Author: Asankhan Isanov

The Kyrgyz Ministry of Economy and Commerce has announced that the Chinese government has allocated grant assistance to Kyrgyzstan totaling 200 million yuan (more than $28 million). The money will be used to finance socially significant projects in priority areas. The grant agreement was signed on September 19 in Beijing, following the Intergovernmental Kyrgyz-Chinese Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation meeting held the previous day. Deputy Chairman of the Kyrgyz Cabinet of Ministers, Bakyt Torobaev, headed the Kyrgyz delegation at the meeting. On September 18, Torobaev held meetings with the heads of Chinese companies. During a meeting with Zoomlion, a…

Sir Keir Starmer has said that Russia started the Ukraine war and “could end the conflict straight away”. The prime minister has arrived in Washington DC for talks with President Joe Biden at the White House over the ongoing conflict. Sir Keir has backed Kyiv’s right to defend itself after Russian leader Vladimir Putin suggested his country would be “at war” with NATO if the West allows long-range weapons to be used against it.The PM said the UK does not “seek any conflict with Russia”, before adding: “That’s not our intention in the slightest.” The UK has been providing Ukraine with Storm Shadow…

Shunned by the West for over three years, Afghanistan’s Taliban scored a diplomatic victory of sorts this week when the small Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan quietly removed the group from its list of banned terrorist organizations. The move underscores warming ties between the Taliban, in power since August 2021, and the countries of Central Asia. While the United States has led an international campaign to deny the Taliban government legitimacy, over a dozen regional countries, led by China and Russia, have embraced the self-styled “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.” “It fits with the broader trend of governments in the region…

Kyrgyzstan’s state-owned gold-producing company, Kyrgyzaltyn OJSC, will open a store in Bishkek on September 5 to sell gold bars. On August 30, Kyrgyzaltyn opened a workshop for the production of gold bars in Kara-Balta, a town 100km west of Bishkek. It is Kyrgyzstan’s first enterprise to produce measured gold bars, with a monthly production capacity of up to 14,000 units. The facility uses advanced technologies and modern equipment from Italy and Germany, allowing the production of souvenir coins and medals. Earlier, the mayor of Kara-Balta, Mirlan Jekshenov, told Birinchi Radio that over the next year, the enterprise plans to release…

Why U.S. Allies in the Region Are Turning Toward China The United States has recently been touting its “convergence” with Asian partners. At the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in June, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin titled his remarks the “New Convergence in the Indo-Pacific.”At the Brookings Institution the following month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken maintained that the United States enjoys “much greater convergence” with key Asian partners, citing improved ties with Japan and South Korea and the strengthening security links between NATO and the Indo-Pacific. And, also in July, at the Aspen Security Forum, Blinken reiterated…

Kyrgyzstan is a land-locked, lower-middle-income country that is located in the Central Asian region, bordering with Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south and China to the east. According to World Bank data, in 2021 the population of the country was 6.7 million people, with a GDP of 8.5 billion USD (GDP per capita 1,275.9 USD) and an average life expectancy of 71.6 years. Kyrgyzstan is the second poorest country in Central Asia after Tajikistan and about a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line. Over half of the country is made up…

The two sides exchanged views on regional security and stability, as well as priority areas of cooperation within the Organization. Having congratulated Imangali Tasmagambetov on assuming his new position, Sadyr Japarov expressed confidence that he would use his life and professional experience with full dedication in implementing the goals and objectives of the Organization for the benefit of strengthening regional and international security. I. Tasmagambetov thanked the President of the Kyrgyz Republic for supporting his candidacy for the post of the CSTO Secretary General at the November (2022) session of the Collective Security Council and reported on the priorities of…

Kyrgyz and Kazakh companies have exported sanctioned dual-use technology to Russian suppliers of the Kremlin’s war machine amid Western efforts to stymie such transfers through the Central Asian nations, an investigation by RFE/RL has found. In response to the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the United States and the European Union have tightened controls on exports to Russia of technology that can be used both for civilian and military purposes. But Moscow has used a supply network within countries not bound by these sanctions — including Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan — to keep Western technology flowing into Russia.…

The impoverished Central Asian country with ties to Russia and China has seen three presidents resign over political crises fuelled by corruption, nepotism and disputed votes since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The GKNB state security agency said it dismantled the preparations of a group of people planning to organise riots “in order to seize power by force”, adding that more than 30 people were arrested on Monday. The arrests come just days after a visit to Kyrgyzstan by European Council President Charles Michel, during which President Sadyr Japarov pledged his “readiness to work hand in hand…

Kabul: Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence on Sunday said a helicopter of the air force crashed while patrolling in the northern Samangan province which left at least two pilots killed, media reports said. The defense ministry said that the air force helicopter faced a technical problem after colliding with a high-voltage power line in the Khulm district of Samangan province, which resulted in the death of its two pilots, reports Khaama Press. An investigation into the matter has been ordered. Afghanistan is currently ruled by the Taliban forces. The group took control over the country on Aug 15, 2021. Since the…