Author: Umit Marlenova

Northern Elders showing Buyer’s Remorse for Backing Tinubu in 2023 It seems unthinkable that the wealthy and powerful cattle-herding class could be on the margins of President Bola Tinubu’s ruling clique, but it’s thinkable now. During the eight years of Fulani-born Muhammadu Buhari, the beef-on-the hoof lobby called Miyetti Allah Cattlemen’s Association marched vast herds of bony white cattle the length of the nation over lands public and private with impunity. The herds and their rifle-carrying herders uprooted thousands of small plot farms and sent thousands of civilians to their graves in so-called farmer-herder clashes. During those years, the killers…

ASTANA – Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko outlined major achievements in the Kazakh-German partnership and focused on the main areas of Kazakhstan’s policy in innovative development of the economy and commercialization of scientific work in his welcoming speech at the 39th meeting of the Berlin Eurasian Club (BEC) on Dec. 14, reported the ministry’s press service. “The positive dynamics of trade turnover clearly shows the mutual attraction of our economies. Kazakhstan has three factors of attraction: diversified energy sources, significant natural resources, transit and transportation potential, not to mention many other advantages. We have good opportunities to increase the…

Frankfurt (18/12 – 14) That there are remarkable advantages in being ignored is not generally recognized. Central Asian countries, historically under the thumb of Moscow, all through the 70+ years of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, were more or less cut off from the outside world. There was little trade or other exchange. The USSR was in fact a grab-bag of ethnicities, religions and languages, controlled with an iron fist by Stalin and afterwards with unbroken dominance through subsequent regimes. Under Soviet management, Central Asia had stayed poor and ignored; it had not developed any hydrocarbon resources to lure…

ASTANA – Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu engaged in discussions with Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó on Nov. 21 in Budapest, exploring avenues for strengthening Kazakh-Hungarian cooperation, reported the ministry’s press service. The discussion centered on cooperation in political, trade, economic, and cultural-humanitarian spheres and collaboration within international and regional organizations. “Hungary is our close ally, as well as the only country in the Central and Eastern Europe that has established a strategic partnership with us. We are united not only by political and economic interests, but also by common historical roots,…

ASTANA — Kazakhstan remains steadfast in its commitment to expand cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to safeguard cultural and natural heritage, said State Counselor Erlan Karin during a Nov. 7 meeting with UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay in Paris on the sidelines of the 42nd session of the UNESCO General Conference, the Akorda press service reported. Karin highlighted the significance of the ongoing research carried out by the Central Asian Regional Glaciological Center in Almaty under UNESCO’s auspices, particularly amid the increasingly adverse impact of climate change. Karin appreciated UNESCO’s decision to elevate the status…

Paris (08/11 – 75) Sri Lanka’s economic and political crisis of 2022 left the country bankrupt. Ranil Wickremesinghe took over as President of Sri Lanka in July 2022 when the country was in the middle of its worst economic and political crisis since independence in 1948. His predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, had been forced out of power after facing mass protests prompted by 12-hour power cuts and persistent fuel and food shortages. The nation was bankrupt.Wickremesinghe brought in the International Monetary Fund and has focused on reaching macroeconomic stability and driving tough but much-needed structural reforms. Today, as Sri Lanka embarks…

London (04/11 – 50) US government last week intervened in a lawsuit triggered by Hamilton Reserve Bank in St Kitts & Nevis. Somehow, a small bank based in a county with 50,000 inhabitants and GDP of under $1billion has amassed a $250million face-value stake in a Sri Lankan bond. The mysterious ‘global financier’ aka cunning vulture investor, Benjamin Wey is suing Sri Lanka. This specific bond was issued in happier times in 2012 and lacks some now-common clauses that make bonds easier to restructure. HRB’s $250million is enough in theory to veto any restructuring proposal Sri Lanka makes to that…

ASTANA – Kazakh boxer Janibek Alimkhanuly secured the International Boxing Federation (IBF) middleweight title, adding to his World Boxing Organization (WBO) title, after he defeated Germany’s Vincenzo Gualtieri on Oct. 14 in Rosenberg, Texas, Alimkhanuly announced on his X (former Twitter) account. Alimkhanuly, 30, delivered a breathtaking left uppercut to the chin in the fifth round before knocking out Gualtieri after one minute and 25 seconds of the sixth round. “I can’t celebrate until I have all four belts! I need WBC [World Boxing Council] and WBA [World Boxing Association] titles! Let’s do it in February! I’m not interested in…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s economy expanded by 4.9% in January-August, including a 4.4% growth in the real sector and a 4.8% increase in the service sector, Deputy Minister of National Economy Azamat Amrin announced at a government meeting on Sept. 13, according to the Prime Minister’s press service.   Positive dynamics were observed in the main industries, with the most significant growth in construction, trade, information, and communications. “The growth rate of investment in fixed capital was 12.2%. The influx of investments increased in transport and warehousing by 49%, education by 31.9%, trade by 30.1%, agriculture by 20.7%, and industry by 8.5%,…

ASTANA — Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic conducted special tactical exercises involving armed forces units at the Edelweiss training ground in Balykchy town of Issyk-Kul region, reported the Kazakh Defense Ministry on Aug. 23. The participants carried out joint actions of forces for the rapid deployment and execution of joint combat and special tasks, focusing on scenarios involving terrorist threats and the maintenance of military security in the Central Asian region. Kazakh Defense Minister Colonel General Ruslan Zhaksylykov and Kyrgyz Defense Minister Lieutenant General Baktybek Bekbolotov observed the active phase of the exercises. The exercises, which were attended by more…