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The flow of religious tourists who want to visit holy places has been rising in recent years. The Kursiv edition tries to describe how religious tourism is developing and what Uzbekistan can offer to pilgrims.

Visas for Believers

Since 2018 the number of tourists from various Muslim countries has been constantly growing, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sport of the Republic of Uzbekistan. For example, the quantity of guests from Indonesia has risen by 70%, from Malaysia by 58%, from Turkey by 54% and from the UAE by 53%. 
 
Evolving visa regulations play a key role in...

In terms of tourism, Uzbekistan is primarily known for its ancient cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. However, there are several completely new directions available for tourists. Among them are unique historical sights, nature monuments and brand-new cultural sites, which attract travelers from all over the world. The Kursiv edition has prepared a list of the top 10 new routes for traveling across Uzbekistan.

Louvre in the desert

In the autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan, which occupies almost a third of the territory of Uzbekistan, everyone can find something interesting that will match his interests. One of the main centers of...

These days Uzbekistan shows incredible growth in so many sectors of its economy. One of the fastest-growing sectors is tourism. The country is becoming more open, the visa regulations have changed and Uzbekistan, which used to be like a white spot on the map, is now considered an attractive business and travel destination. The combination of all these factors along with huge infrastructural projects creates ideal conditions for MICE tourism. Now, its perspectives in the country are just perfect.

New Direction

The number of all types of international and regional events in Uzbekistan has been growing for several years. Exhibitions...

Atyrau is one of the richest cities in Kazakhstan. It is located in the Western part of the country in an area where the Ural River flows into the Caspian Sea. There are lots of stereotypes about the city, including those about «serious boys,» fish dishes, rich foreigners and bad air. A journalist from Atyrau gives a story about the city within our ongoing project called the Real Kazakhstanby by the Kursiv edition and Chevron.

My name is Farkhad Abilov. I am 24 years old and I work as a journalist for the Ak Zhaik newspaper. Previously, I used to...

The new normal in the post-coronacrisis world is something that no one can ignore. Safety and health protection have turned into top priorities, especially for travel abroad. Now, air travel is starting to rebound but the COVID-19 threat is still there and of course, it’s very important what the government is going to do to protect foreign guests. 
 
Uzbekistan is one of seven countries with the lowest number of COVID-19 cases in the world. In 2021 the country with a population of 34 million people has reported up to 300 cases a day, which is pretty low. In total, Uzbekistan...

Despite being richer with architectural heritage and natural monuments than other Central Asian states (the vast majority of historical monuments are inside big Uzbek cities or near to them), for a long time Uzbekistan couldn’t make any progress in the development of its internal tourism. 
 
However, after the political reforms of 2016-2017, the number of foreign tourists had been steadily increasing: from two million in 2016 to 6.7 million in 2019. If compared with 2010 figures, the growth was sevenfold (592%) which is one of the most impressive results all over the world. 
 
According to the World Bank...

Tourism is a key sector for the entire economy of Uzbekistan and it was nearly suffocated by the COVID-19 crisis. For example, in 2019 the UN World Tourist Organization put the country on the list of five countries with the most dynamic developing tourist industry. The pandemic stopped this fast growth. However, Uzbekistan has been doing its best to support the industry and has never stopped the flow of investments to this sector.
 
The Uzbekistani tourist sector has shown explosive growth since 2018. That year the country simplified its visa regime and the number of foreign tourists surged fourfold...

The opening of regular air travel in Uzbekistan helps the country’s tourism industry to rebound after the coronacrisis. However, getting back to the pre-pandemic level will take some time. According to experts from the World Tourist Organization (UNWTO), this process may last up to four years. In an exclusive interview with the Kursiv edition deputy prime minister, minister of tourism and sport of Uzbekistan, Aziz Abdukhakimov talks about the country’s tourism and the pandemic consequences it has faced.

Despite Quarantine

– What are the consequences of the pandemic for the Uzbekistani tourist sector? 
 
– Coronacrisis and quarantine measures have...

Sappers of the Ministry of Defense of Kyrgyzstan started to work in areas located near the border with Tajikistan to neutralize unexploded ordnance, according to TASS news agency citing the Kyrgyzstan Border Service.

The Kyrgyz authorities called on residents of the Batken region to not panic if they hear the sound of explosions, as the sappers are engaged in the elimination of warheads.

«In the area of Orto-Boz, Batken region, a group of sappers of the Ministry of Defense of the Kyrgyz Republic is working to neutralize all unexploded shells. The situation on the Kyrgyz-Tajik section of the state...

The head of a village with the symbolic name of International was taken hostage by Tajik citizens, according to Interfax news agency citing Ms. Damira Yusupova, the official representative of the Batken region (Kyrgyzstan) police department.

As the official noted, the Tajik military started gathering armored machinery to the Leylek district of the Batken region in Kyrgyzstan.

«Tajik soldiers have broken into houses of the Kyrgyz citizens and taken the head of the International village hostage. The situation at the border between the two countries is still raising concerns,» she said.

The police department of the Leylek district...

On May 16, 2021, the airline Wizz Air Abu Dhabi will open a new flight between Nur-Sultan and Abu-Dhabi with a frequency of two flights a week. On May 22 the air travel from Abu-Dhabi to Almaty will also be available twice a week.

On March 14 during an official visit of Prime Minister Askar Mamin of Kazakhstan to the United Arab Emirates, the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development reached a deal with Wizz Air Abu Dhabi to open new regular air travel to Kazakhstan. Now, this agreement is a legal basis for new routes between the two countries.

A high-profile case on the unrest in the Zhambyl region, which had been considering by Taraz court, is finished, Kazinform news agency reported.

The verdict was announced by the chairman of the court Aydarbek Zambayev. Nineteen defendants were declared guilty; they will spend from five to 17 years in jail. An additional31 people were sentenced to probation from one to five years because they paid for all the damage they’ve done. One defendant was released due to no proof he committed a crime. 

The total damage throughout the conflict is more than $1.8 million.

On February 7, 2020, in the village...

The net profit of the Almaty International Airport plunged to $3 million or 7.2 times over 2020. Earnings per share have also been reduced to $39.27, according to unaudited consolidated accounts of the airport.

The company’s total income has dropped to $101.6 million or by 42% compared to 2019. This income is a result of sales revenue from air fuel, flight catering and other airport services. Gross profit fell to $11.5 million or by 66%.

At the same time expenditures associated with wage payments, utilities, depreciation and amortization, communication services, etc. have surged by 58% or $2.3 million. The administrative...

Since April 26 Kazakhstan is going to reduce the number of flights to Turkey due to the surge in COVID-19 cases in that country.

According to the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan, the Interagency Commission has decided to reduce the frequency of air travel with Turkey to nine flights. The decision will enter into force on April 26.

As of April 20, there are twenty flights between Kazakhstan and Turkey:

•        Nur-Sultan – Istanbul (two flights per week)
•        Nur-Sultan – Antalya (one flight)
•        Almaty – Istanbul (seven flights)
...

Prime Minister Askar Mamin has met with Sunil Mittal, head of the British company One Web. The company is planning to launch its global network of satellites and therefore is interested in cooperation with Kazakhstan, the prime minister’s press service reported.

One Web is creating a global network of satellites at a low orbit to provide access to high-speed internet (5-50 Mb/s). So far, the company has launched 110 satellites. Over the next two years, it’s going to launch another eight satellites from the cosmodrome of Baikonur. There will be 648 satellites in the One Web network in total. All...

In March the oil output in Kazakhstan was 2.6% higher than the quota Kazakhstan has got under the OPEC+ deal aimed to cut off oil production. 

According to the Kazakhstani Ministry of Energy, March’s output was 1.475 million barrels per day while under the quota it should have been 1.437 million barrels. Over the period, Kazakhstan produced 7.3 million tons of oil and gas condensate in total. 

«In summer we are going to do some renovation work at several large projects. Therefore, the deviation from the deal’s obligations will be fully compensated. Kazakhstan won’t violate the OPEC+ deal and...

The bond placement on KASE allows the company to support financially its leasing deals. Freedom Finance was an underwriter and bookrunner of the deal.

According to Freedom Finance representatives, Capital Leasing Group had planned to raise roughly $2.3 million initially. However, given the high demand (about $4.2 million) the company has decided to increase the issuing by 30%. 

According to Sergey Grishin, founder of Capital Leasing Group, these bonds are nominated in tenge and with an interest rate of 18% might be considered as high-yielding assets.

«The vast majority of investors who have shown their interest in our bond...

The volume of the export of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, bitum and liquid petroleum gas will be increasing over 2021-2025, according to the new national project. The goal of the document is to increase the level of business competition in the country. The Agency for Protection and Development of Competition of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which is an authorized body in this field, has published this document to let all interested sides share their views on it. 

The government expects that the new approach will allow businesses to increase sales of gasoline from 57.8 billion tenge ($138 million) in...

Kazakhstan’s government considers the processing industry a key driver of the national economy and has already developed a plan to accelerate its growth.

Despite the crisis of 2020, the processing industry in Kazakhstan managed to keep a positive dynamic and has risen by 3.9%. This is the fourth highest result after the pharmaceutical industry (risen by 47%), machinery manufacturing (16%) and the garment industry (15%).

However, the future of the processing industry in Kazakhstan is not clear because it does not grow as fast as it might be. For example, over the period from 2010 to 2019, it added just...

Two countries are going to explore new gas and oil field in the Caspian Sea named Dostluk together, according to the CentralAsia news agency.

Parliament of Turkmenistan has ratified a memorandum between Ashgabat and Baku on the exploration. As expected, the joint treaty should be signed by presidents Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedow (Turkmenistan) and Ilham Aliev (Azerbaijan). Russia and Turkey are considered as the other two partners of the project.

This agreement means a lot for both countries because they had argued about the field since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The field is located right at the state border between...

On March 13 at 5.20 p.m. an AN-26 aircraft crashed during the landing in Almaty airport. 

The aircraft of Kazakhstan’s Border Service with six people onboard has crashed in an accident while headed from Nur-Sultan to Almaty.   

The National Security Committee (KNB), which is an agency that supervises the Border Service, has confirmed that the plane was registered in the Aviation Service of KNB.

«The KNB Aviation Service AN-26 aircraft crashed while trying to land in Almaty Airport,» the KNB press service reported.

According to the Department of Emergencies, on March 13, 5:25 p.m. the Almaty airport...

In an interview with Kursiv, deputy head of the Digital Innovation & Transformation company Vitaliy Pustovoytenko has told how the company has created the Ashyq app and how long it may work to support the sector of services in Kazakhstan.

At the end of February, chief sanitary doctor Erlan Kiyasov officially approved the mobile application Ashyg for businesses in Nur-Sultan, Almaty and Karaganda. The app’s work is based on a QR code that is assigned to each business whether it is a spa, fitness center, or computer club. In turn, those who come there are obliged to use the app...

Minister of Energy Nurlan Nogaev has announced five new petrochemical plants will be put into operation in Kazakhstan by 2025.

According to the official, the ministry is planning to prepare a national plan on petrochemical industry development this year. The task is to boost the petrochemical industry and make it even more attractive for foreign investors.

Three new factories will be built in the Atyrau region: a polypropylene production plant with the capacity of 500,000 tons of product per year; a technical gas production plant that will produce 57 million cubical meters of azote and 34 million cubical meters of...

The head of the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan Askar Mamin, Energy Minister Nurlan Nogaev, and CEO of KazMunayGaz Alik Aydarbayev have met with Nigel Hearne, president of Eurasia Pacific Exploration and Production in Chevron to discuss the perspectives of oil production, according to the government’s press service. 

American Chevron Corporation is one of the biggest foreign investors in Kazakhstan. The company has shares in three oil projects: Tengiz (50%), Karachaganak (18%) and Caspian Pipeline Consortium (15%).

In 2020 the joint U.S.-Kazakhstani company Tengizchevroil produced 26.5 million tons of crude oil and transferred $6.6 billion to the state budget...