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Kazakhstan held parliamentary elections last week, under a new constitution. They were far from perfect, as international observers noted, but they heralded a new era in Kazakh politics. President Tokayev has to thread carefully, and balance various interests – not least Putin’s Russia, which considers Kazakhstan an artificial creation, that should always be under Russian control. China has been nibbling into Russian interests in Central Asia, but doing it in its own way, mainly through the many economic tools that it possesses. But Central Asia countries, particularly Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, now also want to develop their relations with Europe and the west. And internally they are slowly reforming too. This process needs to be supported and encouraged. Kazakhstan’s first unicameral parliament, called Kurultai, began its work following the country’s constitutional reforms, and elections, replacing the former two-chamber Parliament. Of its 145 deputies, 111 are new members, while women now hold nearly one-third of the seats and youth representation has increased. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called on lawmakers to modernize legislation and bring existing laws into line with the new Constitution. Key priorities include digitalization, artificial intelligence, migration policy and social legislation. The elections held on 23 August “were technically well-prepared”, according to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, one of the organisations that observed the elections, “but took place in an environment lacking political pluralism”. Political choice was limited, as all contesting parties supported the incumbent President’s policies. The campaign was orderly with equal conditions, though the new Adilet party held an undue advantage. Laws revised shortly before the vote with limited consultation fall short of international standards on political participation. (click image to read more)

The 4th International Mine Action Conference is taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 2 - 3 September 2026. The event is hosted by ANAMA, the Azerbaijani Mine action agency and the United Nations. The conference, which attracts hundreds of particpants from all over the world, opened with a message from president Ilham Aliyev, delivered to the coonference by senior presidential administration official, Hikmet Hajiyev. The theme of the conference is HUMANITARIAN DEMINING FOR URBAN RECOVERY; SETTING STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE FOR SAFE SETTLEMENTS. President Aliyev in his message said, "Unfortunately, mines and unexploded ordnance continue to threaten human life and security in many countries around the world. Long after conflicts have ended, explosive ordnance continues to cause loss of life, injury to civilians, damage to infrastructure and delay reconstruction projects. In this regard, humanitarian demining is an essential commitment to safe settlements. Urban reconstruction in post-conflict areas requires the restoration of buildings, roads and public infrastructure, as well as the establishment of security and confidence. No city, village or town can be fully rebuilt, no school or hospital can function safely, no family can return to their homes with dignity, and no economic activity can develop sustainably until the land is cleared of mines and explosive remnants of war. Humanitarian demining is therefore at the heart of urban reconstruction and the creation of safe settlements. (click image to read more).

On 1 September 2026, the 26th meeting of the Council of Heads of State (CHS) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was held at the Yrys-Ordo Congress Hall (Bishkek) under the chairmanship of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Sadyr Japarov. The meeting was attended by President of the Republic of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko, Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, as well as SCO Secretary General Nurlan Yermekbayev and Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure Ularbek Sharsheev. The summit focused on issues of multilateral cooperation across the full range of areas: politics, security, trade, investment, energy, industry, ecology, tourism, new technologies, as well as matters of improving the Organisation's activities and the international agenda. During the discussions, the leaders put forward a number of initiatives and proposals for the further development of cooperation within the SCO. In his address, SCO Secretary General Nurlan Yermekbayev noted the active and effective chairmanship of the Kyrgyz Republic in the Organisation, emphasising its substantive and practical orientation. The Secretary General also touched upon issues of enhancing the efficiency of the Organisation's activities and the effectiveness of its sectoral mechanisms. He noted that even in today's challenging conditions, the Organisation manages to develop common positions, maintain its peace-loving, non-bloc character, and mutual trust. Nurlan Yermekbayev separately focused on the intensification of the SCO's interaction with international and regional organisations. Among the practical results, he highlighted the approval of the SCO–CSTO–CIS Roadmap and the holding of the first trilateral event in this format, the SCO obtaining observer status at the CIS, as well as the development of cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Commission, the UN Environment Programme, and the League of Arab States, and the signing of a Memorandum with the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre. Contacts have also been established with a number of other international structures. The Secretary General emphasized that the Organisation's effectiveness largely depends on the performance of its sectoral mechanisms – meetings of heads of ministries and agencies. Following the CHS meeting, 28 documents were approved, including the Bishkek Declaration, the Protocol on Amendments and Additions to the SCO Charter, the Statement of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO Member States on Assistance to States Affected by Emergencies, as well as a number of other statements on key areas of the Organisation's activities. Decisions were made to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the SCO Secretariat and the African Union Commission, and to approve the provisions on the Universal Centre for Countering Challenges and Threats to the Security of SCO Member States and on the Executive Committee of the SCO Anti-Drug Centre. The 26th CHS meeting of the SCO was the culmination of the Kyrgyz chairmanship in the Organisation in 2025–2026, held under the motto: "25 Years of the SCO: Together for Sustainable Peace, Development and Prosperity." The chairmanship for 2026–2027 was passed to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, whose leader defined the theme of the chairmanship as "Turning Vision into Action: Connectivity, Innovation and Shared Prosperity”. "SCO Plus" meeting was held under the theme: “The UN as a Key Element of a Just World Order: The Contribution of the SCO Plus States to the Formation of a Multipolar World. The event was attended by the leaders of the member states, the observer state – Mongolia, dialogue partners – Azerbaijan, Armenia, Egypt, Laos, Turkey, and guests of the presiding side – Vietnam, Togo, as well as heads of the executive bodies of the EAEU, CSTO, UN, CICA, and CIS.