Republic of Kazakhstan
Email: ccasc@kimep.kz
This past week, the media paid attention to the UN-led Central Asian and Caucus economic strategy meeting in Baku, the CSTO security meeting in Minsk, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan’s joining of an EU-led green energy initiative, Kyrgyzstan’s efforts to address rising water scarcity, and Uzbekistan seeking improved relations with the Taliban-led Afghanistan.
This past week, the media paid attention to the repatriation of Kazakhstani citizens who were evacuated from the Gaza Strip, while about 130 Kazakhstanis departed from Gaza this week for Egypt and Almaty. Also in the news where Prime Minister Smailov’s effort to encourage foreign investment by $150 billion by 2029 at an investor summit in Astana, Kyrgyzstan’s President visiting Japan in an effort to strengthen economic, political, and investment ties, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan’s bilateral efforts to resolve border disputes between the two countries, and the statement from Pakistani authorities that all Afghanistani refugees within the country will be deported by the end of the month.
This past week, the media paid attention to Russian President Putin’s arrival in Astana, where he touted ten years of positive bilateral relations between Kazakhstan and Russia, Kazakh Prime Minister Smailov’s announcement to raise Kazakh-Uzbek trade to $10bn and further cooperation between the two countries, the Italian President’s visit to Uzbekistan and subsequent economic, political and people-to-people cooperative deals, the Economic Cooperation Organization meeting in Tashkent and negotiations to improve regional cooperation and logistics, and the statement by UN Secretary-General Guterres to re-integrate Afghanistan into the global community.
This past week, the media paid attention to President Macron of France and Prime Minister Orbán of Hungary visiting Central Asian States, The Organization of the Turkic States meeting in Astana to discuss deepening economic and political cooperation, The district-level elections in Kazakhstan, discussions between Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan on water-sharing agreements in recognition of the rapid desiccation of the Aral Sea and its main water source, the Syr Darya river, and the negotiations between Pakistan and the Taliban on the issue of deportation of Afghanistani refugees from Pakistan.
This past week, the media paid attention to the mining catastrophe in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, which killed and trapped tens of miners following a methane gas explosion, the Eurasian Security Conference held in Minsk, reactions in Central Asia to Israel's bombing of the Palestinian al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, the meetings between Turkish and Turkmen leaders in Ankara, and Pakistan's establishing of holding centers on its border with Afghanistan in preparation for a November 1 deadline for deporting 1.7 million undocumented migrants back to Afghanistan.
This past week, the media covered the Third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, where Central Asian presidents sought to mark the occasion by committing to deepen their countries’ relations with Beijing, the inauguration of the 11th Kazakhstan Civil Forum by President Tokayev, the arrest of Kazakhstan’s former Minister of Justice, Marat Beketaev, on suspicion of corruption and bribery charges, Iran's efforts in deepening ties with Central Asian states, and the continues humanitarian situation in Herat following multiple earthquakes these past couple of weeks.
This past week, The annual CIS Summit took place in Bishkek, where the leaders also made use of the venue to discuss bilateral and multilateral deals, the Presidents of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Russia met in Moscow to inaugurate the Central Asia-Center gas pipeline, Kazakhstan’s President Tokayev led a summit of regional leaders to discuss the future of AI in the region, the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) announced that by 2035, the institution’s investments will grow to $10 billion in Central Asia, and the media paid attention to the multiple large-scale earthquakes that shook Afghanistan's Herat Province.
This past week, President Tokayev of Kazakhstan met with Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Olaf Scholz as part of the former's visit to Germany. In other news, President Tokayev responded to concerns about relations with Russia and Kazakhstan's stance on the conflict in Ukraine, Kazakhstan announced that it has made headway on creating commerce, transportation, and logistics centers along its borders with China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Uzbekistan, and the Caspian Sea, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the State Savings Bank of Tajikistan forged a strategic collaboration aimed at bolstering local currency lending to drive growth in Tajikistan's real sector, The 11th session of the Intergovernmental Council between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan took place in the city of Taraz, and the media paid attention to the abrupt cessation of financial aid from the World Food Programme (WFP) to Afghanistan exacerbating the already dire circumstances for women in this country.