By Dauren Moldakhmetov Just a few years ago, internet access on passenger trains in Kazakhstan seemed like an unattainable dream. Today, this service is becoming a reality. In an interview, Anuar Akhmetzhanov, Chairman of the Board of JSC Passenger Transport, told The Times of Central Asia that providing passengers with access to high-speed internet on […]
Read MoreBY Stephen M. Bland Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov is preparing for a visit to Japan that underscores growing strategic ties between the two countries. Kyrgyz officials say they plan to sign energy and infrastructure agreements in Tokyo, including support for a training center for the national electric grid and upgrades at the Kurpsai hydropower plant, […]
Read MoreBy Andrei Matveev The most recent World Bank study on labor migration highlighted the immense scale of the issue, describing it as “an ongoing development challenge in Europe and Central Asia, which is currently home to 100 million migrants,” roughly one-third of all migrants globally. Historically, Russia has been the primary destination for Central Asia’s […]
Read MoreBy Jonathan Campion As Doha readies an emergency Arab-Islamic Summit, Turkmenistan and Qatar have moved to underscore a steadily warming relationship. On Sunday, Turkmenistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov met Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on the sidelines of the summit, a show of solidarity with […]
Read MoreBy Dmitry Pokidaev Kazakhstan’s trade deficit with China reached $1.8 billion in the first half of 2025, a sharp increase compared to $400 million for the whole of 2024. According to the Association of Financiers of Kazakhstan (AFK), the growth in trade turnover was driven almost entirely by rising imports of Chinese goods. A review […]
Read MoreBy Bruce Pannier Russia continues to try to reorient its natural gas exports from Europe to Asia and is planning a new pipeline route to China that would pass through Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan stands to benefit not only from transit fees, but could also import some Russia gas for regions in northeastern Kazakhstan that are desperately […]
Read MoreKyrgyzstan’s parliament is looking at ways to make mountaineering safer after the deaths and presumed deaths of several climbers this year, including a Russian woman who was stranded for days on the highest mountain in the country. The debate comes as authorities promote Kyrgyzstan’s spectacular mountain landscapes in an effort to attract more tourists. A […]
Read MoreBy Dr. Robert M. Cutler The proposed Power of Siberia 2 (PoS-2) pipeline from Russia to China has re-entered the headlines on the strength of a new memorandum between Gazprom and CNPC. Russia calls the memorandum “legally binding,” but China has avoided the phrase, because the only thing that is legally binding is an agreement […]
Read MoreKazakhstan’s manufacturing sector slipped further in August, with the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) falling to 47.9. That was down from 49.9 in July and 49.7 in June, keeping the index below the neutral 50 mark for a third straight month. It also marked the sharpest deterioration in manufacturing activity since March 2022, according to […]
Read MoreBy Sadokat Jalolova Uzbekistan will supply 900 million kilowatt-hours of electricity to Kazakhstan between March and December 2026, according to a statement by the Kazakh Ministry of Energy. The agreement was formalized on September 7 in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan, during a trilateral meeting of energy and water authorities from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. The meeting produced […]
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