Central Asia – European Neighbourhood Monitor

International NGOs Call for Pakistan’s Suspension Over Human Rights Violations

Seventeen leading international human rights organisations have jointly called upon the Commonwealth Heads of Government – who met in Samoa last week – to suspend Pakistan’s membership, citing the country’s poor record on human rights, particularly drawing attention to its blasphemy laws. This group of NGOs argues that the Commonwealth, as an organisation founded on […]

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Kazakhstan referendum approves nuclear energy development

Central Asia / ENM

More than 70% of voters in Kazakhstan have expressed support for new nuclear energy projects, according to preliminary results from the country’s Central Election Commission. In Sunday’s referendum, which saw a 63% voter turnout, 71.12% of the 7.8 million participants answered “yes” to the question: “Do you agree with the construction of a nuclear power

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EU and Kyrgyzstan sign Enhanced Partnership Agreement

Central Asia / ENM

On June 25, the European Union and the Kyrgyz Republic signed an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA) in Brussels, marking a significant milestone in their bilateral relations. This Agreement establishes a new legal framework to enhance political dialogue and deepen cooperation across a variety of mutually beneficial areas. The EPCA encompasses trade and investment,

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A closer look at Mongolia’s anti-corruption drive

Central Asia / ENM

In a paper for the European Foundation for Democracy, Holger Loewendorf, a senior advisor at the think tank, takes a closer look at Mongolia and how its rule of law is progressing. He writes: “Following a peaceful revolution in 1990, Mongolia has transitioned to a multi-party electoral democracy with institutionalized political rights and civil liberties.

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Germany and Kazakhstan: A win-win relationship

Central Asia / ENM

By Thomas Matussek, Germany’s Former Ambassador to the UK, the UN and India This week, the World Bank announced it would expand the Resilient and Inclusive Supply-chain Enhancement initiative in Central Asia, with the aim of further improving the region’s capacity to produce, refine and transport key resources and minerals. This news has once again

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How Kazakhstan is dealing with integration of AI into education

Central Asia / ENM

Guest post by Kusto Group, reflecting comments delivered by their Chairman, Yerkin Tatishev, at the 31st CEEMAN Conference Geopolitically, Kazakhstan currently finds itself in an intriguing position. The country is grappling with the most significant conflict of our time in Eastern Europe, which is having a direct impact on Kazakhstan. Furthermore, Kazakhstan is actively

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Kazakhstan rejects offer to join a union with Russia

Central Asia / ENM

In an interview with Russia media, Belarusian President Alexandr Lukashenko has stated that if another country wanted to join a Russian-Belarusian union, there could be “nuclear weapons for everyone”. Russia and Belarus are formally part of a Union State, a borderless union and alliance between the two former Soviet republics. Under that alliance, Russia has

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Kazakhstan seizes Russian space flight infrastructure in Baikonur

Central Asia / ENM

Kazakhstan has seized the property of the Center for the Operation of Terrestrial Space Infrastructure operating in Baikonur, a subsidiary of Roscosmos, and intends to recover from it a debt of 13.5 billion tenge ($26.3 million), AKI Press reports, adding that the head of the company is forbidden to leave the country. 🇰🇿⚡🇷🇺 Russian pro-Kremlin

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Kazakhstan’s oil supply to the EU under threat?

Central Asia / ENM

Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) was ordered last week by a Russian court to suspend its operations, citing environmental arguments, meaning that Kazakhstan annual supply of 67 million tons of oil through Russia to Europe is under threat. This was only two days after President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev told Council President Charles Michel his country is ready

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A closer look at political developments in Kazakhstan

Central Asia / ENM

In Kazakhstan, a clear majority of voters approved constitutional amendments proposed by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in a referendum earlier this month. The reforms for more decentralisation of decision-making in the oil-rich country, as well as stripping former strongman Nursultan Nazarbayev of his “national leader” status. Turnout was 68.06% and 77.18% of Sunday’s votes were

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