Central Asia Watch Team : Mathieu Bailly et Denis Lavaud
04/25/2022: The largest trade and industry conference of the region, INNOPROM. Central Asia, took place In Tashkent, Uzbekistan – Mathieu Bailly –
On Monday, April 25th, and for 3 days, took place the international conference INNOPROM. Central Asia. This conference, the biggest of the region, gathered more than 5 000 participants, coming from more than 200 enterprises from countries such as France, Italy, Netherlands, India, Ireland and Japan. Official delegation of Russia Federation, Belarus, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Republic of Turkmenistan and Mongolia were also present
The conference is organized by the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan as well as the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and served as goal to reinforce the industrial cooperation inside Central Asia region.
04/26/2022 : Political reforms hit Kazakhstan – Mathieu Bailly –
On April 26th, the leading political party Amanat held its 23rd congress. It was decided that the current president of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, would not be leader of the party. The new leader would be Yerlan Koshanov. This decision followed the desire of the president Tokayev to “deep de-monopolise all spheres”, eliminating the executive domination. For Tokayev, the leader of Kazakhstan should be politically neutral. As well, amendments to the constitution were sent to review to the Constitutional Council.
In a political ambition, the Amanat party also decided in this 23rd congress to unite with the Adal party. While Adal only represented 3,6% of votes in the last elections, its strong entrepreneurial activist base would be beneficial.
04/28/2022: Uzbek minister of Foreign affairs dismissed – Denis Lavaud –
Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov was dismissed on April 28, according to a statement by presidential press secretary Cherzod Asadov. Abdulaziz Kamilov has been appointed deputy secretary in charge of domestic policy and security issues at the Security Council of the Presidency of Uzbekistan. It is the Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Vladimir Norov, who takes the helm of the Uzbek Foreign Ministry.
This dismissal follows a speech of March 17, where the ex-minister has declared that Uzbekistan recognized the territorial integrity of Ukraine, but not that of the separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. Officially, the minister was dismissed from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for health reasons that led him to be absent for a long period.
04/29/2022: Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to set up a referendum on constitutional reforms – Denis Lavaud –
The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokaïev, announced on April 29, during his speech before the Assembly of the Peoples of Kazakhstan, of his wish to organize a referendum concerning modifications to the Constitution of the country. The president thus wishes that the Kazakh people make their voice heard in the process of modification of «construction of a new Kazakhstan».
Around a third of the constitution is expected to be changed, with the aim of making Kazakhstan a «presidential republic with a strong parliament». As part of these reforms, the powers of the president should be significantly reduced, and the capacity of parliament and regional governments should be strengthened.
