International Cooperation - The Times Of Central Asia

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International Cooperation

Daewoo To Invest $730 Million in Turkmenistan

South Korean company Daewoo Engineering & Construction has won a tender to build a fertilizer plant in Turkmenistan. The project is estimated to cost a trillion won (about $730 million). According to the company, the new plant will be located in Turkmenabat, 450 km east of Ashgabat. It will have an annual capacity of 350,000 tons of phosphate fertilizer and 100,000 tons of ammonium sulfate, and will include additional auxiliary facilities. After the completion of the main contract, final data on the contract's value and implementation terms will be published. The company has stated that implementing the project will allow Daewoo E&C to strengthen its presence in Central Asia and expand its activities in the petrochemical and agricultural sectors, infrastructure, and urban projects. In the future, the company intends to offer environmentally friendly technological solutions to further cooperate with Turkmenistan. Daewoo E&C noted that winning the tender was possible thanks to the support of the South Korean government, including during the official visit of President Yun Seok Yeol to Turkmenistan in June. The company's Chairman, Jeong Won-ju, also met with the Chairman of the People's Council of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, in November 2022 during his visit to South Korea. The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding, cementing an agreement on close cooperation. Jeong Won-ju has visited Turkmenistan three times since then, which helped strengthen ties and successfully conclude negotiations. Daewoo E&C is aiming to become a leader in the global EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) market. “We strive to participate in projects that contribute to a sustainable future,” a company representative stated. Turkmenistan is implementing several major projects with the participation of South Korean companies. Hyundai Engineering has agreed with state-owned Turkmengas to expand the Galkynysh gas field. This project includes the construction of a fourth gas desulfurization facility, making it the largest in the country's history. Korean companies have also been actively constructing and developing an oil refinery in Kiyanly. Projects to create “smart cities” are also being discussed.

International Cooperation

Foreign Companies to Invest in Waste Recycling Plants across Uzbekistan

On October 21, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev attended a presentation on new projects for recycling household waste into electricity. As reported by the president’s press service, Uzbekistan produces 14 million tons of solid waste annually, but only 4-5 percent is recycled. As a consequence, over 7 million tons of greenhouse gases and 43,000 tons of toxic substances formed at waste landfills are annually emitted into the atmosphere and penetrate the soil. To resolve the problem, the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change has prepared several projects with foreign investors. The plan is to build waste incineration plants across Uzbekistan and process landfill gases at the Akhangaran landfill, with a total investment of about $1.3 billion. A Chinese company, CAMC Engineering, will invest $350 million in constructing two waste incineration plants in the Andijan and Tashkent regions, capable of processing 4,000 tons of waste daily and generating 630 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. Another Chinese company, Shanghai SUS Environment, plans to invest $310 million in building two plants in the Samarkand and Kashkadarya regions to process 3,000 tons of waste daily and generate 480 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. The United Arab Emirates Group is to invest $200 million in a plant in the Bukhara and Navoi regions to process 1,500 tons of waste daily and generate 363 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, and Sejin (Republic of Korea) will invest $55 million in the construction of a 16-megawatt electricity plant in the Akhangaran district of Tashkent to generate electricity from landfill gases. The combined projects, to be implemented between 2025-'27, are predicted to burn over 4.7 million tons of solid municipal waste annually and generate 2.1 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity worth $97 million, saving 152 million cubic meters of natural gas and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2.4 million tons. Back on September 26, the President of Uzbekistan established the Agency for Waste Management and Circular Economy Development aimed to introduce modern methods of collecting, sorting, and recycling waste and producing alternative energy, raw materials, and organic fertilizers. Eco-industrial zones are also to be created on landfill sites across Uzbekistan.

International Cooperation

Kuwaiti Companies Invited to Participate in Privatization of State-Owned Companies in Uzbekistan

At a business forum dedicated to strengthening ties between Uzbekistan and Kuwait, in Tashkent on October 16, Deputy Minister of Investment, Industry, and Trade of Uzbekistan Akram Aliyev noted the importance of partnership with Kuwaiti businessmen, especially in healthcare, agriculture, and tourism. The forum focused on prospects for joint projects mining, energy, textile industry, and logistics. Proposals were also mooted for Kuwaiti investors to participate in the privatization program of over 1,000 state-owned companies in Uzbekistan and improve logistics infrastructure to turn Central Asia into an international trade hub. Over recent years, there have been several developments in cooperation between Uzbekistan and Kuwait. At an investment and trade forum hosted by Kuwait in August and attended by business and ministry representatives from both countries, Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov encouraged Kuwaiti investors to explore prospects for partnership in agriculture, light industry, medical products, and renewable energy. The foreign ministers then met again, in New York in September 2024, to discuss further steps to strengthen bilateral cooperation, including the establishment of joint trade committees and new initiatives in logistics and infrastructure.

Organization of Turkic States

Turkic Investment Fund to Begin Financing Projects

Following the participation of its head, Temir Sariev, in a meeting of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Turkic states in Istanbul on October 16, Kyrgyzstan’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry announced that from January 2025, the Turkic Investment Fund, with an authorized capital of $1 billion, will begin financing major joint projects of member countries of the Organization of Turkic States. The Organization of Turkic States, currently comprising Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, with Hungary and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as observers, was founded in 2009 to foster comprehensive cooperation among Turkic-speaking nations. The Turkic Investment Fund, aimed to mobilize the economic potential of the Organization of Turkic States member states, strengthen trade and economic cooperation, and implement joint projects in infrastructure, renewable energy, agriculture, tourism, and IT, was established at the extraordinary summit of the Organization of Turkic States in March 2023 in Ankara. Founding members include Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. Hungary joined in June 2024, and Turkmenistan has an observer status. After the inaugural meeting of the Fund's Board of Governors in Istanbul in May 2024, the Turkish Ministry of Finance declared that by the end of 2024, the Turkic states are poised to play to an important role in the world economy, reaching an economic volume of $1.9 trillion and a population of 178 million.

Water Management

Kazakhstan Establishes Coordination Council of Partners for Water Sector Development

Kazakhstan has established a Coordination Council of Partners for the Development of the Water Sector. It includes the Kazakh Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation representatives, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and other international organizations and financial institutions. According to the ministry, the Coordination Council will coordinate the actions of government agencies, UNDP, international financial organizations, and donor communities according to national priorities in the water sector. The Council will mobilize and effectively distribute financial and technical resources to achieve the goals. The Council will support developing and implementing strategic documents, such as the Water Code, the Concept for the Development of the Water Resources Management System, and the Comprehensive Water Sector Development Plan, as well as strengthening the legislative framework and institutional mechanisms for sustainable water management. By implementing best international practices and innovative solutions in water resources management, the Council will organize the exchange of knowledge and experience, increase the capacity of specialists, and inform citizens about sustainable water resources management principles. Another key task for the Council is strengthening regional cooperation in water resources management and increasing resilience to climate change and natural disasters such as droughts and floods. Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Nurzhan Nurzhigitov commented: “The establishment of the Coordination Council is an important step for the water sector in Kazakhstan. By coordinating the efforts of the Ministry, international organizations, and donor communities, the Council will play an important role in promoting the country's long-term environmental stability and economic development. The Coordination Council will help mobilize resources, strengthen governance, expand regional cooperation, and promote sustainable water resource management practices. These collective efforts will address growing climate challenges and ensure a stable future for Kazakhstan and Central Asia.” On September 30, the Coordination Council held its first meeting in Astana. The meeting discussed partnerships in managing Kazakhstan's water resources and presented a Water Partnership Initiative for 2024-2030, a joint proposal between the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and UNDP. The document outlines specific activities, such as developing an information system for water resources, the modernization of water infrastructure to respond to climate challenges, implementing modern irrigation systems, and transboundary water cooperation. Katarzyna Wawiernia, UNDP Resident Representative in Kazakhstan, stated at the meeting: "Given the complexity of the water agenda, it is clear that no single government or organization can tackle these issues alone. Therefore, addressing these challenges requires combining resources, investments, technical expertise, and innovations. I hope that the Partnership Initiative proposed today by UNDP and the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation will be an important catalyst in this process." For decades, Kazakhstan has faced a host of water-related challenges, such as the shrinking Aral Sea, largely caused by decreasing water flows in transboundary rivers, devastating spring floods, and irrigation water shortages in the country’s southern regions.

International Cooperation

Kazakhstan to Cooperate with China and Russia in Combating Floods

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation will sign a memorandum of cooperation with the Ministry of Water Resources of China to combat future spring floods together. The Kazakh ministry has also agreed with Russia to create a joint working group to coordinate actions during spring flood periods. Kazakhstan’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, announced this at a government meeting on September 24. The conference addressed eliminating the consequences of unprecedented spring floods in the country’s northern and western regions and preparing for future spring floods. Massive floods in the spring of 2024, caused by the rapid snow-melt, destroyed thousands of homes and forced almost 100,000 people to evacuate from flood zones. Much of the spring flood water comes to Kazakhstan via trans-boundary rivers flowing from Russia and China. "To ensure the collection and safe passage of flood water in the future, the ministry plans to build 42 new reservoirs with a total capacity of 2.6 billion cubic meters, as well as to reconstruct 37 reservoirs with a total capacity of 3.7 billion cubic meters and about 14,500 km of irrigation canals. This year, the construction of two reservoirs in the Turkestan region and the reconstruction of three reservoirs in the Aktobe, Turkestan, and West Kazakhstan regions began," Nurzhigitov stated, adding that the spring floods led not only to negative consequences, but also allowed reservoirs to collect more than twelve billion cubic meters of water used for economic needs. As of the beginning of September 2024, 8.4 billion cubic meters of that water were used for agricultural purposes. Nurzhigitov reported that the reservoirs of Kazakhstan's northern, central, eastern, and western regions are now 80% full and added that the spring floods have also helped improve the environmental situation by directing excess water to places where it had not flowed for a long time. For example, 80 million cubic meters of flood waters were directed to the Kamysh-Samar lakes of the West Kazakhstan region. For the first time in decades, water arrived in the lakes of the Kyzylorda region through the Sarysu River. Since the beginning of the year, twelve billion cubic meters of water have been sent to Lake Balkhash, and 7.4 billion cubic meters to the Caspian Sea. Nurzhigitov also stated that, together with the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation, and Aerospace Industry, work is underway to create an information system for forecasting and modeling floods, which will be launched before the end of the year. "This information system will allow for flood forecasting to make strategic decisions. It will show potential flood risk zones on the map," Nurzhigitov explained. At the same meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev reported that the 2024 spring floods had affected more than 120,000 people across 12 regions. Bozumbayev emphasized that new housing for families affected by the flood was constructed in an unprecedentedly short space of time. In under four months, 2,576 new houses were built, and 5,767 houses and apartments were purchased on the secondary market. In addition,...