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Uzbekistan has ratified an agreement to establish an international organization in Russia under the auspices of the CIS. The agreement was signed at the CIS Heads of State summit in Bishkek on October 13, 2023. The organization's goals and objectives include supporting high-quality Russian education, facilitating the training of teaching and research staff in “Russian Language and Literature” and “Russian as a Foreign Language,” and creating a personnel reserve of specialists in this field. In addition, the organization will strengthen comprehensive, mutually beneficial cooperation between the CIS countries in supporting and promoting the Russian language as a language of interstate communication. Its activities will rely on friendship, good neighborliness, interethnic harmony, trust, and mutual understanding. In Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, Russian is the second official language. In Tajikistan, it is called the “language of interethnic communication.” However, it does not have an official status in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. More than 90% of Kazakhstanis know Russian to some degree, while 20% of the population considers it their native language. Meanwhile, those figures for Turkmenistan are 40% and 12% respectively. In Kyrgyzstan, about 44% know Russian and 5% consider it their native language; in Uzbekistan, it is about 50% and 2.7%; and in Tajikistan, 55% and 0.3%.
Kyrgyzstan has doubled its ice cream production in the last five years, and tripled its exports to other countries in the region. Last year, the country produced 10,800 tons of ice cream, up from 5,200 tons five years earlier. This increase is due to growing demand for Kyrgyz ice cream in other Eurasian countries, primarily Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Russia. Exports to these countries have increased from 2,800 tons per year to 6,100 tons since 2019. “At the same time, imports of ice cream have shown good dynamics recently, and they have decreased from 2,788 tons (per year) to 1,969 tons. This indicates the substitution of imported products with domestic production,” said the Ministry of Agriculture of the Kyrgyz Republic. According to official data, Kyrgyzstan imports ice cream from Turkey, Belarus, and Lithuania. While a kilogram of ice cream from Russia costs 240 KGS ($3), Lithuania and Turkey ask an average of 570 KGS ($7). The cost of one kilogram of ice cream from Kyrgyzstan is just over 200 KGS ($2.5).
Following an agreement signed by the EDB and the Investment Committee of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Information Technology JSC, in July, the Eurasian Development Bank’s Fund for Digital Initiatives has allocated the first tranche for a project to establish a National Digital Investment Platform in Kazakhstan. The platform aims to provide comprehensive support to investors and investment projects by streamlining interactions between government authorities and the quasi-government sector to promote investments in Kazakhstan’s economy, and will coordinate and optimize the selection and registration of investment projects, the conclusion of investment agreements, and their monitoring. In addition, the project is expected to serve as a digital transformation model for attracting and supporting investment which can be implemented in other EDB member states: Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. The platform which already has 755 registered investment projects, will become fully operational by 31 July 2025. Back in March, The Times of Central Asia reported Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov's announcement that to achieve the target of increasing the Kazakh economy to $450 billion by 2029, at least $150 billion of foreign investment was required during the interim period.
At the opening of the Week of International Partnership Initiatives in Tashkent, the first deputy speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis, Akmal Saidov, stated that Uzbekistan will not join any military formations and will remain an observer state in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Responding to a question on whether Uzbekistan would compromise its sovereignty to cooperate more closely with other countries, Saidov announced: “The first article of our constitution states that Uzbekistan is a sovereign state. If we are talking about joining any paramilitary defense structures and organizations, then no, we will not allow it. We will never send our men [overseas] on military missions, including peacekeeping missions. There will be no foreign military bases in our territory." Saidov also emphasized that Uzbekistan’s current status as an observer in the EAEU is the most appropriate for the country. As head of the parliamentary commission tasked with studying Uzbekistan’s potential accession to the EAEU, Saidov asserted that, after reviewing over a thousand documents, observer status better aligns with Uzbekistan’s interests. He further explained that Kazakhstan had gained minimal benefit from joining the EAEU and that the new Constitution strengthens and strictly follows the main principles of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy. Uzbekistan received observer status in the EAEU on December 11, 2020, during an online summit of the High Eurasian Economic Council, attended by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
The most recent meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was hosted by Moscow on October 7. During the meeting, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan, Sirojiddin Muhriddin, expressed his concern about the violation of the rights of the republic's citizens on the territory of some CIS countries. Emphasizing the need for a comprehensive approach to solving migration issues in the countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, he called for consideration of all parties' interests: host countries, migrant-sending countries, foreign citizens, and the local population. The Minister also addressed urgent security issues and stressed the need to strengthen the fight against terrorism, extremism, illegal drug trafficking, and transnational crimes. He invited the CIS states to participate in the international conference on counterterrorism, scheduled for early November in Kuwait City as part of the Dushanbe process.
The First Open Children's Delphic Games for CIS countries has begun in Bishkek. The opening ceremony was held at the Toktogul Satylganov Kyrgyz National Philharmonic. The event strives to revive the ancient Greek traditions of the Delphic Games, which took place in the city of Delphi and were dedicated to art and culture. The competition program this year includes competitions for piano, violin, classical guitar, pop and solo singing, folk dance, and DJing. The festival features folk instruments, arts and crafts, and sign language songs. Asel Chynbaeva, Commissioner for Children's Rights, opened the Games by speaking about the importance of the Delphic Games as a platform for cultural exchange and showcasing talent among young people from Eurasian countries. This year special attention is being paid to the Paradelphi nomination, which includes the performance of works in sign language. This emphasizes the importance of inclusiveness and demonstrates how art can overcome barriers and unite people. The Games will run until October 5.
