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EU Project SCAFFOLD Set to Empower Central Asian Educators

Over 250 educators from five Central Asian countries are currently participating in training events organized by the European Union in Astana, Kazakhstan. Running from 15 – 19 April, the event organized by the European Training Foundation (ETF) in partnership with the Delegation of the European Union to Kazakhstan, and the Ministry of Education of Kazakhstan, focuses on SCAFFOLD, an EU-developed tool that assists educators in creating effective learning activities. The innovative tool comprises a deck of 102 cards, available in all Central Asian languages, aimed to enable educators to design and implement learning activities from planning to assessment. The initiative is part of DARYA (Dialogue and Action for Resourceful Youth in Central Asia), the EU's flagship regional project to support education, youth employment, and inclusive skills development in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Opening the week’s events, Ms Arai Urazova, Vice-Minister of Education of Kazakhstan, stated: “We would like our young people to have competences for life and the labour market. DARYA and SCAFFOLD can support this. Let us create a better future for our young people and our educational community. We are confident that our joint work and dialogue will lead to concrete action plans and measures that will help make our education system more effective, accessible, and adapted to the needs of our time.” In his welcome speech, Mr Kestutis Jankauskas, EU Ambassador to Kazakhstan, stated that the “DARYA programme is the European Union's investment in the human capital of Central Asian countries and the future of their young generation. From now on, educators of VET schools in Central Asian countries will have access to the newest and most modern teaching methods, such as SCAFFOLD. Dynamically developing relations between the European Union and Central Asia and potential investment projects will require qualified workforce. In turn, these investments will contribute to mutual prosperity and economic development.”

European Union Finance Russia US Kazakhstan Banking Central Asia China Economy

Kazakhstan’s Foreign Debt Increases by $4 Billion in Five Years With Russia Growing as Creditor

According to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, at the beginning of 2024 the external financial obligations of the republic reached almost $163 billion, whilst in 2019 this figure stood at $158.8 billion. The Netherlands are Kazakhstan's largest creditor with $42.6 billion owed, followed by the U.K. with $13.8 billion, and then Russia at $12.95 billion. Over five years, Kazakhstan's debt to Russia (+47.1%) and multilateral organizations (+28.5%) increased significantly. At the same time, the amount of debt held by legacy creditors decreased, including that held by the Netherlands (-12.9%), the U.K. (-37%), the U.S. (-7.4%), France (-4.3%), China (-20.7%) and Japan (-17%). Last December, the Asian Development Bank approved a $350 million loan to Kazakhstan. This was allocated to reform the country's financial management and increase the economy's resilience against external shocks. In February of this year, the World Health Organization, with the support of the World Bank, launched a Pandemic Fund project in Kazakhstan. For this purpose, the republic was allocated a grant totaling $19 million, as well as a multilateral grant of $27 million for three years. Earlier, former chief auditor of Kazakhstan, Natalia Godunova, criticized the use of international funds by government agencies, saying that the procedure is inefficient.

European Union Energy Russia Kazakhstan Central Asia Oil & Gas Economy

Kazakh-Owned Rompetrol, On Brink Of Collapse, Appeals To Tokayev

According to Romanian news portal gandul.ro, Rompetrol, which operates in oil refining, petrochemicals, and distribution in parts of Eastern Europe, is close to collapse. The stated reason is that Rompetrol top management -- which includes representatives of Kazakhstan's state energy company KazMunayGas (KMG), the majority owner of Rompetrol -- prioritize personal interests over the economic good of the company. The allegations are serious. KMG International, a group owned by Kazakhstan's national oil and gas company KazMunayGas, acquired the Rompetrol brand in 2007, strengthening its position as a key player in the Black Sea and Mediterranean region. It currently owns 55% of Rompetrol, with Romania's Ministry of Energy controlling just under 45%. The Kazakhstani company is accused of assisting Russia, which itself is trying to avoid sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU). Gandul.ro claims that it's possible to bring oil from Russia to be refined in Romania despite the embargo on Russian crude. Rompetrol CEO Ilyas Kuldzhanov has Russian citizenship, although he also registered Kazakh citizenship in Romania's National Trade Register to avoid possible EU sanctions. Gandul.ro published an open letter penned by some of the company's employees, which they sent to the Kazakh Government. The letter contains the following passages: "Dear Sirs, we are writing to you regarding current issues related to Rompetrol. At the beginning of this message, we apologize for using Google Translate to translate from Romanian to Russian and for remaining anonymous. We decided to remain anonymous because we fear reprisals from KMG management. We want to draw attention to the growing problems inside Rompetrol, because no one is interested in the future of the company. The company needs a radical change of management and new people with different perspectives at all levels, from the board of directors to the top management, with a vision in line with the goals. In terms of management, first of all we should mention Ilyas Kuldzhanov, an extremely incompetent person with no experience in managing large companies, Baurzhan Nurgaliyev (Operations Director), who until recently ran a company selling elevators in Astana, Saken Shoshanov, Baurzhan Nugumanov and other members of management. Appointments to management positions are made on the basis of the ethnic origin of the clan. Most of the new managers in Romania and Kazakhstan have been hired without any competition or selection, and have no experience or knowledge of how the corporation should operate. Note the price of oil and how diesel fuel was purchased in 2023 due to an emergency equipment shutdown at the Petromidia refinery. Why is this equipment not repairable? Why do accidents and explosions continue to occur? Because Rompetrol management is looking for contractors willing to pay commissions. We would like to inform you that similar messages will be sent to the Romanian authorities because the situation is critical." Rompetrol employees also create a disastrous picture of the company's behavior. In the letter they ask Tokayev to check how components and electricity are purchased for the plant -- questions that refer to expenditures of tens of millions...

European Union Tajikistan Partnership

Tajikistan and EU Enter Third Round of Negotiations on Partnership and Cooperation

On April 8 and 9, Luc Devigne, Deputy Managing Director for Europe and Central Asia at the European External Action Service, and Ismatullo Nasredin, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan convened in Dushanbe for a third round of negotiations on a new comprehensive framework for strengthening their bilateral relations. According to the Delegation of the European Union to Tajikistan, the negotiations for an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA), launched in February 2023, represent an important milestone in the EU’s relations with Tajikistan. In line with the EU-Central Asia Strategy, it aims to strengthen cooperation regarding political relations, trade, key economic sectors, as well as the rule of law and human rights. The EU Delegation reported that substantial progress had been made during the third round of negotiations between European Union and Tajikistan, and in the future, the EU-Tajikistan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, in place since 2010, will be known as the EPCA.

Russia European Union Investments Energy Kazakhstan China Oil & Gas Economy Export/Import

Will Europe Learn Lessons From Central Asian Gas Failures to Secure Oil Imports Bypassing Russia?

Despite loud statements and reports, alternative routes for transporting oil from Kazakhstan and Central Asia to Europe remain only intentions. The desire of the EU to diversify its hydrocarbon suppliers is running into internal bureaucracy and a lack of understanding of how things work in Central Asia, which is in fact seeking to ship its energy in different directions. Lost gas To start, it is worth recalling the Turkmenistan-Russia gas dispute of 2009. Before that, Gazprom bought gas from Central Asian countries at the border, swapping some volumes of domestic supplies with Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and buying gas at prices lower than EU export rates. Gazprom explained this practice rather simply: there is no economic sense in transporting the gas through Russian territory, so at the border the price cannot be European (minus transportation) – this gas was consumed in Russia or supplied at preferential prices to Ukraine, while Russian gas was sent to Europe. In 2008, Turkmenistan produced 70.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas, exporting 47 bcm, with an increase in production and exports planned for 2009. According to the Energy Institute, gas consumption by European countries in 2022 amounted to 498.8 bcm, meaning Turkmenistan alone, assuming export volumes stabilized at 50 bcm per year, could cover 10% of Europe’s needs. That amount, 50 bcm of gas, is the annual consumption of Switzerland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Greece, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway and North Macedonia combined. However, Turkmen gas would never reach Europe. When an agreement on the volumes and prices of gas purchases by Gazprom failed to be reached, 15 years ago, on April 9, 2009, there was an explosion and fire on the eastern branch of the Central Asia-Center (CAC) gas pipeline, at CAC-4. Subsequent negotiations to resume the transport of Turkmen gas between Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and Turkmen leader Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, which took place in September 2009 in Moscow, could not resolve the dispute. All these years, the media and European leaders have been talking about building the so-called Nabucco gas pipeline, which was to go from Central Asia, along the bottom of the Caspian Sea, through Azerbaijan and on to Germany and Austria. Its design began back in 2002. Note that by 2009, had the project been energetically implemented, Nabucco could have been built and the first deliveries would have begun. In 2022, gas consumption in Germany and Austria amounted to 77.3 bcm and 7.9 bcm, respectively, meaning supplies from Central Asia could cover at least half of their needs. This seemed like the perfect opportunity for a large-scale gas pipeline. The Central Asian countries wanted to supply gas to Europe via alternative routes, receiving European prices for their commodities, and Europe could have significantly diversified its gas imports. Another player, however, was closely watching Europe’s red tape and indecision – China. Hidden dragon China understands how to work with Central Asia, and in 2007 construction of the first line of...

European Union Education Central Asia Economy Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan to Participate in International TALIS Study for First Time in 2024

At a press conference on 1 April, the Information and Mass Communications Agency announced that Uzbekistan is to participate in the Organization for Security & Cooperation in Europe's (OECD) Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS). Referencing the alarming rise in mental stress amongst teachers across the educational sector, Laziz Khojakulov, head of the Ministry of Preschool and School Education’s Department of Strategic Development and International Ratings, stated, “Not only in Uzbekistan, but all over the world, teachers have social and emotional problems." He then noted two measures being taken by the ministry to address the issue. "First of all, there are international TALIS studies, starting from the public education systems and continuing to the preschool and school education system, in which the attitude of teachers toward their profession and the effects on it are studied. This is something new to us. Secondly, we plan to sign up to a joint project to work on the socio-emotional conditions of teachers in the direction of continuous professional development in cooperation with the UNESCO organization.” The ministry also plans to introduce special training courses for teachers to overcome mental stress and tension. In a statement to Kun.uz, Sardor Rajabov, deputy minister of Preschool and School Education, confirmed that 210 of Uzbekistan’s schools have been selected to take part in the TALIS survey for the first time in April and May of 2024. The worldwide TALIS study focuses on pedagogical and professional practices of educators, school administrators, and staff members, and also works within educational environments in schools to provide analysis on issues drawn from consistent and trustworthy data. The OECD has been conducting its study since 2008, with surveys conducted every six years.