On February 10 this year, the first freight train was sent from China to Afghanistan via a new direct rail route connecting the two countries through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The train, carrying 55 containers of communication equipment manufactured by the Chinese telecommunications concern ZTE, departed from Chongqing’s Tuanjetsun station to Afghanistan’s Hairaton.
The train will cross the border at the Khorgos checkpoint in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and reach its destination in Khairaton via Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
The entire journey is expected to take 12-15 days. “By using the direct rail freight transportation scheme, transportation time will be reduced by 3-5 days compared to road transportation, and logistics costs are expected to be reduced by 15-20%. This will strengthen the safety and efficiency of transportation and supply of goods,” said Liu Jianfeng, a ZTE employee.
The opening of the direct freight route will further strengthen trade and economic cooperation and exchanges between Chongqing and Afghanistan, as well as with other Central Asian countries.
President of the European Council Antonio Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will visit Uzbekistan on April 3-4 to participate in the first EU-Central Asia Summit.
The summit will be chaired by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and will be attended by the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
During the summit, the EU is expected to reaffirm its commitment to expanding cooperation in areas of mutual interest, including transport and digital interconnectivity – within the region and with the EU, strategic raw materials, economy and security, and the transition to clean and efficient energy sources.
“The first EU-Central Asia Summit will strengthen our commitment to work together for peace, security and sustainable development, in full respect of international law,” said António Costa.
From February 25 to 27, 2025, the fourth international specialized exhibition “AGROPRO EXPO 2025” will be held at the International Exhibition Complex “SOF EXPO Samarkand”, located in the heart of the Central Asian region – the city of Samarkand.
“AGROPRO EXPO 2025” is an agricultural exhibition with a wide range of expositions, which will feature
For three days, leading companies from Europe and Asia will present advanced projects in the agricultural sector.
The exhibition will feature products from both local and global manufacturers and brands, including the full range of equipment for working on the land – combines, tractors, forage harvesting equipment, fertilizer equipment, and others. The event will also be attended by representatives of banks and lessors to provide a comprehensive solution to the problems of entrepreneurs.
For more details and to participate in the exhibition, please follow the link.
The Ministry of Justice has registered the Regulation “On the Procedure for State Registration of Certain Medicinal Products Without Clinical Trials” (registration number 3600 of January 17, 2025).
According to the Regulation, the decision to register such medicines is made by a permanent expert council under the Ministry of Health based on the recommendations of the Center for Pharmaceutical Product Safety.
The registration procedure and the issuance of registration certificates are carried out in accordance with the procedure established by the governmental resolution.
The following categories of medicinal products may be registered without clinical trials
– medicinal products included in the list for which it is not necessary to conduct studies for compliance with GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) requirements
– generics and galenic drugs of local manufacturers, the safety and efficacy of which have been proven in preclinical studies and are not inferior to reference drugs;
– drugs with the same composition manufactured by the same company under different trade names.
We remind that the pharmaceutical market of Uzbekistan is one of the largest for Ukraine.
At the end of 2024, for the first time in Uzbekistan, imports of electric and hybrid cars outnumbered traditional gasoline cars. According to the Customs Committee, published by Gazeta.uz, 80,235 passenger cars worth $1.9 billion were imported into the country during the year. At the same time, this is 7% less in quantitative terms (-5,710 units) and 33.1% less in monetary terms (-$632.6 million) compared to 2023.
Imports of cars with gasoline engines decreased by 36.3%, amounting to 32,928 units (compared to 51,699 a year earlier). The cost of imports also decreased significantly – from $1.18 billion to $707.2 million (-40%). The share of gasoline cars in total imports decreased from 64.4% to 44.2%.
Imports of hybrid cars increased by 42%, reaching 17,480 units. Their total value amounted to $339.3 million, which is 17% more than in 2023. The share of hybrids in total imports increased from 15.3% to 23.4%.
Electric vehicles showed even more impressive growth: the number of imported cars increased 1.5 times, from 16,084 to 24,095 units. At the same time, their cost decreased by 48.2% to $224.8 million. The share of electric vehicles in imports increased from 20% to 32.3%.
The average cost of an imported electric car decreased almost threefold, from $26,972 to $9,330 (excluding VAT and customs duties). Hybrid cars also fell in price, but less significantly: the average price dropped by 17.6%, from $23,570 to $19,410. For gasoline cars, the decline was only 6%, from $22,858 to $21,476.
The growing demand for environmentally friendly vehicles is being stimulated by tax and customs incentives. Imports of electric vehicles are exempt from excise duties, customs duties, and road tolls. Taxi drivers using electric and hybrid vehicles are exempt from license fees until 2030. Entrepreneurs are entitled to benefits for the installation of charging stations, which will be introduced in 2023.
In addition, the registration of electric vehicles and hybrids is cheaper than that of gasoline cars. For example, the cost of registering an eco-friendly vehicle is 1.5 BRV, while for gasoline cars it is 6.84 BRV.
Problems with LPG refueling and the high cost of gasoline also contribute to drivers’ switching to electric vehicles. As a result, the share of eco-friendly vehicles in imports reached 55.8% (33,564 units), exceeding the share of gasoline cars (44.2%, 32,928 units).
World central banks in November, according to preliminary estimates by the World Gold Council (WGC), increased the amount of gold in their foreign exchange reserves by 53.4 tons.
“Looking to the end of 2024, central banks around the world continued to play a leading role in gold demand,” said WGC analyst Krishan Gopaul. – “November was another month of gold purchases, with central banks adding a total of 53 tons to official reserves, according to available data. This continues the trend observed throughout the year: central banks, mostly from emerging markets, remained active buyers of gold, driven by a desire to find a stable and reliable asset in the face of global economic uncertainty.”
The largest buyers of gold in November were Poland (21 tons), Uzbekistan (9 tons), India (8.4 tons), and Kazakhstan (5.1 tons). According to Gopol, for the first time since April, China reported an increase in reserves (plus 5 tons). Other buyers included Jordan (4.1 tons), Turkey (3 tons), the Czech Republic (1.6 tons), Ghana (1.2 tons), Mongolia and Malta (less than a ton).
Singapore was the main seller of gold (5.2 tons). Also in December, the central bank of Finland reported a 10% reduction in its gold reserves to 44 tons, a sale that most likely took place the same month, WGC said.
