TASHKENT — On August 9, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan Zhamshid Khodzhayev chaired a government meeting to discuss the state and deepening of cooperation with China. The meeting gathered heads of ministries and government agencies, industry associations, banks, local government bodies, and the Uzbek Embassy in China, the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade reported.

KABUL — Afghanistan’s deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sher Mohammad Abas Stanekzai, criticized the Western countries for putting pressure on the current Afghan government and also accused the US of violating the Doha agreement by carrying out a drone strike in Kabul that killed Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri on July 31, Afghan broadcaster TOLOnews reported.

TASHKENT — Uzbekistan GTL and its parent company Uzbekneftegaz (UNG) on August 9 said that their gas processing facility has been selected as a top three candidate for an industry award for excellence by a leading technical Hydrocarbon Processing publication, based in Houston, USA. The plant has been nominated in the category Best Gas Processing/LNG Technology and voted on by the esteemed HP Awards’ Advisory Board.

NUR-SULTAN — The U.S. Department of State has published a report on the investment climate of Kazakhstan for 2022.

TASHKENT — On August 8, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired a government meeting on enhancing cooperation with Central Asian countries.

ASHGABAT — On August 8, Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdymukhammedov took part in the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of an important transport infrastructure facility — a new two-lane automobile bridge across the Garabogaz Kol Bay along the highway connecting the Caspian port city of Turkmenbashi, Garabogaz and the border with Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan State News Agency (TDH) reported.

ASHGABAT — On August 15-16, the transport Conference of Landlocked Developing Countries, convened at the initiative of Turkmenistan under the auspices of the United Nations, will be held in the city of Turkmenbashi, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry said.

TASHKENT — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and TBC Bank Group PLC invested additional capital in TBC Bank Uzbekistan (TBC UZ) totaling US $35.1 million. TBC Bank Uzbekistan is a subsidiary of TBC Bank Group PLC, the holding company of the leading banking group in Georgia, TBC Bank JSC. TBC Bank Group PLC is registered in England and Wales, and its shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, the EBRD said on August 8.

KABUL — The Ministry of Defense of the Taliban-led Afghan government once again asked Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to return the helicopters of the previous administration that were taken following the fall of the republic in Afghanistan in August 2021, Afghan broadcaster TOLOnews reported.

TURKMENABAT, Turkmenistan — Dog catchers in Turkmenabat have been assigned to catch and kill at least seven stray dogs every day, locals say, as authorities in Turkmenistan’s second-biggest city continue a brutal campaign of animal cruelty, RFE/RL's Turkmen Service reported.

NUR-SULTAN — First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Akan Rakhmetullin paid a working visit to Washington, D.C. on August 5. The parties discussed vital issues of the bilateral and international agenda, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said.

BISHKEK — A new group of 10 Peace Corps volunteers were sworn in on August 4 in Bishkek. Over the next two years, the volunteers will be co-teaching English with local teachers in secondary schools across Chuy, Naryn, Issyk-Kul and Talas regions of Kyrgyzstan, the U.S. Embassy in Kyrgyzstan said.

KHORUGH, Tajikistan — A noted religious cleric in Tajikistan's restive Gorno-Badakhshan Region (GBAO) has been sentenced to five years in prison on extremism charges that his relatives call "wrong and unjust," RFE/RL's Tajik Service reported.

KABUL — The Afghan Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation said that once-a-week flights from Kabul to Delhi on Fridays have begun, and flights to Urumqi, China will begin in two weeks, Afghan broadcaster TOLOnews reported.

BISHKEK — The International Trade Centre’s (ITC) European Union-funded Ready4Trade Central Asia project celebrated interim results of its e-commerce component with a certification event for its participating small businesses, the Delegation of the European Union to the Kyrgyz Republic reported.

NUR-SULTAN — Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tileuberdi on August 5 met with Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf, the Secretary General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf.

DUSHANBE — Another native of Tajikistan's restive Gorno-Badakhshan Region (GBAO) has reportedly gone missing in Moscow and may have forcibly been taken to Tajikistan where he could face illegal incarceration and an arbitrary trial, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reported.

BISHKEK — The United Nations World Food Programe (WFP), with funding from the Government of Japan, established a mini-processing workshop to produce high-value essential oils and dried herbs in At-Bashy district in Kyrgyzstan’s Naryn province.

KABUL — A group of former U.S. ambassadors has called on the United Nations to reimpose travel restrictions on Taliban leaders in response to the radical group increasingly reverting to its practices from the years when it first ruled Afghanistan, RFE/RL reported.

TASHKENT — The National Committee of United World Colleges (UWC) in Uzbekistan on August 3 announced that the first group of Uzbek students have completed their International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma program at some of the world's leading colleges.

BISHKEK — Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on August 2 had an interview with media after concluding his visit to Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Xinhua news agency reported.

NUR-SULTAN — A court in Kazakhstan has sentenced a couple to five years in prison each for calls that North Kazakhstan become part of Russia, RFE/RL reported.

TAIPEI — United States House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday night said her visit to Taiwan seeks to honor "America's unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan's vibrant democracy," Focus Taiwan reported.

TASHKENT — On August 2, the First Trilateral Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Trade/Economy and Transport of Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Türkiye was held in Tashkent.

TASHKENT — Authorities in Uzbekistan have allowed access to social media platforms Twitter, VKontakte, and WeChat more than a year after they were blocked in the Central Asian nation, RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reported.