The Times Of Central Asia | Eurasian Publication & News Online

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium has stopped oil loading at its Black Sea terminal near Novorossiysk after two more tankers were attacked early on July 30. The suspension came only three days after Kazakhstan resumed exports through the route following a week-long disruption. The Marshall Islands-flagged NISSOS SIFNOS was attacked at...

U.S.-Kazakhstan Relations

Rubio and Kosherbayev Discuss CPC Ahead of Tokayev’s U.S. Visit

Gulnara Karimova

Swiss Court Fines Lombard Odier $3.7 Million in Karimova Money-Laundering Case

Taliban Troubles, Security Service Strife and the Deportation Divide

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Sunkar Podcast

Kazakhstan to Host 2027 Table Tennis World Championships

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Opinions

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

Opinion: Eurasia’s New Corridors Are More Than a Transit Race

Aidar Borangaziyev

Opinion: Silk Seven or the OTS? Central Asia May Not Have to Choose

Ken Moriyasu

Opinion: How AI Is Reshaping the Global Image of Nations

Sergey Akhmetov

Business & Economy

Caspian Pipeline Consortium

Chevron Says CPC Is Loading Tankers as Kazakhstan Restores Oil Intake

Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said that oil was flowing through the CPC pipeline and tankers were being loaded on July 31, one day after two vessels were attacked near its Black Sea terminal. Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry said intake reached 100,000 metric tons a day from August 1 and rejected reports of a complete shutdown. “The pipeline is flowing. We’ve been loading ships this week,” Wirth said during Chevron’s second-quarter earnings call. He said two of CPC’s three single-point moorings were in service. The third was undergoing refurbishment and was expected to return during the third quarter. The ministry said CPC...

Copper Smelting

Kazakhstan Targets 50% Increase in Refined Copper Output with Balkhash Smelter

Fuel Supply

Tajikistan Holds Talks on Fuel Imports from China

Marketplace

Kazakhstan Yet to Receive Wildberries Warehouse Request

Foreign Investment

Foreign-Owned Companies in Central Asia: What the Figures Mean

Trans-Caspian Cable

Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan Begin Laying Trans-Caspian Fiber-Optic Cable

Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have begun laying a fiber-optic cable across the Caspian Sea, marking the start of offshore construction on a long-planned digital connection between Central Asia and the South Caucasus. A specialized cable-laying vessel has departed the Port of Baku and begun laying the line toward Aktau, the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of Kazakhstan announced. Weather permitting, the underwater installation is expected to take 15 to 20 days. Testing and commissioning are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026. The 380-kilometer cable will connect Sumgait in Azerbaijan with Aktau in western Kazakhstan. It will...

Railway Manufacturing

Alstom’s Jérôme Boyet: Kazakhstan Is Building a Regional Rail Manufacturing Hub

Kazakhstan has spent the past decade developing domestic rail manufacturing, supported by foreign investment and increased local production. The sector is also beginning to supply export markets. Kazakhstan is also preparing the next phase of railway expansion to increase network capacity and accommodate growing transit volumes. Alstom has operated in Kazakhstan since 2010, developing locomotive production and maintenance facilities while increasing the manufacture of components in the country. Its Astana plant has also produced locomotives for export. In an interview with The Times of Central Asia, Jérôme Boyet, Alstom’s managing director for Western and Central Asia, discusses the company’s investment...

Digital Payments

Apple Pay and Google Pay Mobile Wallets Could Launch in Uzbekistan Within Months

Apple Pay and Google Pay could become available in Uzbekistan within the next few months, Jamshid Usmanov, head of the Central Bank’s Payment Systems Development Department, told Spot. Usmanov said the Central Bank began negotiations with Apple and Google after amendments to Uzbekistan’s personal data legislation came into force. The regulator has since been working with commercial banks and the national payment systems Humo and Uzcard to complete the technical integration required to launch the services. “Commercial banks are actively carrying out integration work. There are also issues related to card tokenization that are being addressed,” Usmanov said. The project...

Cross-Border Trade

Turkmenistan Renovates Customs Post on Border with Iran

Turkmenistan took steps to expand economic ties with Iran this week, completing the upgrade of a customs checkpoint on the border with its neighbor to the south and hosting an Iranian cabinet minister. The modernization of the Sarahs Autoyollary customs post at the Turkmen-Iranian border follows upgrades earlier this year at the Artyk post, also on the border with Iran, and the Garabogaz checkpoint, on the northern border with Kazakhstan, according to Turkmenistan’s State Customs Service. It said improvements to the Sarahs Autoyollary post, which is located at “the intersection of several international transport corridors,” include renovated buildings and a...

Local Politics

AI Governance

Kazakhstan Smart Cities Face the Test of Turning AI Ambition Into Results

Almaty has ranked 38th among 61 cities in the inaugural Intelligent Cities Index, a respectable result that also reveals the distance between Kazakhstan’s digital ambitions and the world’s leading urban centers. The index, compiled by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), assesses how cities use artificial intelligence and digital technology to improve services and outcomes for residents. Almaty scored 62 out of 100, placing it in BCG’s “emerging” category. What Almaty's Ranking Reveals This score placed Almaty 38th among 61 major cities worldwide, ranking above cities including Milan, Melbourne, and Istanbul. However, it remained five points below the lowest-ranked city in BCG’s...

Transport Policy

Bishkek Proposes Curbs on Private Car Use

Public health

Kyrgyzstan Tests Public Health Emergency Response Ahead of World Nomad Games

Cardiac Surgery

Kazakhstan Joins World’s Top 30 Countries in Cardiac Surgery Development

Urban Development

Urbanization: Only One in Four Tajik Residents Lives in a City

Presidential Election

Kyrgyzstan Moves 2027 Presidential Election to January 27

President Sadyr Japarov has signed legislation changing the schedule for Kyrgyzstan's next presidential election. Under the amendments, the vote will be held on 27 January 2027, the fourth Wednesday of January, instead of the fourth Sunday of the month, as provided for under the previous legislation. The amendments also retain the requirement that the Jogorku Kenesh, Kyrgyzstan's parliament, must schedule the presidential election no later than four months before polling day. Election day will be a paid day off. According to the explanatory note accompanying the legislation, moving the vote from Sunday to a weekday is expected to encourage higher...

Islamic Finance

Uzbekistan Establishes Islamic Finance Council as New Banking Law Takes Effect

The Central Bank of Uzbekistan has established an Islamic Finance Council to coordinate the work of banks, microfinance organizations, the Deposit Guarantee Agency and other institutions operating under Islamic financial principles. The council was created weeks after Uzbekistan’s new Islamic banking law took effect on June 29. It will prepare national standards, issue regulatory and supervisory recommendations, advise financial institutions and represent the Central Bank in its work with international standard-setters. Building an Islamic Finance Framework Islamic finance prohibits interest and generally requires financing to be linked to assets, trade, leasing or risk-sharing. Common structures include murabaha, in which a...

Election Funding

Kazakhstan Allocates $73 Million for August Kurultai Elections

Kazakhstan has allocated 34.3 billion KZT, approximately $73 million, from the government’s reserve fund to finance elections for the country’s newly established Kurultai, the unicameral parliament created under the country’s new Constitution, according to Central Election Commission (CEC) member Mikhail Bortnik. Kazakhstan’s new Constitution entered into force on July 1, replacing the previous bicameral parliament with the Kurultai. Elections for the new legislature are scheduled for August 23. A total of 145 deputies will be elected from party lists. Under the new electoral rules, at least 30% of candidates nominated by each political party must come from three combined categories:...

Women’s Empowerment

Tajikistan Develops Gender Equality Strategy and Expands Support for Women

Tajikistan is developing a new strategy to address gender-related social norms for 2027–2036 while expanding programs aimed at increasing women’s economic participation and cooperation with international organizations. The draft strategy was presented at a meeting organized jointly by the Committee for Women and Family Affairs under the Government of Tajikistan and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Representatives of 46 international organizations, development partners, and civil society groups took part in the discussions, the committee said in its review of activities for the first half of 2026. According to the committee, the strategy is intended to serve as the country’s...

International Affairs

Black Sea Tanker Attacks

Europe Must Defend the Distinction It Has Made Between Kazakhstani and Russian Oil

In the early hours of July 30, drones struck two tankers at the marine terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) near Novorossiysk: the Nissos Sifnos while it was loading Tengizchevroil crude at Single Point Mooring 3, and the Marathi as it approached the terminal. Loading was temporarily suspended, although the pipeline remained operational. Neither vessel sank; no casualties or oil spill were reported. Earlier attacks in July had already interrupted CPC loading operations and prompted a formal protest from Kazakhstan. Astana said that an agreed mechanism for exchanging information about civilian vessels entering the Black Sea to load CPC...

Gas Supply

Turkmen Gas Exports to Europe Revived in Romanian Proposal

Black Sea Tanker Attacks

CPC Halts Oil Loadings Again After Two More Tankers Attacked Near Novorossiysk

Caspian Sea

As Two Wars Reach the Caspian, Central Asia’s Middle Corridor Holds

Middle East Crisis

Turkmenistan Condemns Strike on Iranian Ship in Caspian Sea

Regional Cooperation

Central Asia and Azerbaijan: What the Region’s Leaders Agreed at Issyk-Kul

The Kyrgyz resort town of Cholpon-Ata, on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul, briefly became Central Asia’s political capital as it hosted a series of high-level meetings, including bilateral talks between the presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, the state visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and the informal Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia and Azerbaijan. Only a few years ago, such a format would have seemed unlikely. Today, however, regional leaders are discussing joint railway projects, energy security, transport corridors, investment, and foreign-policy coordination rather than managing old disputes. The agreements reached in Cholpon-Ata suggest that...

Energy Security

Kazakhstan Weighs Proposal to Process Russian Crude

Kazakhstan is considering a plan to process Russian crude at its refineries, a step Astana says could support plant utilization and domestic fuel supplies but could also raise sanctions-compliance and diplomatic questions, depending on its scale and structure. The Energy Ministry said on July 30 that discussions cover refining oil “of Russian origin,” selling part of the output in Kazakhstan, and exporting part back to Russia. It did not identify the refineries, volumes, counterparties, or commercial terms. The talks come as parts of Russia face fuel shortages following repeated Ukrainian strikes on refineries. Moscow has extended export restrictions on gasoline,...

U.S.-Kazakhstan Relations

Rubio and Kosherbayev Discuss CPC Ahead of Tokayev’s U.S. Visit

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a telephone conversation with Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Yermek Kosherbayev on 29 July. The discussion focused on the situation surrounding the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, energy cooperation, critical minerals, trade and investment ties, and current international issues. According to the U.S. Department of State, Rubio and Kosherbayev discussed the importance of energy security, including the “reliable and uninterrupted” export of Kazakhstan-origin oil through the CPC system. Rubio also thanked Kazakhstan for supporting President Donald Trump’s peace initiatives and expressed interest in deepening bilateral economic cooperation. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the two ministers discussed...

U.S. Tariffs

U.S. Imposes 12.5% Tariff on Kazakhstan Over Third-Country Import Controls

Kazakhstan is the only Central Asian economy included in a new U.S. tariff action covering 60 trading partners. An additional tariff of 12.5% has been imposed on a range of Kazakh goods, excluding products listed in the annexes to the final decision. The rate applies to goods entered for consumption in the United States from July 24, 2026. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Trade and Integration said about 95% of the country’s exports to the United States would remain outside the measure because of the exemptions. It also said the new tariff replaces an expired temporary 10% surcharge and will not be...

Life & Culture

Future Games

Future Games 2026 Begin in Astana, Kazakhstan

The third edition of the Future Games has opened in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, bringing traditional sport and esports together through digital technology. The opening ceremony was attended by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, President Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, and Rustam Minnikhanov, head of Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan. The competition runs from July 29 to August 9 and features more than 800 athletes from more than 50 countries competing for a prize fund of $4.75 million across eight disciplines. They include phygital football, phygital basketball, phygital martial arts, a phygital shooter, phygital dance, and tournaments in...

Film Festival

How Kyrgyzstan Used the SCO Film Festival to Raise Its International Profile

UNESCO World Heritage List

UNESCO Adds Mangystau Rock Mosques to World Heritage List

FIFA World Cup

Uzbekistan’s Shomurodov Shortlisted for World Cup Goal Award

Tourism

Japarov Says Tourist Flow to Kyrgyzstan Has Reached 13 Million as Central Asia’s Travel Boom Accelerates

Football

Dastan Satpayev Scores on Chelsea Debut

Kazakhstan international Dastan Satpayev has opened his account for Premier League club Chelsea, scoring in his first appearance for the London side, albeit in a pre-season friendly. Satpayev made his first appearance for Chelsea on July 28 at the age of 17, just weeks before his 18th birthday, after which he will become eligible to complete his move under FIFA regulations governing the international transfer of minors. Chelsea agreed to sign the Kazakhstan forward last year but postponed completion of the transfer until he reached the required age. Having joined the club for its pre-season preparations earlier this month, Satpayev...

Opinion

Uzbekistan’s Heritage Did Not Stop With the Silk Road

When people think of Uzbekistan’s architectural heritage, the images are familiar: the turquoise domes of Samarkand, the madrasas of Bukhara, Khiva’s walled city, and the monuments of Shakhrisabz. But Uzbekistan’s history did not stop with the Silk Road. At its 48th session in July, UNESCO inscribed “Tashkent Modernist Architecture. Modernity and Tradition in Central Asia” on the World Heritage List. The new site brings together ten buildings and urban complexes constructed between the 1960s and the early 1990s, during the period in which Tashkent was dramatically rebuilt following the 1966 earthquake. The inscription deserves to be celebrated. More importantly, it expands the...

TCA Interviews

From Instagram to Hollywood: How Kazakhstan’s Yerlan Tanay Became a Sought-After Colorist

Kazakhstani colorist Yerlan Tanay has built an international career in post-production, working with major companies including The Mill and Company 3. Now based in Los Angeles and working freelance, he has experienced both the opportunities and instability of Hollywood’s highly competitive market. His long-term goal is to move further into feature films. Tanay career changed after he began sharing his work on Instagram, where he was approached about joining The Mill. In this interview with The Times of Central Asia, he explains how that move opened the door to Hollywood and what he learned inside leading post-production studios. TCA: You...

Korean Culture

K-Pop in Central Asia: Why Korean Pop Culture Has Captured a Generation

On weekend afternoons in Almaty, Tashkent, or Bishkek, groups of teenagers practice synchronized dance routines in parks, shopping centers, and university courtyards, their clothes echoing the polished style of Korean idols. BTS, BLACKPINK, Stray Kids, NewJeans, aespa, SEVENTEEN, and many other groups fill their playlists and social media feeds. Some are filming dance covers for TikTok, others are preparing for local competitions, while many simply gather with friends who share the same enthusiasm. K-pop in Central Asia has become much more than a foreign music genre. It forms part of the broader Korean Wave, or Hallyu, encompassing television dramas, films,...

Justice

Kyrgyz-Uzbek Border

Kyrgyzstan Uncovers Suspected Smuggling Tunnel on Uzbek Border

Authorities in Kyrgyzstan have uncovered an underground tunnel on the border with Uzbekistan that is believed to have been built for smuggling goods, 24.kg reported, citing the Batken Regional Department of Internal Affairs. According to the police, officers from the department responsible for combating extremism and illegal migration received information that an underground passage was being constructed to move goods illegally across the border. During an inspection of an abandoned house on Mamazhanov Street in the village of Chechelik, Kadamjay District, investigators discovered a tunnel leading toward neighboring Uzbekistan. According to the regional police department, the tunnel is approximately 12...

Religion

Tajikistan Hijab Ban Denied by Authorities Amid Confusion

Press Freedom

Tajikistan Frees Two Journalists as Press Freedom Concerns Persist

Rule of Law

Former Tajik Prosecutor’s Office Investigator Detained in Case of 23-Year-Old Woman’s Death

Internet Restrictions

A Signal from Uzbekistan: How Turkmen Border Villages Reach the Outside World

Gulnara Karimova

Swiss Court Fines Lombard Odier $3.7 Million in Karimova Money-Laundering Case

Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court has fined Geneva-based private bank Lombard Odier 3 million Swiss francs, or about $3.68 million, after finding that it failed to take adequate organizational measures to prevent money laundering in a case linked to Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of Uzbekistan’s late President Islam Karimov. The court also dismissed criminal proceedings against Karimova without ruling on the allegations against her. The ruling was delivered on July 27 in Bellinzona, following a trial that began in April. Swiss prosecutors had accused Karimova of accepting bribes and leading a criminal organization known as “The Office,” which allegedly channeled...

amnesty

Kazakhstan Amnesty Clears $48 Million in Unpaid Fines

Kazakhstan has written off unpaid administrative fines for more than 680,000 people under the country’s first administrative amnesty, Prosecutor General Berik Asylov said. The amnesty was applied to 681,700 people in 1.3 million administrative cases in less than a month, according to Asylov. The canceled fines were worth 22.8 billion tenge, or approximately $48 million. Asylov published the figures in a post on X. The measure formed part of an amnesty signed on July 1, the day Kazakhstan’s new Constitution took effect. It extended an amnesty to selected administrative offenses for the first time, alongside provisions covering criminal cases. It...

Domestic Violence

After Bishimbayev, Kazakhstan’s Domestic Violence Laws Face an Enforcement Test

The release of Bakhytzhan Baizhanov, a cousin of former Kazakhstan Economy Minister Kuandyk Bishimbayev, following an amnesty has renewed public attention to one of the country’s most pressing social problems: domestic violence. The trial of Bishimbayev and Baizhanov attracted widespread attention in Kazakhstan and abroad. Bishimbayev was convicted of torturing and murdering his common-law wife. The proceedings were broadcast online and closely followed by journalists and the public. Bishimbayev was sentenced to 24 years in prison, while Baizhanov received a four-year sentence for concealing the crime. Amid the public outcry, Kazakhstan adopted legislation strengthening penalties for domestic violence. The legislation...

Artificial intelligence

Kazakhstan Police Robot Dog Raises Privacy Questions

Kazakhstan’s police used a mobile facial-recognition robot to scan crowds during Metallurgist Day celebrations in Karaganda Region, saying the machine helped identify four people sought over legal or administrative violations. The deployment extends the country’s rapidly expanding surveillance network beyond fixed cameras, allowing police databases to be accessed through a platform that can move through crowded public spaces. The four-legged robot was used during celebrations held on July 17-18 in the industrial cities of Balkhash and Temirtau, which attracted more than 115,000 visitors. More than 1,000 police officers were also deployed to maintain public order, according to the Karaganda police....

Environment

Amur Tiger

Kazakhstan Releases First Tiger into Wild in More Than 70 Years

Kazakhstan has released a tiger into the wild for the first time in more than 70 years, beginning the practical phase of a long-running program to restore the predator to the Ili River delta. The female Amur tiger, Umit, was released at the Ile-Balkhash State Nature Reserve on July 31, the Ecology Ministry announced on August 3. “Today we witnessed a truly historic event,” Ecology Minister Yerlan Nysanbayev said. He described the release as the result of more than a decade of work by Kazakhstan, Russian specialists, scientists, and international conservation partners. Before the release, Umit underwent veterinary examinations and...

Public Health

Kazakhstan and China Launch One Health Research Center in Almaty

Climate Change

Kyrgyzstan Records 348 Mudflows in Six Months, Highest Total in Decades

Groundwater Management

Kazakhstan Hydrogeologists Complete Six-Month USGS Groundwater Training

TCA Interviews

Saving The Caspian Seal: An Interview with Assel Baimukanova

Chemical Waste

Kyrgyzstan Hazardous Waste Cleanup Begins at Soviet Era Kristall Plant

Kyrgyzstan has launched a project with Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom to eliminate hazardous chemical waste stored for decades at the former Kristall industrial plant, one of the country's most dangerous Soviet-era environmental sites. Located in Tash-Kumyr in Jalal-Abad Region, the Kristall plant was intended to become one of the Soviet Union’s largest producers of high-purity silicon, a material used in microchips and, more recently, solar panels. Construction began in 1982 and the site was commissioned in 1989, but was never completed at its planned scale. Rising energy costs and the economic disruption that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union left...

Rogun Dam

Italy Commits $150 Million to Tajikistans Rogun Hydropower Plant

The World Bank Group and Italy’s state-controlled development bank, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), have signed a co-financing agreement to support construction of Tajikistan’s Rogun Hydropower Plant, CDP and the World Bank’s office in Tajikistan said. The signing ceremony took place at Tajikistan’s Ministry of Finance in Dushanbe. Under the agreement, the Italian Climate Fund will provide $150 million for the project. The funds will be managed by CDP on behalf of Italy’s Ministry of Environment and Energy Security. CDP said the financing would support construction work on the right bank of the Rogun Dam. The Rogun Hydropower Plant is...

World Bank

World Bank Approves $20 Million Project to Boost Cross-Border Water Cooperation in Central Asia

The World Bank has announced a $20 million grant to strengthen transboundary water cooperation in Central Asia. The project is intended to improve management of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya basins as climate change, ageing infrastructure, and rising demand increase pressure on shared water resources. The funding, approved by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors, will support the Central Asia Water Efficiency Cooperation Project (CAWEC). It will be implemented by the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (EC IFAS). EC IFAS’s current procurement notice identifies Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan as the participating...

Extreme Heat

Extreme Heat Buckles Roads and Strains Power Grids Across Central Asia

Extreme heat across Central Asia in mid-July has buckled concrete highways, pushed electricity demand to record levels, and increased pressure on power grids and ambulance services. Kazakhstan reported road deformation and repeated failures in Almaty, Uzbekistan set consumption and generation records, Kyrgyzstan introduced temporary cuts to protect equipment, and residents in Tajikistan reported local disruptions. Temperatures above 40°C are common in parts of the region, but prolonged heat can strain several systems at once. Demand for cooling rises, road surfaces reach damaging temperatures, and health risks increase. The World Bank says much of Central Asia’s infrastructure was built in the...

Europe Must Defend the Distinction It Has Made Between Kazakhstani and Russian Oil

Latest

Features

Features

Taliban Troubles, Security Service Strife and the Deportation Divide

Latest

Sunkar Podcast

Taliban Troubles, Security Service Strife and the Deportation Divide

Sunkar Podcast

Opinions

Opinions

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

Aidar Borangaziyev

Ken Moriyasu

Sergey Akhmetov

Business & Economy

Business & Economy

Chevron Says CPC Is Loading Tankers as Kazakhstan Restores Oil Intake

Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan Begin Laying Trans-Caspian Fiber-Optic Cable

Alstom’s Jérôme Boyet: Kazakhstan Is Building a Regional Rail Manufacturing Hub

Apple Pay and Google Pay Mobile Wallets Could Launch in Uzbekistan Within Months

Turkmenistan Renovates Customs Post on Border with Iran

Local Politics

Local Politics

Kazakhstan Smart Cities Face the Test of Turning AI Ambition Into Results

Kyrgyzstan Moves 2027 Presidential Election to January 27

Uzbekistan Establishes Islamic Finance Council as New Banking Law Takes Effect

Kazakhstan Allocates $73 Million for August Kurultai Elections

Tajikistan Develops Gender Equality Strategy and Expands Support for Women

International Affairs

International Affairs

Europe Must Defend the Distinction It Has Made Between Kazakhstani and Russian Oil

Central Asia and Azerbaijan: What the Region’s Leaders Agreed at Issyk-Kul

Kazakhstan Weighs Proposal to Process Russian Crude

Rubio and Kosherbayev Discuss CPC Ahead of Tokayev’s U.S. Visit

U.S. Imposes 12.5% Tariff on Kazakhstan Over Third-Country Import Controls

Life & Culture

Life & Culture

Future Games 2026 Begin in Astana, Kazakhstan

Dastan Satpayev Scores on Chelsea Debut

Uzbekistan’s Heritage Did Not Stop With the Silk Road

From Instagram to Hollywood: How Kazakhstan’s Yerlan Tanay Became a Sought-After Colorist

K-Pop in Central Asia: Why Korean Pop Culture Has Captured a Generation

Justice

Justice

Kyrgyzstan Uncovers Suspected Smuggling Tunnel on Uzbek Border