Kyrgyzstan - The Times Of Central Asia

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Kyrgyz Authorities Believe Negligence Caused Truck to Hit Students

Kyrgyzstan’s president has ordered the transfer by plane of ten seriously injured children to Bishkek for medical treatment after a truck hit students who had assembled on a hillside for a storytelling competition, Kyrgyz media reported on Friday. About 30 people were injured in the incident in the Suzak district, Jalal-Abad region on Thursday, prompting President Sadyr Japarov to form a commission to investigate what authorities believe was an act of negligence. The driver of the truck was arrested, though early reports said the truck was empty when it rolled through the crowd of students. Video captured the moment as young people, some standing in formation, scattered or were caught in the path of the vehicle. “The accident was caused by negligence and non-compliance with safety rules,” said Kamchybek Tashiev, head of the State Committee for National Security and deputy chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers. “There were many shortcomings in organizational work. Organizers should take into account all safety rules which were necessary. For example, special places for cars should not be allowed into the crowded area. This kind of accident is caused by neglecting such small things," Tashiev said. Kabar, the state-run news agency, quoted him as saying there was no indication that terrorism was involved.

Kyrgyzstan Russia Migrants Moscow Attack Discrimination

Kyrgyzstan Again Tells Citizens: For Now, Don’t Go to Russia

Kyrgyzstan has again urged its citizens to avoid travel to Russia if possible, citing media reports of “the mass refusal of entry” and saying people should wait until Russia lifts tighter security measures at its border points. Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs “recommends that fellow citizens who do not have compelling reasons to travel to the Russian Federation temporarily refrain from traveling to its territory until the previously introduced additional security measures and the regime of enhanced control of entry across the state border are lifted, and if they need to leave, check in advance for any restrictions on entry to the Russian Federation,” according to a ministry statement on Thursday. The ministry issued a similar call to delay trips to Russia days after gunmen killed more than 140 people at the Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow on March 22, leading to a backlash of suspicion, harassment and violence in Russia towards Central Asian migrants. Several of the detained subjects were from Tajikistan, which last weekend urged its own citizens to skip travel to Russia “unless absolutely necessary,” amid concerns about hundreds of Tajik nationals who were being held in unsanitary conditions at detention facilities in Moscow airports. Russia has sought to ease tension with Tajikistan, saying anti-terrorism measures were being implemented and that Tajik citizens had not been targeted for mistreatment. Fissures in its relationship with Tajikistan are extremely rare. Russia has also tried to mollify Kyrgyzstan over a Russian police search of the Moscow apartment of a Kyrgyz diplomat last month.

International investment Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan Environment Water Management Kambarata

Tashkent Investment Forum Focus on Kyrgyzstan’s Kambarata HPP-1

The construction of the Kambarata hydroelectric power plant (HPP)-1 on Kyrgyzstan’s Naryn River was at the forefront at the Third Tashkent International Investment Forum attended by Uzbekistan’s Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov and representatives of international organizations and financial institutions. At the panel session on energy, on 2 May, Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic Akylbek Japarov, outlined the master plan behind Kambarata HPP-1, investment indicators, and its potential benefits to water resources management and Central Asia’s electricity market. Japarov explained that generated by hydropower, almost all electricity in Kyrgyzstan is green, but stated, “We have so far used only about 13% of our existing potential. Taking into account global challenges and trends in the development of green energy, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic has actively begun to implement infrastructure energy projects. The large-scale construction of Kambarata HPP-1, strategically important for the entire region, will up the pace of development in this field.” Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan recently signed a Roadmap for joint construction of Kambarata HPP-1. If completed, Kambarata HPP-1 will have a capacity of 1860 MW and will generate 5.6 billion kWh of electricity per year. A forum for further discussions on foreign investment in the project is scheduled for early June in Vienna . Turning to plans for hydroelectric power plants elsewhere in the country, Kyrgyzstan’s Prime Minister, stated, “Work is underway to implement projects for the construction of a cascade of hydroelectric power plants on the Chatkal River, as well as a cascade of Kazarman hydroelectric power plants on the Naryn River. Our country needs foreign investment to develop energy, which is the main sector of the economy. We invite foreign companies to consider the possibility of participating in the construction of small and medium-sized hydroelectric power stations and renewable energy sources in Kyrgyzstan.”

Kyrgyzstan Injuries Hospitalization Children

Kyrgyzstan: Truck Hits Students Performing at Event, Injuring 29

A truck has mowed through a crowd of students during a hillside event in Kyrgyzstan, injuring 29 children in an incident that was captured on video, media reported on Thursday. The Health Ministry said three of the injured children were in a serious condition following the incident in Suzak district, the state-run Kabar News Agency reported. The agency said there was no driver in the truck, and that there were indications that the incident was accidental. An investigation is underway. Video shows hundreds of people, many of them spectators and others in formation holding a huge national flag scatter as the truck goes down the hill and ploughs through the crowd. In another video, people are heard screaming and shouting as the truck is seen knocking over a tent. The students had been performing Manas, an epic poem that is integral to Kyrgyz culture, as part of a competition, according to traffic safety officials.

Border disputes Migration Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Legislation Security

Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan May Swap Territories to Ease Border Tensions

In order to solve their long-running border demarcation dispute, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan may consider the option of exchanging territories. That's according to remarks made by Marat Imankulov, the Secretary of the Security Council of the Kyrgyz Republic, in an interview with state news agency, Kabar. According to him, the remarkable thing is that the border in the Batken region passes through difficult terrain, densely populated areas, bisecting streets, yards, and even houses. “Therefore, it should be separated. This is a difficult compromise. It is impossible without it. We have to give way. If necessary, the option of exchanging regions can be considered. Of course, there should be a preliminary agreement with local residents; that's how things are going now,” said Imankulov. The Secretary of the Security Council noted that each country has its own interests, but the parties are now looking for balance and compromise. Imankulov added that all border negotiations should proceed peacefully. Demarcation of the border has been a long-standing source of conflict between the two nations, it is emblematic of the problem that even the length of the border - sometimes cited as being 975-kilomtres long, and at others times 972-kilomteres - is rarely agreed upon. In January 2023, Tajikistan’s President Rahmon stated that 614-kilometres had been settled upon, backtracking on a previously stated figure of 664. In a sign of thawing relations, however, on November 9th 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic announced that a further 17.98 kilometers of the border had been agreed. With its scant natural resources and dwindling water supplies, the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan has been the scene of numerous skirmishes for many years. In 2014, all borders between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan were closed indefinitely to Kyrgyz and Tajik citizens following clashes over a bypass road in disputed territory; mortars were fired and both armies suffered casualties. Trouble spilled over again throughout 2021 and 2022, reportedly starting over a water dispute in the Vorukh enclave, and leaving an unknown number in the hundreds killed, and up to 136,000 people evacuated. In September 2022, another shooting took place on the border between the two countries.

Asian Development Bank Economy Central Asia Banking Investments Kyrgyzstan Finance

ADB Allocates $56 Million for Sewage Treatment Plant to Protect Issyk-Kul

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to allocate money for the construction of a sewage treatment plant in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan's main resort city on the northern shore of the high-mountain Lake Issyk-Kul, which is the crown jewel of the Kyrgyz tourism industry. . According to the State Agency of Architecture and Construction, the ADB will allocate $31 million in the form of a grant and $25 million as a soft loan for the construction of a sewage treatment plant with a capacity of 14,200 cubic meters per day. The funds will also be used to build 18 sewage pumping stations, 45km of main sewers, and 109km of intra-square sewage networks in the city of Cholpon-Ata. "To date, the design and cost- estimate documentation for the sewage treatment plant, two main pumping stations and sewage collector in the city of Cholpon-Ata, and tender documents for them, [have been] sent for consideration by the Asian Development Bank," reported the press service of the State Construction Committee. The agency emphasizes that all local guest houses, sanatoriums and resorts will be able to connect to the central sewage system. Environmentalists have repeatedly warned of unfavorable ecological degradation of the waters of Lake Issyk-Kul, because of hundreds of hotels located in the coastal zone. Today, most sewage treatment facilities in the coastal towns of Balykchy, Karakol and Cholpon-Ata are out of operation. Those sewage systems were put into operation in the 1960s or 1970s, and received little maintenance or upkeep.