(MENAFN- AzerNews)
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 12th 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
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
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