The Times Of Central Asia | Eurasian Publication & News Online

On September 15, 2026, The Times of Central Asia spoke with Shumkarbek Adilbek uulu, director of the National Institute for Strategic Initiatives (NISI) under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic. Established in its current form in 2024 through the merger of two institutes, NISI provides strategic advice to the country's...

Nature Investment

Opinion: Financing Nature: Why Biodiversity Investment Matters for Central Asia

Aral Sea

From Solastalgia to Solutions: What the First Aral School Cohort Discovered in Karakalpakstan

Almaty Culture

Yurts, Throat Singing, and Aport Apples at Almaty City Day

Aral School

“It’s Not the Whole Story”: Aral School Participants Rethink Karakalpakstan

Eurasian History

How the Golden Horde Changed Eurasia: An Interview With Marie Favereau

French historian Marie Favereau, a professor of medieval history at Paris Nanterre University, has spent more than two decades studying the Golden Horde and its place in Eurasian history. The Horde developed from territories assigned to Jochi, Genghis Khan’s eldest son. Her book, The Horde: How the Mongols Changed the World, challenges the...

Aral School

Learning to Live With the Aral Sea’s Changed Landscape

Martial Moves, Peculiar Procurement, and the Sixth Nomad Games

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Dastan
Short Stories from the Region

Dastan: Sobir Ruziev, Soviet Fencer Who Elevated Uzbek Sport

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Opinions

From Lenin to Kenesary: What Kazakhstan’s Renamed Streets Say About Power

Issatay Minuarov

Opinion: Why Central Asia Cannot Afford to Abandon the Iranian Route

Timur Serikuly

Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan Show What Diplomacy Can Deliver as Vast Rail Project with China Advances

Javier M. Piedra

Uzbekistan’s Heritage Did Not Stop With the Silk Road

Mathieu Lemoine

Opinion: Kazakhstan’s Demining Expertise Could Provide Boost to Afghanistan

Timur Serikuly

Opinion: Uzbekistan Census – When the Village Reappears in the City

Zamirbek Minbaev

Opinion: The Specter Is Back – A Kazakh Warning to America

Askar Alimzhanov

Opinion: The Amu Darya Stress Test – Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the Politics of Agricultural Adaptation

Zamirbek Minbaev

Opinion: Kazakhstan’s New Income Growth Plan – Administrative Measures Against Market Realities

Igor Klevtsov

Opinion: Central Asia’s Shift from Silk Road Romance to Infrastructure Finance – What the June Forums Are Building

Dr. Magsud Mammadov

UNDP Opinion: Central Asia – Shared Wildlife, Shared Landscapes, Shared Responsibility

UNDP Representatives in Kazakhstan, Katarzyna Wawiernia, Kyrgyzstan, Alexandra Solovieva, Tajikistan, Sudipto Mukerjee, Turkmenistan, Narine Sahakyan, Uzbekistan, Akiko Fujii.

Opinion: Beyond Multivectorism – What Kyrgyzstan’s UN Security Council Win Really Shows

Zamirbek Minbaev

Business & Economy

Customs Modernization

Turkmenistan Looks to AI in Customs Modernization Drive

Customs specialists in Turkmenistan discussed the use of artificial intelligence in their work during a seminar last week, as the country steps up efforts to modernize trade systems and expand its role in the Caspian Sea transit corridor. The three-day training course in Ashgabat drew about 30 customs experts and was held at a regional training center. Turkmenistan’s State Customs Service said the event was part of a European Union-funded project to promote trade on the corridor, which links China and Central Asia to Europe by rail and maritime transport. The trainer at the seminar was Sertaç Yapıcı, whose LinkedIn...

TCA Interviews

Kyrgyzstan’s NISI Director on Reform, Red Tape and a Bigger Global Role

Mining

Kazakhstan Mining Royalty System Delayed Until 2029

Pharmaceuticals

Kyrgyzstan Pharmaceutical Logistics Complex Begins Construction in Bishkek

Green Hydrogen

South Korea’s YPP Considers $2 Billion Green Ammonia Project in Kazakhstan

Educational Investment

Coventry Expands in Kazakhstan, Strengthening Central Asia’s International Education Center

Coventry University Kazakhstan marked the next stage of its expansion on September 21 with a capsule-laying ceremony for new facilities in Astana, adding to a growing network of British educational institutions operating in the country. Lord John Alderdice, the United Kingdom’s Trade Envoy to Azerbaijan and Central Asia, said the project represented more than the construction of another university building. “Today we are not simply marking the construction of a new building. We are investing in people, in knowledge, and in the future of Kazakhstan.” [caption id="attachment_56593" align="alignnone" width="300"] Lord John Alderdice, the UK Trade Envoy to Azerbaijan and Central...

AI Education

Kazakhstan AI Training Expands Nationwide as Programs Scale Up

Kazakhstan is expanding a free school for programming and artificial intelligence (AI) to 14 regions as part of a national drive to prepare people to use the technology. Government figures show that more than 100,000 university students have completed advanced AI courses, but evidence of what the training is producing in practice remains limited. Tomorrow School offers adults a free 18-month course in programming and AI. It began operating outside Astana in 2026, and its network now covers 14 regions, with further growth planned across the country. Students need no previous programming experience and learn through practical projects and peer-to-peer...

Uzbekgaz

SOCAR and BP Prepare for Exploration Drilling in Uzbekistan’s Ustyurt Region

Azerbaijan’s SOCAR, Britain’s BP, and state-owned Uzbekneftegaz are preparing for exploration drilling across six blocks in Uzbekistan’s Ustyurt region. Following completion of a 3D seismic survey, the next stage involves processing the data and selecting a site for the first exploration well. Drilling will help establish whether preliminary estimates of 100 million metric tons of oil and 35 billion cubic meters of gas could translate into commercially recoverable reserves. The work covered the Boyterak, Terengquduq, Birqori, Kharoy, Qoraqalpoq, and Qulboy blocks in the Republic of Karakalpakstan. The seismic survey covered more than 3,000 square kilometers, compared with a minimum commitment...

Food Processing

Kazakhstan’s Shin-Line Group Plans Food Industry Cluster With South Korean Support

Kazakhstan’s Shin-Line Group, a food manufacturer best known as Central Asia’s largest ice cream producer, plans to establish a food industry cluster modeled on South Korea’s Foodpolis. Korean specialists will help develop its management model and services for producers seeking to enter overseas markets. Under the agreement, the Korean side will provide consulting and expert support on the cluster’s management and development strategy. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Agriculture describes it as the country’s first project of its kind. Foodpolis operates in the South Korean city of Iksan. The cluster brings food manufacturers and research laboratories together with centers that help businesses...

Local Politics

Education Policy

Kazakhstan Education Reform Puts 12th Grade Under Review

Kazakhstan is considering whether to eliminate the 12th grade at Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools (NIS), as some families transfer their children to regular schools after the 10th grade so they can graduate a year earlier. Established in 2008, NIS is a state-funded network of elite schools specializing in science, mathematics, and languages. It operates its own 12-year curriculum. Education Minister Zhuldyz Suleimenova said 88% of NIS graduates finish school at age 18, while about 300 received their diplomas at age 19 last year. A commission is examining whether the curriculum can be compressed into 11 grades, with conclusions expected by January...

Latin Alphabet Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan’s Senate Approves Latin Alphabet Changes

Migration Policy

Kazakhstan Prepares QazETA Entry Authorization for Visa-Free Travelers

GKNB

Maksat Asanaliyev Approved as Kyrgyzstan Security Service Chief

Akorda

Erlan Karin’s Appointment Links Reform and National Identity

Secularism

Kazakhstan Hijab Debate Exposes Divide Over Secularism

Kazakhstan’s long-running controversy over hijabs in schools has collided with a wider public argument about religion, exposing sharp differences among prominent public figures and institutions over the boundaries of the country’s secular model. The latest religious controversy in Kazakhstan’s social media space was triggered by two statements made within the span of a week. On September 3, well-known Kazakhstani film and entertainment producer and former television host Bayan Alaguzova wrote on Threads that she was “tired of religion and its propaganda.” “I’ll say this right away,” she added. “There’s no need to frighten me with hell – it doesn’t exist...

Education

Kazakhstan Tests AI After Finding 700 Errors in School Textbooks

Kazakhstan is testing artificial intelligence (AI) as part of an overhaul of school textbooks after the Education Ministry identified around 700 errors in existing educational materials. A pilot digital textbook platform is already being used in 40 schools while the authorities consider how AI could improve future editions. One of the more striking errors is in an 11th-grade history textbook, which still refers to the capital as Nur-Sultan, even though the name Astana was restored in September 2022. Education Minister Zhuldyz Suleimenova confirmed on September 8 that the textbook, last updated in 2024, will be reissued next year. Suleimenova referred...

Government Appointments

New Kazakhstan Government Retains Core Economic Team

Kazakhstan completed the formation of its first government under the country’s new unicameral parliament on September 3. Olzhas Bektenov remains prime minister and the core economic team will stay in place, but there were changes at the foreign, culture and information, ecology, and emergency situations ministries. The government resigned on August 28 following the election of the Kurultai, Kazakhstan’s new unicameral parliament, which replaced the Senate and Mazhilis. Ministers continued serving in an acting capacity while the new cabinet was formed. On August 31, the Kurultai approved Bektenov’s candidacy for prime minister. He received 137 votes, with seven lawmakers abstaining...

Government appointments

Mukhtar Tleuberdi Returns as Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev appointed Mukhtar Tleuberdi as foreign minister on September 2. One of Kazakhstan’s most experienced diplomats is returning to a post he previously held from 2019 to 2023. For the past three years, Tleuberdi has represented Kazakhstan in Austria and at international organizations in Vienna. Tleuberdi replaces Yermek Kosherbayev, who had headed the Foreign Ministry since September 2025. The change comes as a new administration takes shape following the election of the Kurultai. Kosherbayev spent less than a year in the post, but his tenure coincided with an intensification of Kazakhstan’s relationship with the United States. In...

International Affairs

Oil Logistics

Kazakhstan’s Oil Logistics Trap: Higher Prices, Limited Gains

Escalation in the Middle East has pushed oil back above $100 a barrel. For Kazakhstan, whose budget remains heavily dependent on commodity exports, that should have been good news. But a high price matters only if the oil can reach buyers. For the world’s largest landlocked country, that is where the problem begins. European refiners are looking for alternatives to disrupted Saudi supplies, while problems along established routes through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea are increasing demand for crude from other regions. More than 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports, however, move through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium system...

C5+South Korea

South Korea Steps Up Central Asia Critical Minerals Push

Central Asia-South Korea Summit 2026

Central Asia’s First Korea Summit Produces Different Deals for Each Country

C5+South Korea

Kazakhstan Courts South Korean Investment During Tokayev’s Seoul Visit

Central Asia-South Korea summit 2026

South Korea and ADB Expand Central Asia Critical Minerals Push

Agriculture

Kyrgyzstan China Move Toward Mutual Recognition of Organic Certificates

Kyrgyzstan and China have agreed to begin work on mutual recognition of organic certification systems, in a move that Bishkek hopes will simplify exports of organic agricultural products to China. At present, obtaining an organic certificate in Kyrgyzstan is not enough for a producer to sell a product as organic in China. The agreement was reached on September 17 during talks in Bishkek with a delegation from China’s State Administration for Market Regulation, or SAMR. The two sides agreed to establish a joint working group to harmonize their organic standards and technical requirements. Training and internships for Kyrgyz specialists were...

Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s Regional Ties Grow as Global Reintegration Stalls

For Central Asia, Afghanistan is both a source of risk and a potential route south. Governments across the region increasingly see a more stable Afghanistan as a way to open new markets and expand economic links with South Asia. Afghanistan is a direct neighbor of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. The geography is different for Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, but their political and economic interests are no less significant. Many long-term plans for expanding Central Asia’s connections to the south depend in part on Afghanistan’s future and the role it can play in the regional economy. At the UN Security Council’s September...

C5+South Korea

What Could Come Next in Kazakhstan-South Korea Relations

The first Central Asia-Republic of Korea Summit in Seoul on September 16 will elevate South Korea’s multilateral cooperation with the five countries of the region to heads-of-state level. The Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum has existed since 2007 but until now has remained primarily a ministerial mechanism. Seoul is now seeking to establish a sustainable multilateral framework at the leaders’ level. The summit’s agenda is broad, with a focus on innovation, prosperity, and connectivity. One of its main outcomes is expected to be the Seoul Declaration, setting out a medium- and long-term vision for cooperation in supply chains, emerging industries, and...

Migration

Nearly 100,000 Uzbeks Return From Russia as Labor Migration Slows

Nearly 100,000 Uzbek citizens returned from Russia between August 25 and September 5, as broader figures point to a decline in labor migration from Uzbekistan to Russia amid rising costs and tighter migration controls. According to Uzbekistan’s Migration Agency, 96,415 people returned during the ten-day period. The agency has not published comparable figures for last year or explained why most of them came home, meaning the figure alone cannot be taken as evidence of a mass exodus. There is, however, evidence of a broader slowdown. Between January and June, Uzbek citizens made more than 1.1 million entries into Russia declaring...

Life & Culture

Almaty Culture

Yurts, Throat Singing, and Aport Apples at Almaty City Day

On Sunday, September 20, yurts, market stalls, activity areas, and stages lined Panfilov Street, extending downhill from the building that houses the Kazakh-British Technical University (KBTU). The flow of people barely thinned until evening. Almaty celebrates City Day on the third Sunday of September. This year, concerts and festivals were held on Astana and Abai squares, Zhibek Zholy Street, outside the Alatau Theater of Traditional Art, and across all eight districts. The busiest program unfolded on Panfilov Street in the historic center. The main stage was set up near the KBTU building. Completed in 1957, it was the seat of...

Eurasian History

How the Golden Horde Changed Eurasia: An Interview With Marie Favereau

Sports Education

Kazakh National University of Sports Joins Olympic Studies Network

FIDE Chess Olympiad

Samarkand Chess Olympiad Hosts FIDE Election as Timur Turlov Outlines His Plans

Almaty Museum of Arts

Almaty Museum of Arts Begins Centre Pompidou Partnership With The Clock

Aral School

“It’s Not the Whole Story”: Aral School Participants Rethink Karakalpakstan

A proverb about seasonal food caught the attention of Australian researcher, multimedia artist, and producer Jess Nikitina-Li while she was at the Aral School in Nukus. “I’m interested in language, art and storytelling, and I didn’t really know what I would be working on during the program, but I became obsessed with this proverbial wisdom that kept coming up when we started asking questions about food systems in Karakalpakstan,” she told The Times of Central Asia. One proverb in particular became important to her work: “Three months of pumpkin, three months fish, three months melon, three months milk. All four...

Aral School

Learning to Live With the Aral Sea’s Changed Landscape

In February, participants from a new school in Nukus joined local foresters on the dried bed of the Aral Sea to plant saxaul. The shrubs can take root in salty ground and help hold down dust blowing across Karakalpakstan. Foresters from the Karauzyak State Forestry Department guided the work, drawing on years of experience in the region. The planting exercise, organized with the United Nations Development Programme, offered an early indication of how the Aral School intends to teach. Its participants work alongside people already responding to the sea’s retreat, learning from the landscape and those who live with its...

YONAR

Artists Build a Temporary White Salt City in Karakalpakstan

For three days, a city appears on the Barsakelmes salt flat in Karakalpakstan. It has no permanent residents, shops, or spectators. There are tents and yurts, art installations, music, and several dozen people who have come to build, paint, perform, cook, and live together. Then the city disappears. The second international YONAR experimental art festival is taking place in Uzbekistan’s Kungrad District from September 17 to 19. Its site is about 200 kilometers from Nukus. Organizers call the temporary settlement White Salt City. There is no conventional festival audience: anyone who comes to YONAR becomes a participant. They can create...

Chess

Kyrgyzstan Opens National Chess Academy in Bishkek

Kyrgyzstan is linking school chess programs with advanced training as it seeks greater success internationally. The National Chess Academy opened in Bishkek on September 13, while a pilot program is introducing chess clubs for students in grades three to five at 500 schools across the country. The academy, established under the Kyrgyz Chess Union, will identify and train promising young players. It will also organize competitions and provide a permanent base where they can prepare for national and international tournaments. The academy is part of a national chess development program for 2026–2030. The program also provides for teacher training to support the...

Justice

Rule of Law

Kyrgyz Court Upholds Ex-Security Chief Tashiyev’s Conviction but Changes Charge

On September 10, the Bishkek City Court upheld convictions against former security chief Kamchybek Tashiyev and seven others, but changed the offense from plotting to overthrow the government to interfering with electoral rights. All eight had been convicted in July of plotting the violent overthrow of the government. They received four-year prison sentences, replaced by three years of probation. The change has added to the confusion surrounding the alleged plot. On September 14, Tashiyev’s lawyer asked the Prosecutor General’s Office to investigate the appeal judges’ actions, saying the defense had received no warning of the new charge. The Letter of...

Murder Convictions

Uzbek Women Murdered in Istanbul: Two Men Sentenced to Life

Psychology

Psychologists in Kyrgyzstan Face New Regulation Push

Kamchybek Tashiyev

Kyrgyz Prosecutors Seek Nine-Year Prison Terms for Tashiyev and Seven Others

Islam and National Identity

Dombra Dispute and Niqab Bans Fuel Religious Debate in Central Asia

Opinion

Opinion: How Europe Balances Conditions and Interests in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan has enjoyed preferential access to the EU market under GSP+ since 2021. The program removes tariffs on thousands of products for countries that commit to implementing international conventions on human rights, labor standards, environmental protection, and governance. Uzbekistan is one of two Central Asian countries, alongside Kyrgyzstan, participating in GSP+. Tajikistan receives the less generous standard GSP preferences, while Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are outside the scheme because they are classified as upper-middle-income economies. Uzbekistan makes extensive use of the program. In 2024, its preference utilization rate, the share of eligible exports entering the EU duty-free, was 92.2%. EU imports...

Illegal Migration

Uzbekistan Proposes Up to 15 Years in Prison for Organizing Illegal Migration

Uzbekistan wants to introduce a separate criminal offense for organizers of illegal migration, carrying penalties of up to 15 years in prison. The proposal comes at a time when large numbers of Uzbeks continue to work abroad, with Russia still the largest destination, even as conditions for migrant workers there become increasingly restrictive and risky. The draft amendments are open for public discussion until September 8. They would create a new criminal offense for organizing or assisting illegal migration for financial gain, including arranging unlawful border crossings or transit through Uzbekistan. Penalties would start at three to five years in prison...

Bloggers’ Rights

Uzbekistan’s New Bloggers’ Council Has No Confirmed Leader

Uzbekistan’s Union of Journalists says it plans to help bloggers when officials refuse to provide information or when they face pressure over their work. The proposal follows several prosecutions of bloggers known for reporting on alleged local corruption or criticizing public officials. The initiative immediately encountered a leadership problem: one day after the Creative Council of Bloggers was announced, the blogger expected to lead it said he had declined the position. The Union of Journalists announced the council on August 7, saying the decision reflected the growing role of bloggers in Uzbekistan. According to the union, bloggers increasingly compete with...

Cybersecurity

Kazakhstan Examines Data Leak Claim Involving 15 Million People

A database allegedly containing the personal information of 15 million people in Kazakhstan has appeared on the dark web. The seller is asking 0.5 bitcoin, about $32,000, for a dataset containing tens of millions of records. The seller claims the information was obtained after hacking the government’s eGov portal. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development has not confirmed that account. Specialists are examining samples of the database and trying to determine where the data came from. The sale was reported by the Russian Telegram channel Mash. According to the channel, the file is about 2.7 GB and contains...

Environment

Nature Investment

Opinion: Financing Nature: Why Biodiversity Investment Matters for Central Asia

Just imagine: only 50 years ago, wildlife was far more abundant across many of the world’s forests, grasslands, rivers, and seas. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature’s Living Planet Report 2024, the average size of monitored vertebrate populations fell by 73% between 1970 and 2020, based on data from almost 35,000 populations worldwide. That extraordinary decline has taken place within a single human lifetime. We are used to treating this as an environmental statistic, a sad fact trotted out in a nature documentary to which we have little emotional connection. Seen this way, we miss a vital truth:...

Nuclear Waste

Central Asia Makes Progress on Uranium Cleanup, but Major Risks Remain

Glacier Melt

Kyrgyzstan Drafts $850 Million Climate Adaptation Plan Through 2035

Glaciers

Tajikistan Glacier Mudflows Warning Issued as Climate Risks Grow

Methane Emissions

Turkmenistan Methane Emissions Under Scrutiny After 192 UN Alerts

Aral Sea

From Solastalgia to Solutions: What the First Aral School Cohort Discovered in Karakalpakstan

“They are producing food in a place where people believe there is nothing,” said Martina Manterola. In Karakalpakstan, the autonomous republic in western Uzbekistan where the retreat of the Aral Sea has left large areas increasingly arid, farmers continue to grow crops, while fishing survives in pockets of water near Moynaq. The Mexican researcher and artist, whose work focuses on food systems, ecology, and feminism, spent six months in the region as one of 22 participants in the first Aral School, an interdisciplinary residency based in Nukus, the regional capital, that brought together postgraduate researchers and specialists working across architecture,...

Natural Disasters

Tajikistan Turns to Early Warning Systems as Climate Risks Grow

On the evening of May 1, a mudflow swept into residential neighborhoods in Kulob, southern Tajikistan. When water flooded a neighboring house, Mirzo Muloniezov rushed inside and managed to carry out his two-year-old grandson. The water had already reached the electrical outlets. Muloniezov was electrocuted. Neighbors pulled him from the water, but he could not be saved. In the first six months of 2026, Tajik authorities recorded 741 natural emergencies. Avalanches accounted for 508 of them, while another 123 were mudflows. Twelve people were killed, and economic damage exceeded TJS 52.8 million – about $5.7 million. Dushanbe is now discussing...

Central Asia Water Cooperation

Water in Central Asia: Can the Five States Reach an Agreement?

Central Asia is entering a period of growing water stress, as climate change makes supplies less predictable while demand continues to rise. Populations are growing, economies require new energy and industrial capacity, glaciers are shrinking, and agriculture continues to consume most of the available water. The region’s two main rivers – the Amu Darya and Syr Darya – cross national borders, making it impossible for any one country to solve the problem on its own. After decades of disputes, Central Asian states are increasingly trying to manage water jointly. In 2026, that cooperation has produced further practical steps, from plans...

Cotton

Uzbekistan Cotton: Mirziyoyev Decries ‘Slaves to Cotton’ Past

For decades now, anyone driving through Uzbekistan, especially through agricultural areas, would likely at some point along the road have encountered a hill with rocks arranged near the top to spell out “Paxta – Bizning Oq Oltinimiz.” It translates from Uzbek as “Cotton is our white gold” and it was a mantra in Uzbekistan going back to the days of the Soviet Union. However, Uzbekistan’s current president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, does not share this view of cotton’s value to his people and was recently cited as saying the crop turned many people in Uzbekistan into “slaves of cotton.” A Black History...

Kazakhstan’s Oil Logistics Trap: Higher Prices, Limited Gains

Latest

Features

Features

Martial Moves, Peculiar Procurement, and the Sixth Nomad Games

Latest

Dastan: Sobir Ruziev, Soviet Fencer Who Elevated Uzbek Sport

Martial Moves, Peculiar Procurement, and the Sixth Nomad Games

Dastan: Sobir Ruziev, Soviet Fencer Who Elevated Uzbek Sport

Opinions

Opinions

Issatay Minuarov

Timur Serikuly

Javier M. Piedra

Mathieu Lemoine

Timur Serikuly

Zamirbek Minbaev

Askar Alimzhanov

Zamirbek Minbaev

Igor Klevtsov

Dr. Magsud Mammadov

UNDP Representatives in Kazakhstan, Katarzyna Wawiernia, Kyrgyzstan, Alexandra Solovieva, Tajikistan, Sudipto Mukerjee, Turkmenistan, Narine Sahakyan, Uzbekistan, Akiko Fujii.

Zamirbek Minbaev

Business & Economy

Business & Economy

Turkmenistan Looks to AI in Customs Modernization Drive

Coventry Expands in Kazakhstan, Strengthening Central Asia’s International Education Center

Kazakhstan AI Training Expands Nationwide as Programs Scale Up

SOCAR and BP Prepare for Exploration Drilling in Uzbekistan’s Ustyurt Region

Kazakhstan’s Shin-Line Group Plans Food Industry Cluster With South Korean Support

Local Politics

Local Politics

Kazakhstan Education Reform Puts 12th Grade Under Review

Kazakhstan Hijab Debate Exposes Divide Over Secularism

Kazakhstan Tests AI After Finding 700 Errors in School Textbooks

New Kazakhstan Government Retains Core Economic Team

Mukhtar Tleuberdi Returns as Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister

International Affairs

International Affairs

Kazakhstan’s Oil Logistics Trap: Higher Prices, Limited Gains

Kyrgyzstan China Move Toward Mutual Recognition of Organic Certificates

Afghanistan’s Regional Ties Grow as Global Reintegration Stalls

What Could Come Next in Kazakhstan-South Korea Relations

Nearly 100,000 Uzbeks Return From Russia as Labor Migration Slows

Life & Culture

Life & Culture

Yurts, Throat Singing, and Aport Apples at Almaty City Day

“It’s Not the Whole Story”: Aral School Participants Rethink Karakalpakstan

Learning to Live With the Aral Sea’s Changed Landscape

Artists Build a Temporary White Salt City in Karakalpakstan

Kyrgyzstan Opens National Chess Academy in Bishkek

Justice

Justice

Kyrgyz Court Upholds Ex-Security Chief Tashiyev’s Conviction but Changes Charge