Energy and Economy 

 

Tajik Digital Communications Provider Signs $30 Million Deal with Asian Development Bank

The deal will provide the Indigo Tajikistan Closed Joint Stock Company (Tcell) financing to further develop the quality and range of Tajikistan’s mobile connectivity, with an emphasis on constructing infrastructure with energy-efficiency to boost rural telecommunications. This loan to Tcell, which is Tajikistan’s top digital communications provider, marks the first of its kind that the Asian Development Bank has sent. 

Source: Asian Development Bank

Dushanbe Invest-2025 Forum Brings $3 Billion in Investment Commitments to Tajikistan

At the Dushanbe Invest-2025 Forum, Tajikistan signed 26 agreements collectively amounting to $3.12 billion. The agreements cover key strategic sectors, including energy, industry, and communications, with energy accounting for the largest portion of the investments with $2.4 billion. The country also signed industrial projects worth $386 million and communications contracts worth $333.5 million. 

Source: The Astana Times

Kyrgyzstan Requests Extra Fuel Supplies from Russia at Preferential Rates

Kyrgyzstan has asked Russia to increase its annual duty-free fuel quota, seeking an extra 100,000 tons of diesel and 60,000 tons of aviation kerosene. The negotiations are still ongoing with Russia yet to give its answer. Under an existing bilateral agreement, Russia is already supplying Kyrgyzstan with 1.2 million tons of duty-free fuel and lubricants. Earlier, Deputy Energy Minister Nasipbek Kerimov stated that Kyrgyzstan had proposed to Russia to increase this year’s preferential fuel quotas.

Source: The Caspian Post

Gazprom and Kazakhstan sign a deal for cross-border pipeline

Russia's Gazprom and the Kazakhstan Government have signed a memorandum to build a major natural gas pipeline linking two countries. The agreement is aimed at meeting Kazakhstan’s rising domestic demand and deepening energy cooperation. A pipeline with an initial capacity of 10 billion cubic meters per year will be integrated with Russia’s federal transports plan. Both sides have also agreed on long-term processing of Kazakh gas from Karachaganak field at Russia’s Orenburg Gas Processing Plant. 

Source: Pipeline Technology Journal

Politics and Security

 

Kazakh Officials Meet with U.S. Members of Congress to Lift Jackson-Vanik Amendment

During their visit to the United States, a group of Kazakhstan officials, led by Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin, lobbied U.S. congressmen hoping to accelerate the undoing of the Jackson-Vanik amendment against Kazakhstan. The move aims to expand Kazakhstan’s bilateral trade with the United States and open investment into key sectors, such as critical minerals and logistics infrastructure. The amendment was passed during the Cold War originally to limit trade with communist countries that restricted emigration, specifically Jewish emigration, but it has now morphed to cover human rights in general.  While Congress has lifted the restriction on other former Eastern Bloc states, it still applies to five former Soviet republics, including Kazakhstan.

Source: Eurasianet

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan Start Military Exercises in Uzbekistan

On October 14, large-scale joint military exercises involving units from the defense ministries of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan commenced at Kattakurgan training ground in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The joint exercises, entitled Unity-2025 (“Birlik-2025”) are aimed at enhancing military cooperation and partnership in the face of growing geopolitical tensions and crises worldwide, as well as the emergence of new threats and challenges. The exercises consist of three stages, including strengthening the protection and defense of the state border,  and searching, localizing, and destroying illegal armed formations. Samarkand will also host the meeting of the defense ministers of Central Asia and Azerbaijan.

Source: Tashkent Times, Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan

Head of Sputnik Azerbaijan Released from Custody and Returned to Russia

Igor Kartavykh, who leads the Russian state-media outlet’s office in Baku, returned to Russia on October 19 after Azerbaijani forces raided the office and arrested him. The arrest of Kartavykh was seen as a direct response to the Russian downing of an Azerbaijani commerical jet in December 2024 and the deaths of two Azerbaijani migrants in Russia during a police raid. 

Source: OC Media

President Ilham Aliyev Arrives in Kazakhstan for State Visit 

On October 20, President Ilham Aliyev landed in Kazakhstan to meet with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The two leaders are expected to engage in high-level talks on trade, energy, logistics, and increased cooperation within the Organization of Turkic States. Pursuing stronger economic ties and investment opportunities, Aliyev and Tokayev are also expected to attend the Supreme Interstate Council of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan and the Kazakh-Azerbaijani Business Forum.

 

Source: Azertag, The Astana Times

Kazakhstan Appoints New Ambassador to the United States

On October 20, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a decree appointing Magzhan Ilyassov as Kazakhstan’s ambassador to the United States. Magzhan Ilyassov was relieved of his duties as the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, as well as the country’s ambassador to Iceland.

Source: Kazinform

Astana Think Tank Forum Concludes

On October 15-16, Kazakhstan’s capital hosted the Astana Think Tank Forum, bringing together leading scholars, diplomats, and policymakers from the United States to Eurasia, to “explore practical ways to rebuild trust and strengthen cooperation in an increasingly fragmented world.” The event, organized by the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies (KazISS), featured remarks from Magzum Mirzagaliyev, the Kazakh President’s advisor; Yerzhan Ashikbayev, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan; and others. President of CPC Efgan Nifti, and Senior Fellow Dr. Eric Rudenshiold were also among distinguished panelists.

Source: The Astana Times