Author: Ashkan

Austrian companies in food, beverage, and industrial equipment sectors are seeking partnerships with Tajikistan. This interest was showcased during meetings with Tajikistan’s Deputy Minister of Industry, Aziz Nazar, and representatives from companies like Esarom GmbH and VORAN Maschinen GmbH. The companies presented their products and expressed a strong desire to collaborate with Tajikistan, recognizing the growing potential for business development. Deputy Minister Nazar highlighted Tajikistan’s industrialization strategy and its alignment with the country’s goals, offering significant opportunities for Austrian businesses in Tajikistan. Tajikistan’s industrial production reached 36.3 billion somoni ($3.4 billion) from January to September 2024, showing a 15.3 percent…

Tajikistan officially banned the hijab, imposing hefty fines in its latest move to curb Islamic influence. The Central Asian nation of Tajikistan officially prohibited the wearing of hijabs and other “alien garments” this week, as the country’s parliament passed a new bill regulating Islamic clothing and Eid celebrations. The bill, approved by the upper house of parliament, Majlisi Milli, on June 19, comes after years of an unofficial clampdown on the hijab in the Muslim-majority country. Under the new law, individuals wearing hijabs or other banned religious clothing could face hefty fines of up to 7,920 somonis (approximately $700). Companies…

On May 16, Radio Ozodi published an article that experts from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) as part of the Dubai Unlocked project found documents indicating that Ikbolkhon Nozirova (Ikhbolkhon Nazirova), the wife of Tajik Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda, owned real estate in Dubai. The day after the publication, on May 17, a letter signed by the “Secretariat of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan” signed by the “Secretariat of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan” was sent to Radio Ozodi by e-mail, apparently belonging to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan,…

The Iranian and Tajik ministers of health have discussed bilateral cooperation in the health sector to manufacture medicines. Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA reports that Iranian Health Minister Bahram Einollahi met with Tajik Minister of Health and Social Protection of the Population Jamoliddin Abdullozoda in Tehran on March 5 on the sidelines of the first international conference on family health. During the meeting, Einollahi reportedly said a new chapter has opened in cooperation with Tajikistan, stressing the importance of forming a joint working group for pursuing bilateral ties in the area of health and other fields. Exchanging students and professors, holding scientific…

Our weekly update on recent developments in Chinese-Russian-Central Asian affairs. Central Asia A report published by Rossiyskaya Gazeta cites a Russian deputy prime minister, Marat Khusnullin, as saying Moscow wants to extend the M-12 highway to China via Mongolia. Currently, the M-12 connects Russia to Kazakhstan. Expansion would facilitate growth in tourism and ground transport, Khusnullin said. Meanwhile, Uzbekistan and Mongolia are in the process of updating an agreement on road and air transport, striving to simplify transit from/to China, the Mongolian National News Agency reports. Uzbek and Mongolian officials agreed in a memorandum of understanding to facilitate the transit of goods not only…

Topographical or topographical groups of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have agreed on the designation of another 24 kilometers of the border. The meeting of the parties took place from November 29 to December 5 this year in Boston, Tajikistan. The official “Khovar” news agency wrote on Tuesday, citing the State Committee for National Security, that “the meeting was held in a friendly atmosphere and a protocol was signed.” The Kyrgyz government published a similar text in a statement and said that “the next meeting will be held in Kyrgyzstan.” From October this year to the second half of November, the topographical groups of…

On November 10, the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon visited the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the aim of participating in the emergency meeting of the heads of the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation . This was reported by the press office of the President of Tajikistan. According to foreign media, the situation in the Middle East will be in the center of discussion at the emergency meeting that will be held tomorrow, Saturday, in Riyadh under the chairmanship of Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. Since the start of hostilities between Hamas and Israel in October…

Ukraine must go on the defensive, since the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ counter-offensive was incorrectly planned and carried out with numerous errors. This opinion was expressed in an interview with the Western press by the former Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Army Reserve General Viktor Muzhenko, who held this position in 2014-2019. According to the retired military commander, the counteroffensive was carried out despite the lack of a numerical advantage in personnel and an adequate concentration of troops. Offensive operations require significant superiority in forces over the enemy. The Armed Forces of Ukraine did not have it, Muzhenko…

The price of liquefied gas, which most cars use in Tajikistan, has become more and more expensive. Some gas stations, such as Gazprom, have been without gas for several days and their tanks are empty. At other gas stations, one liter of liquid gas costs 7 to 7.5 somoni. It was about three somoni at the beginning of August this year. Fuel traders did not tell the reason for the sudden increase in gas prices in front of the camera. Representatives of the Antimonopoly Service of Tajikistan called the situation “temporary”. As always, residents are worried about the consequences of high gas prices. “Gas…

Most of the superpower countries have established cooperation with the countries of Central Asia in the “C5+1” format. In particular, the leaders of five countries met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz and US President Joe Biden in September of this year in the format of “C5+1” (Five countries plus one). Until thirty years ago, five Central Asian countries were part of the Soviet Union, and after that Russia tried to keep them under its influence. Gleb Kovalenko, the deputy executive director of the Lomonosov University branch in Moscow, said on October 30 in Dushanbe at the summit of achievements and…