TASHKENT (TCA) — The Consulate General of Uzbekistan in Greece, in cooperation with the Institute for the Development of Western Greece, the Greek Nationwide Association of Industries based at Industrial Parks and Ellrosa Consulting Group Ltd., have launched the “Initiative for the Development of Bilateral Economic Cooperation between Greece and Uzbekistan - Alexander the Great & Princess Roxanne".

BISHKEK (TCA) — Secure tenure of land, fisheries and forests is widely acknowledged as being directly related to agricultural productivity, sustainable management of natural resources, and food security. This is the premise of a new project for Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan that the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) kicked off with a workshop in Bishkek on September 21.

BISHKEK (TCA) — Russian special envoy to Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov is to visit India soon and the Indian leadership expects to explore the possibility of effective collaboration with Russia in the Afghan peace process, Russia’s Sputnik news agency reported from New Delhi citing External Affairs Ministry sources.

BISHKEK (TCA) — A high-level event in New York on September 21 in the presence of Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev, EU Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete and the Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sven Mikser under the headline “People and Planet: Central Asia calls for international solidarity” in the margins of the current UN General Assembly highlighted the danger for the environment and the health of the population, especially in the Ferghana valley where 14 million people live and which is spread across eastern Uzbekistan, southern Kyrgyzstan, and northern Tajikistan, the EBRD press office reported.

TASHKENT (TCA) — The OSCE Mobile Training Team for the identification of potential foreign terrorist fighters delivered an interactive training course for 27 border and security officers from Uzbekistan from 19 to 21 September in Tashkent.

BISHKEK (TCA) — On September 20, Kyrgyzstan marked its Entrepreneur’s Day. Traditionally, the country's top leadership congratulated entrepreneurs, giving diplomas and memorable gifts to outstanding business people for their “fruitful work and significant contribution to the social and economic development of the country”.

DUSHANBE (TCA) — Tajikistan has made significant progress over the past decade in providing access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene for its citizens. However, many challenges remain. This is especially true in rural areas where only about one-third of households have access to clean drinking water sources on their premises, compared with more than 87% in urban areas, according to a new World Bank report.

TASHKENT (TCA) — On September 20, an Uzbekistan–US business forum was held in New York City as part of Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s visit to the United States to participate in the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly, the Jahon information agency reports.

ASTANA (TCA) — The international presentation of the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) will take place in December 2017 in Astana, AIFC Governor Kairat Kelimbetov said at a press conference on September 20, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported.

BISHKEK (TCA) — The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM on September 18 signed the Practical Arrangements regarding the cooperation in rehabilitation of uranium legacy facilities in Central Asian republics of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, the Russian company said.

BISHKEK (TCA) — Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan on September 20 exchanged diplomatic protests after Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev met with a Kyrgyz presidential candidate, Omurbek Babanov, in Almaty on September 19. The meeting was considered by official Bishkek as meddling in Kyrgyzstan’s internal politics, RFE/RL reported.

ALMATY (TCA) — The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA), in partnership with the Institute of Nuclear Physics (INP) of Kazakhstan, repatriated the last remaining highly enriched uranium (HEU) from the institute’s VVR-K reactor and critical assembly in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on September 19.

ASTANA (TCA) — One of the purposes of the draft Code on the Subsoil and Subsoil Use is to increase the investment attractiveness of Kazakhstan's mining industry, the Vice Minister for Investment and Development Timur Toktabayev said at a briefing following the Government’s meeting on September 19, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported.

TASHKENT (TCA) — ERASMUS+ Week is taking place in Tashkent from 18 to 22 September, the National Office of Erasmus+ in Uzbekistan said. The aim of the event is to develop further cooperation between the universities of Uzbekistan and the states of Europe.

BISHKEK (TCA) — A Strategic Master Plan aimed to overcome the legacy of uranium mining in Central Asia was signed by Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, the IAEA, the EC, and the EBRD at the IAEA General Conference in Vienna on September 18, the EBRD reported on its website.

TASHKENT (TCA) — In his first address to the United Nations General Assembly on September 19, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev pledged to focus his government on bringing greater prosperity and human rights to his country and the Central Asia region, RFE/RL reported.

DUSHANBE (TCA) — A former top officer at Tajikistan's Anticorruption Agency has been convicted on corruption charges and sentenced to 15 years in prison, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports.

KABUL (TCA) — The Afghan Air Force (AAF) has received its first U.S.-made UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters as part of a planned replacement of its aging fleet of Russian-made helicopters, RFE/RL reported.

BISHKEK (TCA) — Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev's meeting with one of Kyrgyzstan’s leading presidential candidates, Omurbek Babanov, has sparked controversy in Kyrgyzstan, where a presidential election is scheduled for October 15, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported.

ASTANA (TCA) — The maximum potential of Kazakhstan’s Kashagan oil field will be revealed in 25-30 years, when oil extraction at the Caspian field is to reach 60 million tons per year to remain at that level for a long time, the President of the Kazakhstan Society of Petroleum Geologists Baltabek Kuandykov said in an interview with PrimeMinister.kz.

KABUL (TCA) — The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) on September 18 said that a high-ranking delegation of Russian officials will visit Kabul in October to discuss investment opportunities in the country, TOLOnews agency reports.

TASHKENT (TCA) — The U.S. Agency for International Development Competitiveness, Trade, and Jobs Activity and the State Committee of Uzbekistan for Assistance to Privatized Enterprises and Development of Competition held a business event on September 18 in Tashkent to support further development of Free Economic Zones (FEZs) in Uzbekistan.

BISHKEK (TCA) — Speaking at a government session on September 18, Kyrgyzstan Prime Minister Sapar Isakov said that he had given orders to his cabinet to cancel an agreement with the Czech Liglass Trading Company for construction of parts of the Upper Naryn Cascade hydropower project and several other hydropower plants, and prepare a new tender for the project, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported.

ASTANA (TCA) — The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Board of Directors has endorsed a new country partnership strategy (CPS) for Kazakhstan, expected to deliver more than $3 billion in assistance through 2021 to help the country diversify its economy, achieve inclusive development, and promote sustainable growth, ADB’s country office said on September 18.

ASTANA (TCA) — Kazakhstan’s Public Foundation Zhassyl Azyk has received the Equator Prize in an award ceremony on September 17 in New York. Zhassyl Azyk was selected as the recipient of the prestigious award along with fifteen other organizations from twelve countries. This is the first time when a non-governmental organization from Kazakhstan is receiving this honorary prize, the UNDP in Kazakhstan reported.