The Parliamentof Kyrgyzstan has approved a new structure of the Government, which will include two new committees while two ministries will be renamed.

UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai Rifai addressed four points which he deemed imperative for the growth of tourism in Kyrgyzstan.

Centerra strongly disputes claims of the State Inspectorate for Environmental and Technical Safety and the State Agency for Environment and Forestry Protection of the Kyrgyz Republic and considers them without merit.

Project “Made with Italy in Kyrgyzstan” was submitted to the Economy Ministry of Kyrgyzstan, the CCI and business associations such as the International Business Council (IBC), Bishkek Business Club, and JIA Business Association.

"Business has always faced problems and will face them in the future. It is important how the Government responds to them" Executive Director of the International Business Council Temirbek Azhykulov said at a meeting of Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan with the business community.

The economic development and investment growth depend not only on the willingness and capacity of the state and business, but also on the social and political situation in the country. Any turmoil significantly worsens the investment image of Kyrgyzstan.

As oil prices continue to concern governments and oil producers around the world, Kazakhstan has stated that it will plough on with plans to increase its oil output, provided that the price per barrel remains above $40. Meanwhile, Turkmenistan has started to transport gas via the East-West pipeline and has launched work to construct a plant for producing gasoline using natural gas. Kyrgyzstan has hosted a forum to boost its work on developing small hydro energy projects, with participants from South Korea, China and Turkey also in attendance.

The study was conducted by SSG Advisors in cooperation with International Business Council (IBC) and JIA Business Association under Construction Materials Value Chain Program of the USAID Business Growth Initiative (BGI) Project, implemented by Deloitte Consulting LLP.

Mirroring Kazakhstan’s ongoing privatisation programme, Uzbekistan is hoping to raise $437 million in privatisation deals as early as this summer, with the sale of state-owned assets in 55 enterprises. In a new entry to the Central Asian market, food giant McDonald’s has announced that it will finally open a branch in Astana, whilst the EBRD has allocated $103 million to rebuilding a key Kazakh highway that connects Astana and Almaty. In Turkmenistan, the Turkmenbashi port is entering a significant period of renovation and modernisation, with plans afoot to modernise the Polypropylene terminal and also build a shipyard with the capacity to process 10,000 tonnes of steel per year.

At a meeting with officials from the London Stock Exchange and Barclays, a representative of the Kazakh Central Bank, Maria Khajiyeva, outlined the bank’s strategy of relaxing regulations, such as the requirement to set up an office in Kazakhstan, and offering stakes in some of its biggest companies in order to attract international stock investors. Meanwhile, in a visit to Moscow, Iran signed $40 billion worth of deals for projects including nuclear power construction and railways, as European banks discuss establishing branches in Tehran. In Kyrgyzstan, the government is planning to offer its shares of Alpha Telecom CJSC for sale through an auction.

The European Commission has apparently informed the Kyrgyz government that the country has received “GSP+” status, which means that Kyrgyzstan will now be able to export goods to the EU without paying customs duties on exported goods, in a move that could boost the country’s exports to the West. In Kazakhstan, a new steel factory is set to be built and President Nazarbayev has announced his government’s plans to meet the internal market’s demand for domestic oil products by 2018. Meanwhile, Iran’s trade ties continue to boom as two German chemical companies are ready to spend between €4 billion and €8 billion on developing petrochemical projects in the country, whilst Iran considers spending its recently unfrozen $100 billion on investments and projects abroad in order to avoid raising inflation rates.