Author: Farkhad Mirzaev

Since January 2024, Uzbekistan has received six billion cubic meters of water from Kyrgyzstan, according to Kyrgyz Deputy Minister of Water Management, Agriculture, and Industry, Almazbek Sokeev. The water flow into Uzbekistan came through the Norin, Sokh, and Aqboira rivers, along with reclamation canals. During this period, Kazakhstan also received 558 million cubic meters of water from Kyrgyzstan, with two-thirds of this amount sourced from the Kirov Reservoir in the Talas Region. Water withdrawals from Central Asian rivers are governed by interstate agreements. In March 2024, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan agreed to install cross-border water meters to monitor usage. In April,…

North Korean soldiers have been filmed receiving uniforms and equipment at a training ground in Russia’s far east, appearing to confirm reports from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) that 1,500 soldiers have been shipped over for military training to be deployed in Ukraine. The North Korean troops are thought to be receiving training before being sent to the front line in Ukraine, in what is thought to be a clear sign of the ever-warming relations between Moscow and Pyongyang. In a video shared with CNN by Ukrainian government organization the Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security, a long line of…

Washington/Vienna/Berlin (10/8 – 45.45)After a tip-off by U.S. intelligence officials and only a few hours left Austrian police made swift arrests. The plot seems too bizarre not to be true. Abul Baraa, aka Ahmad Armih, the German based hate-preacher in Berlin radicalized via Tik-tok or Istagram a 19-year Beran A. to swear the oath of alliance to the Islamic State. After a tip-off by U.S. intelligence officials and only a few hours left Austrian police made swift arrests. The plot seems too bizarre not to be true. Abul Baraa, aka Ahmad Armih, the German based hate-preacher in Berlin radicalized via…

The telecoms regular admitted in November that a staggering 95 percent of the country’s territory is covered by only outdated 2G mobile connections. Following up on a recent pledge to drastically improve internet services, Tajikistan’s communications regulator has begun working with several international companies to overhaul core infrastructure. The most notable conversation is happening with China’s Huawei. In the first half of December, the Tajik government and the Chinese company’s local representative office, Huawei Technologies Tajikistan, signed a memorandum of cooperation that will see the latter take the lead in a project to upgrade or install 7,600 base stations envisioned as the…

Officials from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan say the two countries agreed on another 24 kilometers of the border between the two former Soviet republics after special talks on the issue were held over the past week. Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security said on December 5 that the talks were held in the northern town of Buston, near the Kyrgyz border.According to the Kyrgyz government, the next round of talks regarding other parts of the border will be held on Kyrgyzstan’s territory on a day that is still to be determined.The delimitation and demarcation of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border has been an issue for decades,…

Attacks on journalists have become a frequent occurrence in Tajikistan in recent years. Why are those responsible for attacks on journalists remain unpunished? Berlin (23/11 – 67) November 2 is the “International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists”. The date was chosen in commemoration of the assassination in Mali of Claude Verlon and Ghislaine Dupont, two French journalists, on November 2, 2013. The 2023 observance seeks to raise awareness of the main challenges faced by journalists and communicators in the exercise of their profession, and to warn of the escalation of violence and repression against them. Attacks on…

At the last Central Asian Tourism Forum in Samarkand, the World Tourism Organization expressed its approval and readiness to support the Kyrgyz As a Nomad project. The authors of the project reported. As a Nomad is a rapidly growing network of yurt glamping sites (camping with all amenities) along the Silk Road. To date, the network includes seven glamping sites in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Russia. The aim of the project is to create modern authentic tourism infrastructure on the Silk Road and to develop sustainable and responsible tourism products. Director for Technical Cooperation on the Silk Road, Jaime Mayaki, noted that this private sector initiative would be supported by UNWTO and other interested international organizations. The project was presented by a thought leader…

At least 14 falcons were released in Kolotu Gorge, International Village, Issyk-Ata district of Kyrgyzstan, as part of a project to return rare birds to nature. The organizers of the event — World Nomad Union company and Tilad Environmental Consultancy Co Ltd organization from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — , Azernews reports, citing 24.kg News Agency. It is noted that the release process was carefully prepared and carried out in accordance with the developed protocol by the project specialists. Employees of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Kyrgyz Republic and the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic are…

Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Bakyt Torobaev, as part of a visit to the Junda oil refinery in the city of Kara-Balta, Chui region, met with experts from the working group that arrived in Kyrgyzstan from China to work on the restoration and modernization of the plant. Bakyt Torobaev noted that during a recent visit to Shaanxi province (PRC), an agreement was reached to intensify work aimed at launching the Junda plant. “We are interested in the speedy launch of the plant; all measures will be taken on the Kyrgyz side to resolve problematic issues,” said Bakyt Torobaev.…

The head of Kyrgyzstan’s security services revealed in a speech on October 19 that the government has spent over $2bn on bolstering the state security apparatus, in part to prevent popular uprisings of the kind that ushered him into office. Kamchybek Tashiyev said in the speech, which he delivered at the inauguration of new premises for a local branch of the State Committee for National Security, or GKNB, in Kara-Balta, a city in the northern Chui region, that the investment was aimed at “bolstering the strength and power of the state”. He refrained from explaining how this spending was being funded.…