Azernews.Az

By Sabina Mammadli

Central Asia Weekly Review: 7-21 Sep 22

HIGHLIGHTS

Kazakh banks ban service to Russian Mir cards

Escalation at Tajik-Kyrgyz border: Some 17 schools damaged

Tajik FM, OSCE Secretary-General eye situation on border with Kyrgyzstan

Turkmen President calls on SCO to support country’s initiatives in UN

Uzbekistan, Russia sign declaration on strategic partnership

KAZAKHSTAN

Kazakh President attends Global Food Security Council

Kazakh President Jomart Kassym-Tokayev took part in the Global Food Security Council co-chaired by the African Union and the European Union.

Addressing the event, the president noted that food security is one of the pressing issues the world is facing now. Since the last summit in 2019, the number of people facing food shortage grew from 135 to 345 million.

Tokayev stated that Kazakhstan would further use its agricultural potential to fight against food insecurity. The country will further act as a reliable grain and food staples supplier.

The president urged to speed up efforts to counter hunger. In this context, he noted readiness for the expansion of cooperation with the Islamic Food Security Organization and UN institutions within various procurement projects, including for the needs of Afghanistan.

Kazakh banks ban service to Russian Mir banking cards

Kazakh banks refuse to cater to Russian Mir cards.

“We do not serve Russian Mir cards, since this is not an international banking system, but only Russian,” one of the Kazakh banks said.

According to Kazakh news agency KazTAG, the eight largest banks in Kazakhstan, including Jusan Bank, Alfa Bank, Nurbank, and Bank CenterCredit reported that they do not serve Russian Mir cards.

The Russian authorities are promoting Mir cards as an alternative at a time when international payment systems, primarily Visa and Mastercard, refused to serve Russians abroad, joining the global anti-Russian sanctions regime after Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine.

KYRGYZSTAN

Escalations at Tajik-Kyrgyz border: some 17 schools & kindergartens damaged

Some 10 schools and 7 kindergartens were damaged as a result of the armed provocations on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border in Batken region.

According to Deputy Minister of Education and Science Nadira Dzhusupbekova, the educational process has been temporarily suspended in 195 educational institutions in the Batken region. Evacuation points are organized on the basis of 53 of them.

“The full restoration of the educational process depends only on the appropriate decision of the headquarters under the conditions of ensuring the safety of people. A special state commission will determine the amount of damage caused and the amount of resources needed to restore them and return to peaceful life,” the ministry noted.

An emergency mode was introduced in Kyrgyzstan’s Batken region.

On the morning of September 16, the shooting began at several sites on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Settlements in Leilek and Batken regions came under fire. As a result of the armed conflict on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border, residents of seven villages in Batken and Leilek regions, the village of Dzhekendi in Chon-Alai area of the Osh region left their homes. 198 people were injured, and 59 died.

Kyrgyz Prosecutor-General opened a criminal case under Article "Crimes against peace" of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Speaking at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly on September 20, Tajik President Sadyr Japarov said that Kyrgyzstan has never attacked first.

Kyrgyzstan, EU discuss freedom of speech

Kyrgyzstan and the European Union discussed the ongoing work on harmonizing legislation in accordance with the new constitution on a transparent and inclusive basis.

The discussion was held during the 12^th round of the annual Human Rights Dialogue between the European Union and Kyrgyzstan. The participants stressed the importance of close cooperation between the EU and the Kyrgyz Republic in the current geopolitical context.

The EU stressed the need for an effective and democratic system of checks and balances.

In particular, the EU and Kyrgyzstan held a detailed discussion on human rights and good governance.

“The EU expressed concern about the generally negative trend in the field of fundamental human rights, in particular with regard to the narrowing of the space for the free activity of civil society and the increasing pressure on freedom of speech. The EU has expressed concern about the widespread and seemingly arbitrary application of article 330 of the Criminal Code on hatred and discord and the enforcement of the law on false information,” the EU mission said in a statement.

TAJIKISTAN

Tajik FM, OSCE Secretary-General eye situation on border with Kyrgyzstan

Tajikistan’s Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin and Secretary-General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Helga Schmid exchanged views on the latest developments on the border between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

The meeting took place on September 20 in New York as part of the High-Level Week of the UN General Assembly.

A new armed conflict broke out on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border on September 14, which escalated into large-scale clashes and again brought destruction and death on both sides of the border.

Tajikistan’s Foreign Ministry has announced the death of 41 citizens of the republic during the border conflict on September 14-17. Official departments have not yet reported on the scale of destructions.

Tajikistan's foreign trade gap expands to $1.8 bn

Tajikistan’s foreign trade turnover for 2022 amounted to about $4.8 billion, which is 18.4% more than in the same period of 2021, the statistical office of the republic reports.

The export of Tajik products amounted to about $1.5 billion, and imported goods amounted to about $3.3 billion. Thus, the trade balance deficit was almost $1.8 billion.

The volume of exports compared to January-July 2021 increased by 6%, and imports - by 25.1%.

The main trading partners of the republic are Russia (22.4%), Kazakhstan (19%), and China (18%).

The main markets for Tajik products during this period were Kazakhstan (22% of total exports), China (18%), Uzbekistan (9.1%), and Afghanistan (5.2%).

Goods are imported mainly from Russia (30.9% of total imports), China (18.2%), Kazakhstan (17.6%), and Uzbekistan (7.1%).

TURKMENISTAN

Turkmenistan, Pakistan discussed promotion of TAPI, TAP

Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Pakistan’s State Oil Minister Musadik Masud Malik discussed the promotion of joint projects - the transnational gas pipeline Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) and the laying of power transmission lines and fiber-optic communication TAP.

The implementation of these large-scale projects in the energy and communications sectors is designed to promote the sustainable socio-economic development of the entire region, its successful integration into the system of world economic relations, and the strengthening of regional peace and stability.

Berdimuhamedov noted that Turkmenistan is consistently implementing an energy strategy focused on diversifying energy supplies to world markets.

Turkmen President calls on SCO to support country’s initiatives in UN

President Serdar Berdimuhamedov called on the SCO countries to support the initiatives of Turkmenistan in the UN to strengthen peace, security, and stability, speaking at the summit of the international organization as an honored guest.

The Turkmen leader said that by promoting the philosophy of trust-based dialogue in international relations, Ashgabat intends to initiate the development of a "Dialogue is a guarantee of peace" draft resolution of the UN General Assembly.

“We are convinced that through the adoption of such document, UN member states will reaffirm their fundamental and unequivocal commitment to a peaceful, negotiated method of resolving conflict situations, no matter how difficult they may seem,” Berdimuhamedov said.

According to the head of state, the restoration of a culture of respectful political communication is currently gaining universal significance as it is one of the key conditions for a responsible, non-confrontational approach.

“Based on this, Turkmenistan will submit to the UN General Assembly a proposal to declare 2025 the Year of Peace and Trust,” Berdimuhamedov emphasized.

UZBEKISTAN

First container train launched along the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan-Afghanistan route

The first container train was launched along the new transit route Kashgar-Osh-Andijan-Galaba-Hairatan in order to develop the multimodal China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan-Afghanistan corridor.

The train consists of 12 units of 40-foot containers. It is known that Uzbekistan has provided a discount of 70% for transportation through the territory of the republic; the other participating countries have provided tariff preferences of up to 50%.

It was reported that the Chinese side loaded the goods into containers, and at the Osh station in Kyrgyzstan, they were loaded onto Uzbek fitting platforms.

According to preliminary calculations, the cargo turnover only in the direction of Afghanistan will be more than four thousand containers per year.

Uzbekistan, Russia sign declaration on strategic partnership

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a declaration on a comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and Uzbekistan at the SCO summit in Samarkand.

At the meeting, the heads of state discussed an increase in the range and volume of trade, the formation of effective mechanisms for promoting joint cooperation projects, and the expansion of interregional practical contacts.

Putin presented Mirziyoyev with the Order of Alexander Nevsky.

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Sabina Mammadli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SabinaMmdl

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