Kambarata project

16 Apr 2024
Central Asia, Uzbekistan Environment, Environment, Kazakhstan Environment, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan Environment, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan Business & Economy, Kazakhstan Business & Economy, Kyrgyzstan Business & Economy

Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan Consider Joint-Stock Company to Build Kambarata HPP-1

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy has announced that the draft Agreement between the governments of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan on the joint implementation of the construction and operation of Kambarata hydroelectric power plant (HPP)-1 has been posted on Kazakhstan’s official Internet portal Open Legal Acts.

Available for public discussion, the agreement outlines the terms of cooperation between the parties in the proposed construction of Kambarata HPP-1 on the Naryn River in Kyrgyzstan.

To implement the project, the proposed joint-stock company will be financed with 34 percent of authorized capital belonging to Kyrgyzstan, 33 percent to Kazakhstan, and 33 percent to Uzbekistan.

The cost of construction is estimated between $5 billion and $6 billion and although the majority of funds will be drawn from the founders, further investment will be sought from loans and grants from international financial institutions and commercial banks.

According to the draft, at the end of the project implementation period, the shares and assets of Kambarata HPP-1 will become the sole property of the Kyrgyz side.

If realized, Kambarata HPP-1 will be the largest hydropower plant in Kyrgyzstan.

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Times of Central Asia

Image: Soros.kg

16 Apr 2024
Home, Local Politics, Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyzstan Local Politics, Features, Kyrgyzstan Features

Open Society to Close its Foundation in Kyrgyzstan, Citing Law on Foreign-Funded NGOs

The Open Society Foundations said it will close its national foundation in Kyrgyzstan after the country’s parliament passed a new law that tightens control over non-governmental groups that receive foreign funding.

Open Society, which was founded by billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros, said Monday that the law“imposes restrictive, broad, and ill-defined regulations” on internationally funded NGOs. The decision to pull out of Kyrgyzstan came two weeks after the country’s president, Sadyr Japarov, signed the law, saying more rigorous registration requirements and financial oversight would make non-governmental groups more accountable.

The dispute between the government of Kyrgyzstan and foreign-funded groups represent a wider struggle over the direction of the Central Asian country. Opponents of Japarov believe he is systematically rolling back relative freedoms inKyrgyzstan. The president says local NGOS are embezzling money from foreign donors, an allegation denied by civil society groups.

The Soros Foundation-Kyrgyzstan has spent more than $115 million on projects in education, public health, criminal justice, supplying water to rural communities and other areas since it opened in 1993, a year in which the Central Asian nation was mired in crisis after the fall of the Soviet Union, Open Society said.

Under the new law, foreign-funded NGOs must “report broadly defined ‘political’ activities to the authorities” and risk uncertain consequences, Open Society said in a statement. Its president, Binaifer Nowrojee, said “this repressive new law will see civil society operate in a climate of uncertainty and intimidation.”

The Open Society Foundations, which funds activities in more than 120 countries, says it aims to promote justice, human rights and democratic governance. It says it joins “policy debates on controversial issues that other funders might avoid” and the group has attracted criticism from conservative and authoritarian leaders in a number of countries.

The United Nations has expressed concern about Kyrgyzstan’s so-called “foreign representatives” law. Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on April 8 that many affected NGOs could close to avoid possible arbitrary checks by the authorities or having to pay for annual audits, or might end up self-censoring if they continue operations.

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Kazakhstan seeks skilled professionals

16 Apr 2024
Central Asia, Kazakhstan Life & Culture, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Home

Dearth of Teachers and Nurses in Kazakhstan

Based on data provided by the Electronic Labour Exchange, Enbek.kz, experts from the Centre for Human Resources Development have issued a forecast of skilled professional vacancies in Kazakhstan for the period April – December 2024.

As reported by the Kazakh Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population, school teachers and skilled medical nursing staff are likely to be highest in demand.

This year, the number of vacancies in Kyrgyzstan is estimated to reach 1.2 million – an increase of 8% compared to 2023 – including 364,000 in education, 105,000 in healthcare, 91,000 in other personal services, 89,000 in manufacturing, and 86,000 in both trade and agriculture.

The highest demand for skilled professions in 2024 falls under ten categories: Secondary school social studies teachers, 31,000; pre-school teachers, 27,000; nursing staff, 23,000; primary school teachers, 20,000; institutional care workers, 19,000; high school natural sciences teachers, 17,000; secondary school teachers in mathematical sciences, 16,000; accountants, 15,000, and cooks, 13,000.

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EU delegation Kazakhstan

16 Apr 2024
Central Asia, Life & Culture, Kazakhstan Life & Culture, Kazakhstan

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.”

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Times of Central Asia

@uzreport.news

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

Uzbekistan Aims to Become One of World’s Largest Producers of Olefins

Uzbekistan’s largest private oil and gas company, Sanoat Energetika Guruhi (Saneg) will build a gas chemical plant to produce olefins from methanol. The work will be done in partnership with the Chinese state-owned energy giant, Sinopec. The complex will utilize natural gas from the Mubarek fields.

Olefins are raw petrochemical materials used for a range of polymer products, such as plastics and films. The $3.3 billion plant will be able to process 1.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas by 2026. About 44% of the production will be exported, mainly to China and Turkey. In addition, the project will make it possible to produce value-added products from natural gas rather than simply burning it for energy or exporting it. The construction of the complex will also stimulate the development of related industries. The Karakul free economic zone in the southeastern Bukhara region will house plants producing textiles, carpets, footwear, plastic pipes and fittings, and other polymer products.

“Uzbekistan’s gas-chemical complex plans to produce 300,000 tons of polyethylene terephthalate annually, 350,000 tons of polypropylene, and other materials. This is expected to reduce the country’s imports of polymers by $500 million a year and attract $350 million a year from their exports,” said Bakhodyr Khafizov, director of the Karakul free economic zone.

Saneg representatives said that, according to a marketing study, annual polymer consumption in Uzbekistan is now 5.5 kilograms per capita, far below that of other developing economy peers. For example, that figure in Turkey is 23 kilograms, meaning that the Uzbek domestic market shows significant room for expansion. However, there may be problems with exporting polymers abroad, as Uzbekistan has no direct access to the sea. In this regard, production will require additional investments taking into account overland logistics.

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akorda.kz

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

Kazakhstan and Armenia Negotiate on Trade and Transport Cooperation

Following negotiations on 15 April in Yerevan, with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stated that with regard to furthering cooperation, the countries enjoy “unshakable friendship and mutual support.”

With reference to developing a more comprehensive partnership, he cited their common goals as expanding and activating bilateral ties, and strengthening regional and international security.

Negotiations also focused on enhancing cooperation in economic and investment and the Kazakh president reported, “We – both agreed – that it is necessary to look for new directions that will give impetus to the growth of trade turnover. Kazakhstan is ready to increase its exports to Armenia to $350 million.”

Tokayev stressed that development of the transport and logistics sector is key to strengthening Kazakh-Armenian cooperation and hailed Armenia’s readiness to restore transit communications in the South Caucasus under the ‘Crossroads of Peace’ initiative. Aimed at developing communications between Armenia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Iran, the Armenian-proposed initiative includes renovating, building, and operating roads, railways, pipelines, cables, and electricity lines. In addition, the Kazakh president welcomed proposals for the operation of direct flights between the countries’ capitals and other cities.

Pashinyan likewise emphasized the significant headway made during the negotiations, saying, “We have identified further prospects for strengthening our cooperation, including – transport and logistics. We agree that despite the constant growth in trade turnover, there is still unrealized potential for the development of trade and economic cooperation.”

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