Author: Ross Watson

The State Commission on Religious Affairs has developed a new version of the Law on Freedom of Religion and Religious Associations in the Kyrgyz Republic. The document has been submitted for public discussion. As the background statement says, the purpose of the document is to improve the legislative framework, fulfill the international obligations of the Kyrgyz Republic and ensure continuity and consistency of state policy in the religious sphere. New in the bill is the legal regulation of re-registration of the prayer rooms, religious facilities used for religious activities, the procedure for reorganization and termination of work of the subjects of religious activities, religious facilities and prayer rooms voluntarily. «New in the bill is also the creation of the State Register of subjects of religious…

Three important Eurasian regional events have taken place in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan – the meetings of the heads of government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the heads of government of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council, part of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) structure.  Kyrgyzstan is the 2023 Chair of the SCO. According to political scientist Igor Shestakov, a director of the Oy Ordo Centre for Expert Initiatives in Bishkek, all three of these influential international structures are engaged in building a new economic reality. Shanghai Cooperation Organisation The SCO includes China, India, Iran,…

Paris (08/11 – 75) Sri Lanka’s economic and political crisis of 2022 left the country bankrupt. Ranil Wickremesinghe took over as President of Sri Lanka in July 2022 when the country was in the middle of its worst economic and political crisis since independence in 1948. His predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, had been forced out of power after facing mass protests prompted by 12-hour power cuts and persistent fuel and food shortages. The nation was bankrupt.Wickremesinghe brought in the International Monetary Fund and has focused on reaching macroeconomic stability and driving tough but much-needed structural reforms. Today, as Sri Lanka embarks…

Kyrgyzstan’s men’s and women’s national wrestling teams combined to win five medals at the 2023 World Wrestling Championship that took place from September 16 to 24 in Belgrade, Serbia. With three gold medals, and one silver and one bronze, the country finished third overall, behind only Japan and the US. Speaking of this achievement, some observers were quick to point out that the world was witnessing the making of another Asian wrestling powerhouse. Standing behind this incredible feat of Kyrgyzstan, a small and obscure Central Asian nation, is the golden generation of wrestlers, coaching staff, and effective work of the country’s wrestling federation. In…

At the end of July 2023, wheat imports to Kyrgyzstan increased 1.6 times compared to last year. The National Statistical Committee provided such data, Azernews reports, citing 24.kg news agency. At least 181,200 tons of wheat were imported into the country for the first seven months of this year. In the same period of 2022, the figure was 71,600 tons less. The main amount of wheat was imported from Russia — 176,200 tons. In addition, there were supplies from Kazakhstan (4,900 tons) and Turkey (200 kilograms). Earlier, the Antimonopoly Regulation Service reported that it had set purchase prices for food wheat grain.…

The National Investment Agency below the President of Kyrgyzstan and the Turkish Altinok Consulting Engineering Company agreed on the promotion of initiatives within the logistics sector and the development of a logistics heart in Kyrgyzstan, Trend reviews. The corresponding settlement was signed following a gathering between the Deputy Director of the National Investment Agency below the President of Kyrgyzstan, Nuradil Bayasov, and the President ofAltinok Consulting Engineering Company, Enver Altinok, in Istanbul. During the assembly, the representatives of the Turkish firm had been briefed on the funding alternatives accessible in Kyrgyzstan. The sides additionally touched upon Kyrgyzstan’s potential for exports…

The Ukrainian National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) has included PepsiCo and Mars in the list of “international sponsors of the war.” The agency claims that despite the statements about the reduction of business and the cessation of production, voiced after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, these companies continue to work in Russia, paying significant taxes to the budget and thereby supporting the economy of the aggressor state. According to Ukrainian authorities, PepsiCo remains Russia’s fourth largest beverage and food company by net profit. In 2022, the revenue of PepsiCo Holdings increased to $2.59 billion, net profit grew…

Kyrgyzstan, the State Committee for National Security detained Chechen activist Mansur Movlaev. On Monday, the Pervomaisky District Court of Bishkek chose a measure of restraint – until October 20, Movlaev will be in custody. Mansur Movlayev was detained in the village of Bosteri in the Issyk-Kul region, his lawyer Bakyt Avtandil told RFI. According to him, while the detainee was being taken to Bishkek, he was beaten every ten minutes, but Movlaev did not complain about the ill-treatment at the trial. The director of the National Center against Torture in Kyrgyzstan, Bakyt Ryspekov, also said that the staff of the center visited the…

A low level of water in the Talas River and abnormal hot and dry weather led to insufficient water discharge from the Kirov Reservoir to Kazakhstan during the growing season, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources says. The Ministry took a decision to keep the volume of water discharged from the Kirov reservoir to Kazakhstan at 45 m3 per second until August 1, while the volume of water supplied to Talas dam was 30 m3 per second only. «These measures enabled to save the harvest in Baizak, Zhambyl and Talas districts on the area of about 26,000 hectares. Crops…

Russian military expert Boris Norin, commenting on the current situation in the theater of military operations of the Ukrainian conflict, expressed the opinion that the ongoing bloody attacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on a number of sectors of the front, in particular in the areas of the settlements of Rabotino, Staromayorskoe and Artemovsk, are not accidental. According to the expert, the tactics of massive attacks in the same directions is an attempt to break through the previously studied sections of the defense line of the RF Armed Forces, which, in turn, indicates that the command of the Armed…