The Times Of Central Asia | Eurasian Publication & News Online

Uzbekistan says it has arranged aviation fuel imports from Georgia, Iraq, and other countries as changes in regional air traffic drive up demand. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's office said on August 3 that demand for aviation fuel will reach an estimated 375,000 metric tons from July through December, 27% higher than...

U.S. Visa Bond

U.S. Makes Visa Bond Program Permanent, Raises Maximum to $20,000

OPEC

Kazakhstan OPEC+ Oil Production Target Rises After Output Agreement

Kazakhstan's OPEC+ crude oil production target will rise by 10,000 barrels per day in September to 1.628 million barrels per day after seven producers agreed to increase their combined target by 188,000 barrels per day. The decision completes the gradual restoration of 1.65 million barrels per day of production withheld...

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,...

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...

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

Artificial intelligence

Uzbekistan AI: Can Its Tech Boom Deliver an AI Economy?

Uzbekistan has spent the past several years positioning itself as a fast-growing Central Asian market for IT outsourcing. The government is now seeking to build an artificial intelligence economy on that export-oriented technology sector. While the state is investing in computing infrastructure and public-sector projects, Tashkent is looking to private technology companies to drive much of AI's commercial adoption. The strategy has produced visible activity, but whether it can develop into a sustainable AI economy remains an open question. Over the past five years, the government has expanded IT Park and its incentives, simplified rules for employing foreign specialists, and...

Space Technology

Uzbekistan-China Satellite Project Advances with AI Module

Central Asia Tourism

Central Asia Tourism Growth Outpaces Other Regions

Aviation

Uzbekistan Turns to Georgia and Iraq as Jet Fuel Demand Rises 27%

OPEC

Kazakhstan OPEC+ Oil Production Target Rises After Output Agreement

Caspian Pipeline Consortium

Four Tankers Load at CPC as Tengizchevroil Plans Larger Batumi Shipments

Four tankers have completed loading Kazakh crude at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s Black Sea terminal following the July 30 attacks, providing vessel-tracking confirmation that shipments restarted. Two have left the terminal area, while at least three more were waiting nearby, Bloomberg reported. Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said on July 31 that the pipeline was flowing and ships were being loaded. CPC has not issued a detailed notice covering the restart, but the completed cargoes confirm that tanker loading resumed, though throughput remains below normal. Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry said CPC was receiving 100,000 metric tons of crude a day as of...

Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Kazakhstan Considers Oilseed-Based Aviation Fuel Project with Hong Kong Investor

Kazakhstan is considering a plant in Alatau City to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from industrial oilseeds in cooperation with Hong Kong investment firm Full Vision Capital. Deputy Agriculture Minister Azat Sultanov said at a government meeting on August 4 that the proposal was under consideration. Alatau City is a new city near Almaty operating under a special legal regime. An industry analysis published on June 18 said Kazakhstan's three refineries produced about 750,000-760,000 metric tons of aviation kerosene in 2025, while total demand was estimated at 1.2 million tons. The analysis, citing Ministry of Energy data, said domestic production...

E-Commerce

After Wildberries Drone Attacks, Kazakhstan Minister Urges Support for Local Marketplaces

Kazakhstan's Trade and Integration Minister Arman Shakkaliyev has encouraged consumers to shop on domestic online marketplaces, urging them not to base their purchases solely on the lowest prices offered by foreign platforms and invoking what he called “economic patriotism.” Speaking to reporters, Shakkaliyev advised consumers to use marketplaces they trust, saying that domestic platforms offered greater assurance that purchases would be delivered. He was responding to questions about the disruption affecting Wildberries after drone attacks on its Russian facilities. On August 2, Ukrainian drones struck a Wildberries warehouse in Novosemeykino, in the Samara region, causing a fire. The following day,...

Robot Delivery

Kazakhstan Tests Yandex Robot Couriers in Astana

Astana has begun testing robot couriers for grocery deliveries in selected areas of the capital, allowing some residents to receive orders from Yandex Lavka without a human courier. Under the pilot project, customers within the service zone can select robot delivery when ordering through the Yandex Go app. The small autonomous vehicles travel along pavements before stopping outside the customer’s address, where the storage compartment can be opened using the app. The project is being run by Yandex Qazaqstan with the Astana city administration, the city police department and the municipal technology company Astana Innovations, according to an announcement by...

Local Politics

Electronic Visas

Kazakhstan Proposes Rules for Paid Electronic Entry Permits

Kazakhstan's Interior Ministry has opened public consultation on rules for a paid electronic entry permit for foreign visitors. The ministry has proposed a phased rollout between August and December 2026, but the published summary leaves several basic questions unanswered. The proposal was posted on July 31, and remains open for comments until August 17. It would amend Kazakhstan's 2012 rules governing the entry, stay, and departure of foreign nationals. The ministry says the system will provide "transparency, speed, and completeness [in] recording the cross-border movements of foreign nationals.” However, the consultation page does not display the proposed amendments, an explanatory...

AI Governance

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

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

Kurultai Election

Kazakhstan Kurultai Election: Can a Third Party Break Through?

With only weeks remaining before Kazakhstan elects its new 145-member Kurultai on August 23, three national surveys point to a commanding victory for Adilet and place Auyl in second. The less certain question is whether Ak Zhol, Respublica, or another smaller party can clear the 5% electoral threshold and join them in the new legislature. Seven political parties have been registered to contest the vote. All 145 seats will be allocated through nationwide party lists, so small changes around the threshold could have a large effect on the composition of Kazakhstan's first Kurultai. The election is the first under Kazakhstan's...

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:...

International Affairs

Critical Minerals

India Uzbekistan Free Trade Agreement Floated as Tashkent Courts Minerals Investment

India has floated the possibility of a free trade agreement with Uzbekistan as Tashkent seeks Indian investment in copper and rare-earth processing. Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal described a potential agreement as a “promising idea” during an India-Uzbekistan Business Forum in New Delhi, saying the two governments could examine it further. He also called for bilateral trade to reach approximately $3 billion within three years. Uzbek government figures put trade turnover at $1.3 billion in 2025, an increase of 33% from the previous year. The relationship remains heavily weighted toward Indian exports: Uzbekistan imported goods worth $1.15 billion...

Black Sea Tanker Attacks

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

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

U.S. Visa Bond

U.S. Makes Visa Bond Program Permanent, Raises Maximum to $20,000

The United States has made its Visa Bond Program permanent, raising the maximum refundable deposit to $20,000 for certain business and tourist visa applicants from 50 countries, including Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. The final rule took effect on August 3, replacing a 12-month pilot launched in August 2025. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan remain outside the program. The requirement applies to B-1 business visas, B-2 tourist visas and combined B-1/B-2 visas. Applicants from covered countries who are otherwise eligible for a visa must generally post a bond of $10,000, $15,000 or $20,000, with the amount determined by a consular officer. Officers are...

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...

Life & Culture

Football

PSG Academy Kazakhstan to Open in Astana

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) has announced the opening of its first football academy in Kazakhstan, extending the club's global youth development network into Central Asia. The training center is due to begin operating in Astana in September. According to PSG, Kazakhstan becomes the 24th country to join the PSG Academy network. Up to 300 boys and girls aged between six and 14 will begin training in September at the Air Arena indoor sports complex, which has an artificial pitch meeting FIFA standards. Local coaches will also undergo training based on the club's development program and receive continuing support from PSG’s technical staff in Paris....

Games of the Future

China’s 17 Gaming Wins PUBG: Battlegrounds Title at Kazakhstan’s Games of the Future

Football

Dastan Satpayev Scores on Chelsea Debut

Opinion

Uzbekistan’s Heritage Did Not Stop With the Silk Road

TCA Interviews

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

Foreign Students

Kazakhstan International Student Scholarships Draw 16,000 Applicants

More than 16,000 people from 71 countries applied for 550 scholarships at Kazakh universities for the 2026-2027 academic year, giving applicants a success rate of just 3.4%. The successful candidates represent 49 countries, up from 26 in the previous academic year. The largest numbers of applications came from the Palestinian territories, Indonesia, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Kazakhstan's state scholarship program provides 490 undergraduate scholarships, 50 master's scholarships, and 10 doctoral scholarships. The awards cover tuition and provide recipients with a monthly stipend. For the first time, students from the United States, Italy, Germany, the Maldives, and South Korea have been...

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

Kyrgyzstan hosted the first International Film Festival of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states from July 16 to 19, marking the country’s largest international cinema event to date. Held at the Rukh Ordo cultural center in Cholpon-Ata to coincide with the SCO’s 25th anniversary, the festival brought together delegations from Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Iran, and Belarus. Each country presented one feature film, while an international jury chaired by Kyrgyz writer and director Ernest Abdyzhaparov selected the winners. The Grand Prix went to the Kyrgyz film Kara Kyzyl Sary (“Black, Red, Yellow”), giving the host nation a symbolic...

UNESCO World Heritage List

UNESCO Adds Mangystau Rock Mosques to World Heritage List

UNESCO has inscribed the Rock Mosques and Associated Sacred Sites of Mangystau on its World Heritage List, following a decision adopted during the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan, South Korea, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Culture and Information said. The same session also inscribed Tashkent Modernist Architecture, giving Central Asia two new cultural inscriptions. The serial property, located on the Mangystau Peninsula bordering the Caspian Sea, comprises five sacred complexes: Beket-Ata, Shopan-Ata, Karaman-Ata, Shakpak-Ata, and Sultan-Epe. According to the World Heritage Committee, the site represents an outstanding sacred landscape shaped by centuries of interaction between Sufi spiritual traditions...

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

Glacier Retreat

Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul Glaciers Have Lost One-Third of Their Area

Glacier coverage in the Issyk-Kul Basin has shrunk by 33.7% compared with records from 70–90 years ago, according to an updated inventory released by Kyrgyzhydromet, the Hydrometeorological Service under Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations. The service said coverage had declined by 23.1% over the past 7–10 years, indicating that the retreat has accelerated. The revised inventory was compiled using Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite imagery, Google Earth, QGIS, and earlier glacier catalogs. Researchers refined glacier boundaries, documented fragmentation, and identified glaciers that had disappeared. Kyrgyzhydromet attributed the decline to climate change and said the new inventory would provide a baseline for assessing...

Amur Tiger

Kazakhstan Releases First Tiger into Wild in More Than 70 Years

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

Climate Change

Kyrgyzstan Links Record Heatwave to Accelerating Glacier Retreat

Kyrgyzstan's state weather agency, Kyrgyzhydromet, has warned that last month's record-breaking heatwave is the latest sign of climate change accelerating the retreat of the country's glaciers, threatening water supplies across Central Asia. The agency said the immediate heatwave was caused by regional atmospheric conditions, but its director, Daurbek Sakeyev, argued that the growing frequency of such extreme weather reflected a longer-term warming trend already affecting mountain ecosystems and water resources. Abnormally hot weather settled over Kyrgyzstan on July 14. Meteorologists attributed it to a combination of a summer thermal depression over Central Asia and a persistent area of high pressure...

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...

Uzbekistan AI: Can Its Tech Boom Deliver an AI Economy?

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

Uzbekistan AI: Can Its Tech Boom Deliver an AI Economy?

Four Tankers Load at CPC as Tengizchevroil Plans Larger Batumi Shipments

Kazakhstan Considers Oilseed-Based Aviation Fuel Project with Hong Kong Investor

After Wildberries Drone Attacks, Kazakhstan Minister Urges Support for Local Marketplaces

Kazakhstan Tests Yandex Robot Couriers in Astana

Local Politics

Local Politics

Kazakhstan Proposes Rules for Paid Electronic Entry Permits

Kazakhstan Kurultai Election: Can a Third Party Break Through?

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

International Affairs

International Affairs

India Uzbekistan Free Trade Agreement Floated as Tashkent Courts Minerals Investment

U.S. Makes Visa Bond Program Permanent, Raises Maximum to $20,000

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

Life & Culture

Life & Culture

PSG Academy Kazakhstan to Open in Astana

Kazakhstan International Student Scholarships Draw 16,000 Applicants

Future Games 2026 Begin in Astana, Kazakhstan

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

UNESCO Adds Mangystau Rock Mosques to World Heritage List

Justice

Justice

Kyrgyzstan Uncovers Suspected Smuggling Tunnel on Uzbek Border