Latest news with #CentralAsia
CNA
an hour ago
- Business
- CNA
Russia's Rosatom to explore construction of high-capacity nuclear plant in Uzbekistan
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia :Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom signed an agreement on Friday with Uzbekistan's atomic energy agency to study the feasibility of building a large-capacity nuclear power plant in the Central Asian country. Rosatom, which signed the agreement with the Uzbek government at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, already has plans to construct smaller nuclear units in Uzbekistan. The Russian energy company was also tapped over the weekend by the government of Kazakhstan to lead a consortium to build the first nuclear power plant there. There are currently no nuclear power plants in any of the five ex-Soviet Central Asian republics, although Uzbekistan and its neighbour Kazakhstan, both uranium producers, have long said their growing economies need them. The Uzbekistan plant will employ two Russian-designed VVER-1000 reactors, with the possibility to scale up to four. Last May, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev agreed on a deal for Rosatom to construct smaller-capacity plants with a capacity of 55 megawatts each in Uzbekistan. On Friday, Rosatom head Alexei Likhachev said Rosatom was discussing building two low-power and two high-power nuclear units in Uzbekistan. "The small modular nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan is the first export product of modern small power plants on the planet," Likhachev told reporters in St. Petersburg. He said the plants would help Uzbekistan respond to its growing electricity needs. He also told journalists the firm had approved a preliminary roadmap with Kazakhstan for two units there using Russian-made VVER-1200 reactors.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Business
- Reuters
Russia's Rosatom to explore construction of high-capacity nuclear plant in Uzbekistan
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, June 20 (Reuters) - Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom signed an agreement on Friday with Uzbekistan's atomic energy agency to study the feasibility of building a large-capacity nuclear power plant in the Central Asian country. Rosatom, which signed the agreement with the Uzbek government at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, already has plans to construct smaller nuclear units in Uzbekistan. The Russian energy company was also tapped over the weekend by the government of Kazakhstan to lead a consortium to build the first nuclear power plant there. There are currently no nuclear power plants in any of the five ex-Soviet Central Asian republics, although Uzbekistan and its neighbour Kazakhstan, both uranium producers, have long said their growing economies need them. The Uzbekistan plant will employ two Russian-designed VVER-1000 reactors, with the possibility to scale up to four. Last May, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev agreed on a deal for Rosatom to construct smaller-capacity plants with a capacity of 55 megawatts each in Uzbekistan. On Friday, Rosatom head Alexei Likhachev said Rosatom was discussing building two low-power and two high-power nuclear units in Uzbekistan. "The small modular nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan is the first export product of modern small power plants on the planet," Likhachev told reporters in St. Petersburg. He said the plants would help Uzbekistan respond to its growing electricity needs. He also told journalists the firm had approved a preliminary roadmap with Kazakhstan for two units there using Russian-made VVER-1200 reactors.
South China Morning Post
16 hours ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
China's influence is growing in Central Asia. What does that mean for Russia?
At a high-level summit this week, China and its Central Asian partners voiced their shared security concerns and showed a united front amid a turbulent global landscape. The close ties between Beijing and the five Central Asian countries – whose leaders met at the China-Central Asia Summit in Kazakhstan on Tuesday – have sparked questions about whether Russia's regional dominance is waning as it remains preoccupied with the Ukraine war Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed this possibility on Monday, saying there was 'no reason for such fears'. 'China is our privileged strategic partner, and the Central Asian countries are our natural historical partners,' he added. But to diplomatic observers, Moscow has limited capacity to counterbalance China's growing influence, even though Beijing is avoiding challenging Russia as Central Asia's key security guarantor and dominant power.
BBC News
17 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
The Documentary Podcast Reworking a future: Buddhist revival in Mongolia
Cambridge anthropologist David Sneath is in Mongolia to find out how Buddhism continues to make a comeback after years of persecution under Communism. David tells the story of how a young Mongolian boy has recently been recognised as the new reincarnation in a lineage of major Buddhist leaders, once known in the country as 'Holy Emperor'. The 10-year-old boy will, when formally enthroned, be considered the 10th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu in a lineage stretching back centuries. The Jebtsundamba Khutughtu (widely known to Mongolians as the 'Bogd') is a leader of the Gelugpa School within the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, and the young boy was officially recognised by the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan religious leader. David meets the boy's mother, religious leaders and leading cultural figures to find out what is in store for the young Bogd. This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from Heart and Soul, exploring personal approaches to spirituality from around the world.
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China's payment system spreads across Africa and Asia amid US trade war
China's cross-border yuan payment system has signed up more financial entities from Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East, as Beijing accelerates efforts to promote the global use of its currency amid rising tensions with the United States. A group of six financial institutions officially joined the yuan-based Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) as direct participants during a ceremony in Shanghai on Wednesday, becoming the latest entities to sign up to China's alternative to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) system. The newcomers include the African Export-Import Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, South Africa's Standard Bank, Singapore's United Overseas Bank, the Kyrgyzstan-based Eldik Bank, and Chongwa (Macau) Financial Asset Exchange, a state-owned asset trading platform from the special administrative region, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Beijing has been promoting the CIPS – which was first launched in 2015 – as it strives to expand the use of the yuan in global trade and hedge against any potential moves by the United States to impose financial sanctions on Chinese entities. The system had 174 direct participants as of the end of May, though most of them were made up of domestic and overseas branches of Chinese banks, as well as Chinese branches of global financial giants such as HSBC, JP Morgan and Citibank. A direct participant refers to an entity that owns a CIPS account and can directly remit through the system, while indirect participants have to rely on others to complete transactions on their behalf.
