Author: Mannon Hasanov

Paris, Washington (13/7 – 50) Kenes Rakishev (Keñes Hamitūly Raqyşev) aka Kenges Rakishev is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, former special envoy for Kazakhstan, head of the Kazakh boxing federation, a family man, and most importantly, a man of success. Under Kenges Rakishev’s leadership, the Kazakh female and male boxing squad leaped considerable forward and secured the top ranking in the recent boxing championship putting Kazakhstan boxing squarely in the top ranking in the world. A total of 21 medals were won by the Kazakhstan’s boxers – a tally of six gold, seven silver and eight bronze – and all were honoured…

The USMNT have confirmed that they will take on both Uzbekistan and Oman in September. The first game will take place on September 9, with the latter to be played three days later, and they will make the first fixtures under the management of Berhalter since his return to the USMNT fold. He is set to take over after the Gold Cup concludes. THE BIGGER PICTURE: Both Asian sides have qualified for the 2023 Asian Cup and are preparing for the tournament by lining up warm-up friendlies. They will each travel to the US; the Uzbekistan fixture will be played in St Louis,…

Libya’s state-owned oil company, the National Oil Corporation (NOC), had established last month a new program office, but multiple foreign press reports claim that one of the staff running the office is embroiled in a major fraud case in Kazakhstan. Peter Sztyk, a Canadian lawyer and entrepreneur who also goes by the name “Petro”, has joined a group of foreign consultants who will manage the Office of Strategic Programs, which the NOC inaugurated in February 15 during a meeting with local oil industry executives in Benghazi. Who is Peter Sztyk? The Canadian lawyer graduated in 1993 from Concordia University with bachelor in…

On track to become one of the world’s larget renewable energy companies, Masdar has announced its joint development agreement (JDA) with Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy (MoE) and the Ministry of Investments, Industry and Trade (MIIT).  The JDA will see Masda develop over 2GW of solar and wind projects and 500 megawatt-hours of battery energy storage at multiple sites across Central Asia, deepening the relationship between Masdar and Uzbekistan. Central Asia is a strategic destination for Masdar being abundant in wind and sunshine. “The UAE is fully committed to supporting countries to decarbonize. Uzbekistan is a key strategic partner, and we…

A stable and peaceful Afghanistan is in the interests of all members of the international community, and the country should be a venue for international cooperation rather than a stage for geopolitical rivalries, foreign ministers of China, Russia, Pakistan and Iran stressed at the Second informal Meeting on Afghanistan in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on Thursday. The ministers reiterated respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Afghanistan, and support for the “Afghan-led, Afghan-owned” principle to determine the country’s political future and development path, according to a joint statement issued upon the meeting, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday. The…

Europe’s leading scientists have warned “alarming” climate change will lead to heatwaves becoming longer and heat stress threatening lives, following the continent’s warmest ever recorded summer. Soaring temperatures across much of the world in recent weeks are a harbinger of extreme heatwaves to come this summer, with Thailand, New York, and Central Asia already feeling the effects in April. Thailand broke its all-time record of 45C in recent days, with nearby Laos following suit almost hitting 43C. A health warning was issued to Thai citizens that reaching what felt like 50C was a possibility in Bangkok as humidity was factored…

ASTANA – Trade turnover between Central Asian countries and China grew by 31.9 percent over the year and exceeded $32 billion in 2022. This was announced by Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Integration Serik Zhumangarin during an April 18 online meeting to address the upcoming China+Central Asia (C+C5) Summit in the Chinese city of Xi’an in May, which will be held for the first time, reported the ministry’s press service. Trade and Economy Ministers of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan attended the meeting. According to Zhumangarin, trade between Kazakhstan and China reached a…

China and five Central Asian countries have vowed to further enhance their trade and investment cooperation. Commerce ministers from the six nations met earlier via video link. Huang Yue has more. China and the five Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – agreed to establish the mechanism of the China+Central Asia Summit last year. The first one is expected to be held in China next month. The commerce ministers of the five Central Asian countries agreed to sign a series of cooperation agreements during the upcoming summit. Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said China and the…

The party of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has endorsed bids by Finland and Sweden to join the NATO alliance, the Fidesz party’s parliamentary faction said on March 1. “We will provide our support to Finland and Sweden’s NATO accession,” Fidesz said. The party, together with a junior partner, controls over two-thirds of the seats in Hungary’s parliament. The statement came as lawmakers opened a long-delayed debate on ratifying the entry of the two Nordic countries, which applied to join the 30-member alliance last year after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Lawmakers are expected to take a final vote in…

The continuous Russia-Ukraine conflict has overturned global calculations about supply routes. Therefore, geo-economic realignments are visible globally, as infrastructure projects previously thought unfeasible are now making progress. In this backdrop, the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan Railway Corridor, also called Trans-Afghan Railway Project, is also gathering momentum. In fact, Uzbekistan has prioritized to diversify its supply routes and increase volumes of Euro-Asian trade by getting access to Pakistan’s seaports of Karachi, Gowadar and Qasim. Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan have already signed in February 2021, a US$ 4.8 billion railway project that is likely to bolster trade relations between Pakistan and South Asia. The proposed…