Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev travelled to New York to attend the UN General Assembly on September 23. Speaking at the 80th session, Tokayev urged other countries to join Kazakhstan in the effort to protect the Caspian Sea, which has witnessed a sharp decrease in water levels. A shrinking Caspian Sea can severely impact the Eurasian ecosystem and ultimately become an environmental issue of global significance. “Kazakhstan has learned important lessons from the Aral Sea tragedy,” Tokayev said.
In New York, Tokayev had a bilateral meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, and expressed his wishes to “continue diplomatic work in order to find a way to end the conflict” in Ukraine. After meeting with Tokayev, Zelensky appeared on Fox News and named Kazakhstan as one of the possible “neutral countries” where he would accept to meet Russia’s President Vladimir Putin [Read more here.] In an interview on September 24, Tokayev confirmed Kazakhstan’s readiness to host talks.
During his US trip, Tokayev also met with several of the main investors in Kazakhstan and inked some key agreements. Among the key results, US locomotive maker Wabtec signed a deal with Kazakhstan for $4.2 billion to open an engine plant in Astana, while Amazon’s Project Kuiper signed a $200 million investment plan to create a satellite communications hub to extend connectivity to households and communities.
Upon his return to Kazakhstan on September 25, Tokayev started a government reshuffle, which involved moving former minister of foreign affairs Murat Nurtleu to the position of assistant to the president. Yermek Kosherbayev was appointed minister of foreign affairs, while a number of presidential advisors were fired. [Read more here.]
Deputy Rinat Zaitov asked the government on September 24 to disclose more details about assets that have been returned to the country or confiscated by law enforcement. On September 20, Prosecutor General Berik Assylov said that the Committee for the return of illegally-withdrawn assets would be transformed into a Committee for the protection of investor rights.
Members of Kyrgyzstan’s parliament voted on September 25 to dissolve the legislative assembly, one year ahead of the end of its mandate. The decision came ostensibly to avoid an overlap between parliamentary and presidential elections next year. President Sadyr Japarov is expected to call for elections that could be held as early as November 30.
On September 24, the Supreme Court upheld the decision to deny political asylum to Akylbek Muratov, a Karakalpak activist. After his arrest in February 2024, Muratov was placed on an extradition list to be sent back to Uzbekistan, where he is wanted. Muratov actively shared content regarding the protests in Karakalpakstan in the summer of 2022.
Firefighters extinguished a fire at a solid waste landfill outside of Almaty on September 22. The fire burned for a week, causing a sharp increase in air pollution in Kazakhstan’s largest city.
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