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Central Asia

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

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

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

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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How Kazakhstan is dealing with integration of AI into education

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

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

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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A closer look at political developments in Kazakhstan

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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