fix the problems that occurred during the October parliamentary polls, RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan reported with reference to the country’s Independent Elections Commission (IEC). Continue reading
KABUL (TCA) — Officials from the Afghan government, private sector and Embassy of China at a ceremony in Kabul last week said that problems around the “Sino-Afghan Special Railway Transportation” had been resolved and exports along the trade route will start in the near future, Afghan broadcaster TOLOnews reported. Continue reading
BISHKEK (TCA) — The Publisher’s note: Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Central Asia was the scene of intense geopolitical struggle and the Great Game between the British and Russian Empires, and later between the Soviet Union and the West, over Afghanistan and neighboring territories. Into the 21st century, Central Asia has become the area of a renewed geopolitical interest, dubbed the New Great Game, largely based on the region’s hydrocarbon and mineral wealth. On top of that, the region now is perhaps the most important node in the implementation of China’s One Belt, One Road initiative through which Beijing aims to get direct access to Western markets. Every week thousands of news appears in the world’s printed and online media and many of them may escape the attention of busy readers. At The Times of Central Asia, we strongly believe that more information can better contribute to peaceful development and better knowledge of this unique region. So we are presenting this Weekly Digest which compiles what other media have reported on Central Asia over the past week. KAZAKHSTAN Loan Loophole Saved Central Bank Head From Kazakh Debt Claim Plagued by risky lending and poor debt collection, Kazakhstan’s banking sector has gone through a decade-long slump that has cost the state at least $18 billion in bailouts March 12 — “The new chief of Kazakhstan’s central bank dodged a debt claim in 2014 thanks to a legal system that’s failed to protect lenders from rampant defaults and repeated crises. In 2014, Erbolat Dossaev and three business partners were given a reprieve on repaying 1.9 billion tenge, then worth $13 million, that they’d personally guaranteed to the central Asian country’s biggest bank at the time.” READ MORE: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-12/new-kazakh-central-bank-head-saved-from-debt-claim-by-loophole Kazakhstan at the Crossroads Political instability could open the door for either Beijing or Moscow to expand their influence on Kazakhstan March 13 — “Imagine a region with energy resources that could help break Western Europe’s dangerous dependence on Russian oil and gas. Now imagine that Russia has revisionist ambitions for that same region; China is already expanding its economic influence there; extremism is on the rise . . . and U.S. policymakers are pretty much ignoring it.” READ MORE: https://nationalinterest.org/feature/kazakhstan-crossroads-47407 Kazakh activist decries official pressure in China spat The detained activist is a spoiler to Kazakhstan’s relations with China March 14 — “A prominent activist from Kazakhstan who is campaigning for the release of ethnic Kazakhs in China says he was forced to sign blank documents while under house arrest. Serikzhan Bilash, head of the advocacy group Atajurt, was accused of “inciting ethnic hatred” and placed under house arrest in the Kazakh capital of Astana earlier this week, although the charges against him have not been officially announced.” READ MORE: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/kazakh-activist-complains-of-pressure-by-authorities/2019/03/14/4cb9f6cc-4637-11e9-94ab-d2dda3c0df52_story.html?utm_term=.1648af869259 Kazakhstan: System marginalizes children with disabilities, report finds Rights watchdog says a state body tasked with helping disabled children is instead serving as a barrier to inclusivity March 14 — “Kazakhstan’s education system is failing children with disabilities by dooming them to...
KABUL (TCA) — The University of Central Asia (UCA) celebrated the achievements of 22 Afghan civil servants who were awarded an Executive Masters in Economic Policy (EMEP) at a ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan on 10 March. Over 40% of graduates are women. The EMEP programme was delivered by the UCA’s Institute of Public Policy and Administration (IPPA), based in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, which is part of the Graduate School of Development. Continue reading
KABUL (TCA) — A senior Afghan official accused the U.S. special envoy to his country, Zalmay Khalilzad, of “delegitimizing" the Kabul government by excluding it from peace negotiations with the Taliban and acting like a “viceroy,” RFE/RL reported. Continue reading
