The Times Of Central Asia | Eurasian Publication & News Online

Central Asian leaders and Jordan’s King Abdullah II met on November 6 to discuss how terrorist groups could use artificial intelligence to recruit members, coordinate their activities, and spread propaganda. At the Aqaba Process summit, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev offered to host a Central Asian office of the United Nations...

Observer Status

Turkish Official Questions Tokayev’s Proposal for OTS Observer Status for Russia

Umai Mortgage Program

Women Queue for Kazakhstan’s Umai Mortgages Amid Questions Over Affordability

Public Transport

Opinion: Overcrowding on Almaty Buses – A Man-Made Transit Crisis

Druzhba Pipeline

Kazakhstan Asks Russia to Reopen Druzhba Oil Route to Germany After Six-Month Halt

Kazakhstan has formally asked Russia to restore oil shipments to Germany through the Druzhba pipeline, six months after Moscow suspended the route. The request follows a drone attack on Russian infrastructure that briefly halted another Kazakh oil export route earlier this week. Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said on November 4...

U.S.-Central Asia Engagement

U.S. Midterms Hand Democrats a Central Asia Agenda They Helped Build

Democrats have won control of Congress in the November 3 midterms, ending President Donald Trump’s Republican majority. But they inherit a Central Asia agenda their party helped build, backed by substantial orders for American manufacturers. Uzbekistan Airways’ new Boeing deliveries are due to begin in 2031, while Kazakhstan’s $4.2 billion...

COP31

Opinion: What is on the agenda for Central Asia at COP31?

The 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference, better known as COP31, is taking place in Antalya, Türkiye, from November 9 to 20. Delegations from almost 200 countries will participate in the event, including all the Central Asian republics, but Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan will play an outsize role in coordinating their...

Child Labor

Child Labor in Kyrgyzstan: Poverty and Gaps in Enforcement

Dozens of children have been found working at markets in the southern Kyrgyz city of Manas, formerly Jalal-Abad. Police officers and social workers spoke to the children’s parents and guardians and issued warnings, Turmush reported on November 2. Nationwide, 19.6% of children aged 5–17 were involved in child labor in...

New NATO Base Rumours, Organised OTS Opposition, and the Future of Kazakh-Turkish Ties

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Dastan
Short Stories from the Region

Dastan: Restoring an Ancient Buddha Head in Turkmenistan

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Opinions

Opinion: A Deeper Understanding of Transshipment

Daniel A. Witt

Opinion: Why Agriculture Cannot Afford to Overlook Women Farmers

Viorel Gutu

Opinion: I Spent 15 Years in Government. Here Is What the State Can Learn Next

Zhandos Sabit

Opinion: Central Asia Is More Than Minerals

Eric Rudenshiold & S. Frederick Starr

Opinion: Weaponizing Faith – The Cold War Roots of Central Asia’s Security Dilemma

Zabikhulla Saipov

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

Business & Economy

Foreign Investment

Naryn Industrial Park Plans Raise Electricity Supply Questions for Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan’s National Investment Agency signed an agreement on November 7 with StarOcean Investment to build and operate a 200-hectare industrial park in the Naryn Free Economic Zone. The park is designed to house energy-intensive, low-carbon manufacturing facilities as well as data centers and computing capacity for artificial intelligence. One data center is planned to house government data. The agency says it will help expand digital public services and support the development of an IT park at the site. The proposed computing facilities could help address a problem identified by Kyrgyz AI developers. In a June interview with The Times of...

Foreign Investment

Opinion: Kazakhstan and South Korea Need Investment, Not More Memoranda, for Alatau City

Sunflower Husk Pellets

Kazakhstan’s Sunflower Pellet Exports More Than Triple

Inflation

Kazakhstan Inflation Expected to Ease in 2027 Despite Higher Spending

Druzhba Pipeline

Kazakhstan Asks Russia to Reopen Druzhba Oil Route to Germany After Six-Month Halt

Poverty

Kazakhstan Poverty Reduction Stalls Despite Economic Growth

Kazakhstan has made little progress in reducing poverty in recent years despite continued economic growth, according to the World Bank’s October 2026 Poverty & Equity Brief. The Bureau of National Statistics puts the national poverty rate at 5% in 2025, unchanged from 2024. The World Bank’s brief gives a slightly lower figure of 4.9%, equivalent to approximately 1.02 million people living below the national poverty line. The national rate fell from 18.2% in 2006 to 2.9% in 2013. However, a 2018 change to the calculation of the subsistence minimum, which defines the national poverty line, limits direct comparisons with earlier...

Cybersecurity

Kazakhstan Banks to Face Annual Cybersecurity Assessments

Kazakhstan will require banks to assess their readiness for cyberattacks at least once a year under new rules aimed at limiting disruptions to online banking and payment services. The financial regulator plans to include all commercial banks in the program in 2027. Kazakhstan’s Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market approved the new rules on October 30, 2026, and announced them on November 6. The requirement also applies to other financial institutions. The assessments will review banks’ security plans and test how staff respond to an attack. They will include simulated cyberattacks on systems such as mobile banking,...

Umai Mortgage Program

Women Queue for Kazakhstan’s Umai Mortgages Amid Questions Over Affordability

Women gathered outside a branch of Kazakhstan's Otbasy Bank in Almaty's Zhetysu neighborhood early on November 3, hoping to secure mortgages under a program designed to help women buy homes. Some banks drew up waiting lists, which security guards used to control entry, while others argued as the crowd pressed toward the doors. The scene was captured on video and circulated on social media. In Astana, women faced similar difficulties. Among them was Makpal, who moved to the capital in 2022 and has rented an apartment ever since. She told Kursiv that she had saved 6 million tenge ($13,300) toward...

Uranium Mining

Uzbekistan Plans to Double Uranium Production by 2030

Uzbekistan plans to double its annual uranium production to 15,000 metric tons by 2030, up from a projected 7,500 this year, as demand for nuclear fuel grows. Tashkent also wants to expand critical mineral processing to produce more finished goods for export. The development plans, published by the president’s office on November 5, cover state-owned uranium producer Navoiyuran and the Uzbekistan Technological Metals Complex. According to the World Nuclear Association, Uzbekistan ranks fifth globally in uranium production. Output reached 7,000 metric tons in 2025, up from 5,200 the previous year. The industry is concentrated around Navoi, an industrial center in...

Local Politics

Energy Drinks

Japarov Orders Cabinet to Consider Kyrgyzstan Energy Drink Ban

Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov gave the Cabinet of Ministers one month to consider a ban on the production and import of energy drinks and six months to take regulatory action. He announced the directive on Facebook on November 5, 2026. Japarov cited doctors’ warnings about excessive consumption and pointed to the cost to the state of treating illnesses he attributed to the drinks. Figures in his announcement put consumption at about 36 million liters in the first half of 2026, roughly two-thirds of the 54 million liters consumed in all of 2025. Kyrgyzstan produced about 25 million liters in 2025...

Reshuffle

Tokayev Names Zhanassova Deputy Prime Minister in Transport Shake-Up

State of the Nation

Tokayev Unveils $14 Billion Construction Plan in Kazakhstan State of the Nation Address

Public Service

Opinion: I Spent 15 Years in Government. Here Is What the State Can Learn Next

Children’s Health

International Network Launched to Support Childhood Cancer Care in Uzbekistan

Public Transport

Opinion: Overcrowding on Almaty Buses – A Man-Made Transit Crisis

The Kazakh authorities' grand plans to turn Almaty and its picturesque surroundings into Central Asia's next tourist mecca have run headlong into a public transportation crisis this fall. Almaty residents have been flooding social media with photos and videos of overcrowded buses and trolleybuses, saying they have not seen anything like this since the 1990s. But a closer look at the problem suggests that the current chaos is largely man-made. Almaty is a university city, so residents have long been accustomed to several months of crowded conditions each year. Public spaces, inexpensive cafés, and public transportation all become noticeably busier....

Rogun Hydropower Plant

Rogun Hydropower Plant Accident Sparks Conflicting Injury Reports

A water tank ruptured in a construction tunnel at Tajikistan’s Rogun Hydropower Plant on October 21, sending water rushing toward workers below. While the authorities maintain no one was injured, witnesses have reported that more than five workers were hurt. The accident occurred inside the plant’s tunnel system, Asia-Plus reported, citing Tajikistan’s industrial safety regulator. An upper tank used to collect water ruptured, damaging a second drainage tank below it. Water from both tanks then flowed into the lower section of the tunnel, where workers from the Chinese subcontracting company Sinohydro were carrying out construction work. The regulator said none...

Republic Day

Kazakhstan Marks Republic Day as World Leaders Send Congratulations

Kazakhstan marked Republic Day on October 25 with a flag-raising ceremony in Astana and congratulations from its international partners. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio used the occasion to describe bilateral relations as the “strongest” in their history. “Our countries are working together to strengthen regional security, expand economic cooperation, and create new commercial opportunities which will pair Kazakh ambition with American innovation to benefit both of our nations,” Rubio said in his October 24 statement. He praised Kazakhstan’s diplomatic role and support for President Donald Trump’s “peace initiatives,” and said the U.S. looks forward to further cooperation in the...

Military Training

Kazakhstan Military Training Overhauled with New Drone Forces Planned

Less than a month after 14 service members died during military exercises in the Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan has approved plans to overhaul conscript training and introduce new safeguards against abuse in the armed forces. The reform plan was approved at a Security Council meeting on October 21, with the main changes scheduled for 2027. The September 24 tragedy prompted an investigation that uncovered serious failures in the planning of the exercises and measures to protect soldiers. A wider inspection of the Defense Ministry has since led to 13 criminal cases involving suspected embezzlement, abuse of authority, and other violations. New...

International Affairs

Kazakhstan-Tajikistan

Kazakhstan Tajikistan Sign Fuel Supply and Mining Agreements

Kazakhstan and Tajikistan have signed a framework agreement on fuel supplies as part of wider plans to expand cooperation in mining and manufacturing. Following talks between Presidents Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Emomali Rahmon in Astana on November 7, Tajikistan's Foreign Ministry reported that 20 cooperation documents were signed, while businesses from the two countries concluded 25 agreements worth a total of $2.5 billion. It is fuel supplies that are particularly important for Tajikistan. The country has substantial hydropower resources but depends on imported petroleum products, primarily from Russia. As The Times of Central Asia previously reported, Russia accounted for 72.3% of...

Aqaba Process

Uzbekistan Offers to Host Regional UN Counterterrorism Office at Astana Summit

Middle Corridor

Middle Corridor: $55 Billion in Investment Needed to Turn a Transit Route into an Economic Corridor

U.S.-Central Asia Engagement

U.S. Midterms Hand Democrats a Central Asia Agenda They Helped Build

Defense Agreements

Russia–Azerbaijan Military Cooperation Expands Amid Baku–Ankara Tensions

Property Rights

Kyrgyzstan Border Settlements Bring Property Documents to Villagers

Residents of Kara-Jantak village in Kyrgyzstan’s Batken region have received official property documents for 295 homes following the village’s transfer from Uzbekistan under a border agreement. The regional administration said officials handed over the documents to residents, who had previously received Kyrgyz passports. Around 1,200 people live in Kara-Jantak, which was formerly part of Uzbekistan’s Fergana region. In 2024, the village came under the jurisdiction of the city of Kadamjay in the Batken region as part of a settlement negotiated by the two countries’ intergovernmental commission on border delimitation and demarcation. Their border treaty was signed in 2022. Construction has...

Observer Status

Turkish Official Questions Tokayev’s Proposal for OTS Observer Status for Russia

Kürşad Zorlu, a senior official in Türkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party, has questioned Russia’s eligibility for observer status in the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), citing its language requirements. At the OTS summit in Ankara on October 30, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed inviting Russia to participate through the OTS+ cooperation framework or as an observer. He argued that closer engagement with Moscow would enhance the organization’s international standing. The OTS brings together Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan as full members. Its work now covers trade, transport, energy, and political coordination alongside linguistic and cultural cooperation. Zorlu, a...

Economic Diplomacy

Expanding U.S.–Turkmenistan Ties: Envoy and Business Group Visit Ashgabat

Turkmenistan and the United States are working to deepen their economic and diplomatic relationship, with a top American diplomat and a U.S. business delegation visiting Ashgabat this week. The U.S.-Turkmenistan Business Council had announced a semiannual business mission to Ashgabat on November 4–5, a trip that comes amid a wider effort by the United States and Central Asian countries to expand trade and investment ties with each other. The council is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group led by Eric Stewart, a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary for Europe/Eurasia at the Department of Commerce who has founded more than a dozen similar...

Oil Exports

Kazakhstan Resumes Oil Exports Through Russian Pipeline After Drone Attack

Kazakhstan resumed oil shipments through the Atyrau-Samara pipeline on November 3, a day after a drone attack on a Russian transit hub forced pumping to stop. The disruption again exposed the vulnerability of Kazakh exports to attacks on infrastructure beyond the country’s borders. The attack targeted facilities at the Samara Production and Dispatch Centre in Russia. Oil transportation stopped at 6:09 a.m. Astana time on November 2. “As of November 3, 2026, oil transportation through the Atyrau-Samara trunk pipeline is operating normally,” Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry spokesperson Assel Serikpayeva said. Pumping resumed after a technical inspection. The ministry reported no injuries....

Life & Culture

Women’s tennis

World No. 1 Elena Rybakina Withdraws from WTA Finals

Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina, the world No. 1 and defending champion, has withdrawn from the WTA Finals because of a viral illness. The Women’s Tennis Association announced her withdrawal on November 7, a day before play began in Indian Wells, California. “I’ve had an incredible season but my body is just not physically ready to compete,” Rybakina said in a statement. Rybakina will become the first player representing Kazakhstan to finish the season at No. 1 in the WTA rankings. She secured the year-end top spot on October 29 by beating fellow Kazakhstani Yulia Putintseva in the second round in Tokyo....

Athletics

Mo Farah to Present Medals at Samarkand Marathon

University Rankings

Kazakhstan’s Top Three Universities Slip in QS Asia Rankings

Football

Asian Cup Postponement Delays Central Asian Football Hopes

Museum Conservation

Central Asian Museum Experts Visit U.S. to Study Heritage Preservation

Samarkand Marathon

Petrov Leads Uzbekistan’s Athletes in Samarkand Marathon

Uzbekistan´s runners posted a strong showing in the Samarkand Marathon on Sunday. Andrey Petrov was second overall with a time of 2:16:02 in the race, which is among the more high-profile marathons staged in Central Asia. Shokhrukh Davlatov finished in sixth place overall in 2:19:50. On the women’s side, Yekaterina Tunguskova was sixth in 2:43:13. Leonard Barsoton of Kenya won the men’s marathon in 2:15:44 and Obse Abdeta of Ethiopia was the top woman to finish, posting a time of 2:39:25. The results were posted by marathon organizers and on the World Athletics website. Petrov, 40, is a two-time silver...

Kairat

Kairat Almaty Hold Atalanta to Draw as Kazakh Club’s European Rise Continues

Kairat Almaty secured one of their most impressive European results on November 5, holding Italian side Atalanta to a 1-1 draw in Bergamo in the UEFA Conference League. The Kazakh visitors came close to a famous victory after taking the lead early in the second half. Atalanta, winners of the Europa League in 2024, needed a late equalizer to avoid defeat on home soil. Founded in 1907, Atalanta have risen from a provincial Italian club to become a European force, defeating Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen on their way to winning the 2024 Europa League. Spanish forward Marc Gual put Kairat...

Food Poisoning

Kazakhstan’s Youth Soccer Players Hospitalized After Suspected Food Poisoning in Tashkent

Six children and two adults in a youth soccer delegation from Kazakhstan remained hospitalized in Tashkent on November 4 after a suspected food poisoning outbreak during an international tournament. Kazakhstan’s embassy in Uzbekistan said they were in stable condition and that 10 other patients had been discharged. The group had traveled from the Karaganda region for the Dostlik Cup 2026. Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Health said members of the group ate eggs with partially cooked yolks and sausages for breakfast at their hotel on November 1. Thirteen people developed vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever later that day, and seven others...

News Consumption

Telegram Leads News Consumption in Uzbekistan, but Television Remains Most Trusted

Telegram channels are Uzbekistan’s most widely used news source, but television remains the most trusted, a national survey has found. The study, presented by the Mass Media Foundation in Tashkent on November 2, found that 51.6% of respondents used Telegram channels for news. Television followed at 44.6%, while 41.6% used social media. Trust followed a different pattern. Television was the most trusted source for 44.3% of respondents, compared with 11.3% for Telegram channels and 7.4% for news websites. The findings also show demand for more reliable reporting and greater attention to everyday problems. Some 41.3% of respondents said they lacked...

Justice

Gas Safety

18 Dead in Suspected Carbon Monoxide Poisonings in Uzbekistan

Eighteen people died in three suspected carbon monoxide poisoning incidents in Uzbekistan between October 25 and November 1, prompting warnings about dangerously modified gas boilers being sold as new. On October 25, seven members of one family died in the village of Chimyon in the Fergana region. On November 1, another five people died in Kokand, including three girls aged seven, three, and one. An initial inspection of the Kokand home found a disconnected exhaust pipe on the gas boiler. In Tashkent, six people were found dead in a house under construction on October 25, and two others were hospitalized...

Data Breaches

Hackers Walk Back Claim of Uzbekistan Data Leak Affecting 27 Million

Child Labor

Child Labor in Kyrgyzstan: Poverty and Gaps in Enforcement

Russia's War in Ukraine

Tajik Prisoners in Russia Say They Face Pressure to Fight in Ukraine

Oil Arbitration

Kashagan Arbitration: Tribunal Rejects $12 Billion in Kazakhstan’s Claims

Victim Compensation

Kazakhstan Victims Compensation Fund Pays Out Just 9% of Revenue

Kazakhstan’s Victims Compensation Fund has collected more than 9.3 billion tenge ($20.6 million) over eight years but paid out only about 9% of that amount to crime victims. Snezhanna Imasheva, a member of the Kurultai, Kazakhstan’s unicameral parliament, has proposed increasing compensation payments or expanding eligibility. On November 4, Imasheva submitted a parliamentary inquiry to the prosecutor general and the ministers of internal affairs and finance. She cited Finance Ministry figures showing that around 5,500 victims had received just over 855 million tenge ($1.9 million) by July 2026, while approximately 8.5 billion tenge ($18.8 million) remained in the fund. The...

Cybercrime

Kazakhstan Proposes UN Cybercrime Center in Astana

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has proposed establishing a regional center of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Astana to combat cybercrime across Eurasia. The proposal includes specialist training and the sharing of information on cyber threats and investigative practices. Interior Minister Yerzhan Sadenov presented the plans at a cybercrime conference in Astana on November 4. The ministry said delegates from 27 other countries attended and that United Nations leadership had supported the initiative in principle. Sadenov cited online fraud, in which a suspect and a victim can be in different countries while stolen money passes through accounts in...

Extremism

Kazakhstan Detains Ten Over Alleged Plot to Change Constitutional Order

Kazakhstan's security service has detained ten people in the western city of Atyrau over an alleged plan to change the constitutional order by force. Investigators also say the suspects operated three underground educational centers for children and teenagers. The National Security Committee (KNB) announced on November 2 that the arrests took place on October 30. The operation was coordinated with the prosecutor's office, and all ten suspects were detained simultaneously. Investigators suspect the detainees of creating, leading, or participating in an extremist group. The allegations also include promoting terrorism and inciting religious discord. According to the KNB, the group sought...

School Violence

School Bullying in Kazakhstan: Prosecutors Propose New Deputies to Protect Students from Violence

In schools across Kazakhstan’s Zhambyl region, children told visiting inspectors about beatings, extortion, and threats. Some described incidents involving brass knuckles and stun guns. But reports from those same schools recorded no bullying. The scale of the problem was exposed in October 2025, when Kazakhstan’s commissioner for children’s rights, Dinara Zakiyeva, published the findings of inspections across the region. An interagency team identified more than 200 cases of bullying and extortion in the Baizak and Zhambyl districts alone. During the first nine months of that year, 14 suicides involving minors were recorded in the region. Prosecutors have introduced the position...

Environment

Caspian Sea

Shrinking Caspian Sea Challenges Kazakhstan’s Transport Ambitions, Environmentalist Warns

Kazakhstan’s plans to develop the Trans-Caspian transport route face a growing environmental challenge as the Caspian Sea shrinks. Environmentalist Vadim Ni questioned the coordination behind those plans in an interview with The Times of Central Asia. "Negotiations on the Trans-Caspian Corridor are taking place at the presidential level and among the economic ministries, while the Ministry of Ecology still does not know what its role is within this route. It only recently became involved in negotiations on the issue. But how can you develop the Trans-Caspian Corridor if the sea continues to shrink?" he emphasized. Ni, an environmental law specialist...

COP31

Opinion: What is on the agenda for Central Asia at COP31?

Tiger Reintroduction

Kazakhstan Tiger Reintroduction: Second Amur Tiger Released into the Wild

Pasture Management

Kyrgyzstan Pasture Restoration Plan Includes 7,200 Kilometers of Road Repairs

Cotton Harvest

Uzbekistan Cotton Harvest Reaches 4.63 Million Tons as Water Losses Persist

Water Security

Opinion: Kazakhstan’s Mineral Ambitions Depend on Water

At the Shalkiya lead-zinc mine in Kyzylorda Region, engineers have designed a processing plant that could handle four million metric tons of ore a year. To keep it running, a pumping station would send up to 2,400 cubic meters of water back through the plant every hour. Even with that water going round again, the plant would still need fresh supplies. How much would it draw in a dry summer, when farmers in Kyzylorda are already working within irrigation limits? Investors need an answer before they commit to building it. Kazakhstan has good reason to process more of its ore...

Waste-to-Energy

Chinese Firm Proposes $95 Million Kyrgyzstan Waste-to-Energy Plant

A subsidiary of the state-owned China Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Group (CECEP) is considering a $95 million waste-to-energy plant in southern Kyrgyzstan. CECEP Environmental Protection’s proposal comes as Chinese companies play a growing role in turning municipal waste into electricity and heat in the country. Company representatives discussed the proposal on November 3 with Ravshanbek Sabirov, director of the National Investment Agency under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic. The proposed complex would initially process 800 metric tons of waste per day, equivalent to 292,000 tons annually if operated continuously. Capacity could eventually rise to 2,000 tons per day....

Nature Reserve

Kazakhstan Tree Planting Drive Faces Wildfires and Low Survival Rates

In late October, as firefighters battled forest fires in three regions of Kazakhstan, authorities announced a 300 million tenge (approximately $660,000) project, funded by state-owned Samruk-Kazyna, to restore pine forests in the Semey Ormany nature reserve in the country's east. The project involves planting three million pine seedlings across 762 hectares. Three years earlier, a wildfire swept through approximately 60,000 hectares of the reserve. Fourteen forestry workers died, while authorities also counted a local tractor driver who went to help fight the blaze as a 15th victim. Experts estimate that the wider ecosystem could take at least 70 years to...

National Parks

Kyrgyzstan Plans to Expand Protected Natural Areas

Kyrgyzstan plans to expand its protected natural areas under a draft strategy for 2026–2035. The expansion would bring additional high-altitude glaciers, rocky mountain areas, and state forest lands under protection. The Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology, and Technical Supervision released the document for public consultation on October 26. An accompanying explanatory note proposes increasing protected land from 11.8% of the country’s territory to 20% by 2030 and 30% by 2035. However, another section of the strategy sets 2030 as the deadline for reaching 30%, leaving the intended timetable unclear. Kyrgyzstan’s protected natural areas currently cover approximately 2.36 million hectares. The...

Shrinking Caspian Sea Challenges Kazakhstan’s Transport Ambitions, Environmentalist Warns

Latest

Features

Features

New NATO Base Rumours, Organised OTS Opposition, and the Future of Kazakh-Turkish Ties

Latest

Dastan: Restoring an Ancient Buddha Head in Turkmenistan

New NATO Base Rumours, Organised OTS Opposition, and the Future of Kazakh-Turkish Ties

Dastan: Restoring an Ancient Buddha Head in Turkmenistan

Opinions

Opinions

Daniel A. Witt

Viorel Gutu

Zhandos Sabit

Eric Rudenshiold & S. Frederick Starr

Zabikhulla Saipov

Issatay Minuarov

Timur Serikuly

Javier M. Piedra

Mathieu Lemoine

Timur Serikuly

Zamirbek Minbaev

Askar Alimzhanov

Business & Economy

Business & Economy

Naryn Industrial Park Plans Raise Electricity Supply Questions for Kyrgyzstan

Kazakhstan Poverty Reduction Stalls Despite Economic Growth

Kazakhstan Banks to Face Annual Cybersecurity Assessments

Women Queue for Kazakhstan’s Umai Mortgages Amid Questions Over Affordability

Uzbekistan Plans to Double Uranium Production by 2030

Local Politics

Local Politics

Japarov Orders Cabinet to Consider Kyrgyzstan Energy Drink Ban

Opinion: Overcrowding on Almaty Buses – A Man-Made Transit Crisis

Rogun Hydropower Plant Accident Sparks Conflicting Injury Reports

Kazakhstan Marks Republic Day as World Leaders Send Congratulations

Kazakhstan Military Training Overhauled with New Drone Forces Planned

International Affairs

International Affairs

Kazakhstan Tajikistan Sign Fuel Supply and Mining Agreements

Kyrgyzstan Border Settlements Bring Property Documents to Villagers

Turkish Official Questions Tokayev’s Proposal for OTS Observer Status for Russia

Expanding U.S.–Turkmenistan Ties: Envoy and Business Group Visit Ashgabat

Kazakhstan Resumes Oil Exports Through Russian Pipeline After Drone Attack

Life & Culture

Life & Culture

World No. 1 Elena Rybakina Withdraws from WTA Finals

Petrov Leads Uzbekistan’s Athletes in Samarkand Marathon

Kairat Almaty Hold Atalanta to Draw as Kazakh Club’s European Rise Continues

Kazakhstan’s Youth Soccer Players Hospitalized After Suspected Food Poisoning in Tashkent

Telegram Leads News Consumption in Uzbekistan, but Television Remains Most Trusted

Justice

Justice

18 Dead in Suspected Carbon Monoxide Poisonings in Uzbekistan