Publications

Armenia hosted Expo of Investment Opportunities in Aras FTZ. With more than 70,000 hectares along the Aras River, Aras Free Trade-Industrial Zone is in East Azarbaijan Province in the northwest of Iran bordering Armenia, Azerbaijan and the semi-autonomous Nakhichevan region. Italy's Maire Tecnimont signs 'green energy' deal with Azerbaijan that it would work with the Azeri government on possible joint projects on renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy transition. Georgia's TBC completed the acquisition of the remaining 49% stake in Uzbek fintech company Payme, a leading digital payments provider in Uzbekistan for individuals and small businesses. It offers high-quality payment solutions via its multi-vertical app including P2P transfers, bill payments, QR payments, e-commerce, cross-border money remittances, loan repayments, personal financial manager (PFM) services and government services.
France is ready to cooperate with Kazakhstan in the construction of the first nuclear power plant in the country and in studying the prospects for developing small modular reactors. The project, with a capacity of 1 GW in the Mirny village of the Zhambyl Region, is planned to be launched in 2026-2027. It is a project agreed upon during President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s visit to Paris last November, and it will be implemented by Total Eren and Samruk Kazyna, the sovereign wealth fund, and the KazMunayGaz national oil and gas company.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has released a five-year country partnership strategy (CPS) for Kazakhstan aimed at addressing climate change and decarbonization, promoting inclusive economic growth, and strengthening governance. According to the ADB, Kazakhstan was the first Central Asian country to join ADB, becoming a member in 1994. Since then, the bank has approved more than 6 Bln Usd in government and private sector loans and grants to finance technical assistance.

On June 8-9, it will be held the Astana International Forum, a major international conference aiming to tackle global challenges in foreign policy and international security, climate, food scarcity, and energy security, unveiled keynote speakers among distinguished and influential guests, including heads of state and international leaders. It is possible to attend in streaming, but is required to register by clicking here. Germany shows interest in attracting labour resources from Kyrgyzstan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan reported that during the meeting, the sides considered the issues of developing cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and Germany in the field of training qualified specialists in Kyrgyzstan, their organised employment in Germany, simplifying visa procedures for citizens of Kyrgyzstan arriving in Germany to work and study.

Kazakhstan and Tajikistan sign agreements worth 1.8 Bln Usd. Kazakh and Tajik entrepreneurs signed 39 commercial contracts and agreements at Kazakhstan-Tajik Business Forum on May 3. In 2022, trade between the two countries grew 18.5% to 1.4 Bln Usd, accomplishing the task set by the two countries’ Presidents to increase trade turnover to 1 Bln Usd.

About 30 different documents for the development of cooperation between transport agencies of Turkmenistan and foreign companies were signed on the sidelines of the conference "International Transport and Transit Corridors: interconnection and development - 2023".


Six key agreements inked at EBRD forum in Samarkand. The Ministry of Investment, Industry, and Trade of Uzbekistan has reported that several significant agreements were signed at the EBRD forum in Samarkand, including a joint project with TAQA to construct a combined cycle gas plant with a capacity of up to 1.600 MW worth 1.2 Bln Usd.

Uzbekistan resumes natural gas supplies to China. In 2022, Uzbekistan received 1.07 Bln USD from gas supplies to China, which is slightly less than Kazakhstan. Compared to the previous year, revenue increased by about a third.

Air Products, a US company, has signed a trilateral investment agreement with MIIT and Uzbekneftegaz, the ministerial press service reported. The parties agreed on the development of a natural gas processing complex in the Kashkadarya region, which is part of the Uzbekistan GTL gas processing enterprise. The cost of the project is estimated at 1 Bln Usd.