primeminister.kz

26 Apr 2024
Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan International Affairs, Kazakhstan Business & Economy

Kazakhstan Poised to Participate in Trans-Afghan Railways Construction

On 24 April, a Kazakhstan delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin met Afghan Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar in Afghanistan to discuss cooperation on transport projects in Central and South Asia.

The Kazakh side announced its readiness to participate in the development of the trans-Afghan corridor through the construction of the Termez – Mazar-i-Sharif – Kabul – Peshawar and Herat – Kandahar – Spin Buldak railways.

The projects aim to reduce the delivery time of goods between the countries by almost 10-fold, as well as reduce transportation costs.

Kazakhstan’s proposed contribution to the construction of the trans-Afghan railways comprises the supply of locally- produced materials for the upper structure of the railway track, sleepers, and fastenings.

Over the past three years, the volume of exports sent from Kazakhstan to Afghanistan has grown steadily. In 2023, transportation by rail amounted to 2.7 million tons, including 1.5 million tons of Kazakh flour and grain, a 14% increase compared to 2021. In the coming years, Kazakh exports to Afghanistan are expected to increase by 40%.

The parties also discussed resuming air traffic between the countries. According to a memorandum between the aviation authorities of Kazakhstan and Afghanistan, the two countries are on course to operate three scheduled passenger/cargo flights per week.

 

 

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Times of Central Asia

@iStock

26 Apr 2024
Home, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan International Affairs, Features, Kazakhstan Home

Azerbaijan Agrees to Talks With Armenia in Kazakhstan

Officials in Baku have agreed to a meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Kazakhstan. Azeri president Ilham Aliyev stated as much at a meeting with participants of the international forum “COP29 and a Green Vision for Azerbaijan” held at ADA University, Turan.az reports.

Aliyev said that if Yerevan gives reciprocal consent, their next talks will be held in Astana. He reminded the audience of the previously concluded Madrid Principles, which were first proposed in 2007. “We have a common understanding of how the peace agreement should look like. We just need to work out the details. However, of course, both sides need time. Now there is a unique chance. When the USSR collapsed there were wars in our region, unlike the Baltic States, which started their independent life peacefully. Now we have this chance. I think COP29 is a great opportunity for this,” Aliyev said.

On April 15 Kazakhstan’s president Kasym-Jomart Tokayev paid an official visit to Armenia. Tokayev called on Yerevan and Baku to settle the conflict through negotiations, and he suggested Kazakhstan as the location for hosting the dialog. Tokayev himself spent years as a diplomat, and Kazakhstan seems to be positioning itself as an international mediator, aiming to be recognized as a significant diplomatic player on the world stage.

Commented a member of the Kazakhstan Institute for Social Development, Yernar Kushaliyev: “Kazakhstan pursues a multi-vector foreign policy, which allows it to effectively interact with various global powers and regional actors. Kazakhstan has a unique potential to play the role of the main mediator in the Eurasian region, especially in the settlement of disputes between states. The country maintains a neutral position, not participating in military conflicts, which creates favorable prerequisites for mediation and diplomacy. This position strengthens confidence in Kazakhstan as a reliable mediator and organizer of peace negotiations”.

Kushaliyev stresses that, in the context of the current negotiations, the military situation is not developing in Armenia’s favor. “Azerbaijan, in its turn, has successfully implemented a number of strategic and tactical tasks in Nagorno-Karabakh, strengthening its positions. As a result of these circumstances, it seems likely that both sides will be able to come to constructive agreements and demarcate their borders during the negotiations to be held in Astana,” he said.

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Times of Central Asia

@CABAR.asia

26 Apr 2024
Central Asia, Uzbekistan, International Affairs, Uzbekistan Life & Culture, Uzbekistan International Affairs

Samarkand to Host Asian Women’s Forum Next Month

The Asian Women’s Forum will be held in Samarkand this May, where participants will discuss the situation surrounding women’s rights in the countries of Central and Southeast Asia.

The forum will discuss issues related to expanding women’s rights, and reducing poverty in the region by involving women in entrepreneurship. Sessions will pay special attention to the role of parliaments in stimulating women’s participation in business, gender-oriented budgeting, elimination of gender disparity, and eradication of all forms of violence against women and children.

The participants will also focus on modern approaches and best practices in promoting the green economy, the impact of climate change on gender issues in the region — as well as protection of women’s rights and interests.

Women are now a driving force in all aspects of life in Central Asia. Addressing the 78th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York, Chairwoman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis (bicameral parliament) of Uzbekistan Tanzila Narbayeva said that “the attitude towards women has fundamentally changed in the country. Much attention is [being] paid to their education, mastering professions and foreign languages — as well as to the development of women’s entrepreneurship.”

To date, Uzbekistan has adopted more than 40 legal and regulatory acts to improve the status of women in society, established the National Agency for Social Protection, which, among other things, provides targeted assistance to women and works specifically on the social adaptation of women returned from conflict zones in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Times of Central Asia

@dreamstime

25 Apr 2024
Central Asia, Uzbekistan, Business & Economy, Uzbekistan Business & Economy

Uzbekistan’s First Quarter 2024 Gold Exports Rise to $2.66 Billion

Uzbekistan exported gold worth $2.66 billion in the first quarter (January-March) of 2024.

In 1Q 2024, Uzbekistan’s total foreign trade turnover amounted to $15.8 billion, which is almost $1 billion (6.2%) more than in the same period in 2023. Exports increased by 10% to $6.38 billion, and imports increased to $9.44 billion. The foreign trade deficit decreased slightly and amounted to $3.05 billion, which is $232.2 million less than in 2023.

In 1Q 2024, gold exports increased by 10.5% annually and amounted to $2.66 billion — in 1Q 2023, the figure was $2.41 billion. Revenues from gold exports comprised 41.7% of the country’s total exports. More than $1.35 billion worth of gold was exported in March, or nearly the same amount as in February ($1.32 billion).

Looking at the total annual figures, in 2023 Uzbekistan’s total export volume was $24.4 billion. Of that sum, 33.4%, or $8.1 billion, was accounted for by gold exports.

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@iStock

25 Apr 2024
Central Asia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan

Group of Central Asians Charged in Germany on Terrorism Offenses

Germany’s justice system has charged seven Central Asians, aged 20 to 46, with preparing terrorist attacks on behalf of the Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISIS-K).

The suspects were arrested back in July 2023 in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany. The citizens of Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are accused of creating a terrorist organization. According to the German prosecutor’s office, they intended to carry out terrorist attacks in Western Europe, but at the time of their arrest they did not have any specific plan.

In March of this year, ISIS-K took responsibility for the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall near Moscow, which killed 145 people.

German law enforcement authorities believe that some of the attackers entered Germany via Ukraine after Russia’s February 2022 invasion, while others came from the Netherlands.

Before their arrest, the suspects are alleged to have periodically met to discuss potential locations for a terrorist attack. According to police information, they were also engaged in fundraising for terrorist activities.

German law enforcement agencies have been on constant alert since the terrorist attack in December 2016, when radical Islamist Anis Amri drove a truck into a crowd of people in Berlin’s Breitscheidplatz Square.

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Times of Central Asia

@iStock

25 Apr 2024
Central Asia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Business & Economy

Central Asians Not Bananas About Bananas

According to the agricultural trade publication East Fruit, Central Asians have little taste for bananas.

Kazakhstan has the highest consumption rate but with an average of  4.5 kg of fresh bananas eaten per person, per year, comes nowhere near Uganda where each year, individuals enjoy a whopping 270 kg of bananas.

Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are  fast catching up with Kazakhstan whilst in Tajikistan, the annual banana consumption per head  is only 2.3 kg. In Turkmenistan, it appears that many citizens never touch the fruit.  Lagging far behind its neighbours, a very modest  160 grams  are consumed per head, per year; a figure which according to East Fruit analysts is even lower than that recorded for North Korea.

Not surprisingly,  countries with the highest banana consumption tend to be those  where the fruit is grown and exported and by way of explaining the above data, Andriy Yarmak, an economist in the investment department of the Unites Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) stated,  “Such a low consumption of bananas in Central Asian countries is due to the distance of the countries from the port infrastructure, which makes logistics very expensive. In addition, many countries in the region have high tariff and non-tariff barriers that prevent the import of exotic fruits into these regions. The third factor is the relatively low prices of local fruits, especially in the season of their mass production.”

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