Central Asia in April 2026: the most important developments in politics
In Central Asia in April 2026, politics revolved around Kazakhstan's diplomacy under President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a state visit to Astana in the last week of the month, described as historic and as marking Kazakhstan's entry into the Abraham Accords; he met the country's Jewish community. Tokayev accepted the South Korean president's invitation to visit Seoul, sent a message to the UAE sheikh amid the war in the Middle East, and invited Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to visit Astana.
Regional cooperation was the second theme. Tokayev and Tajikistan's Rahmon held talks ahead of a summit in Astana, where Central Asian leaders declared March 26 the International Day of the Aral Sea and reinforced cooperation. Kazakhstan called for deeper economic and digital integration among Turkic states. Russian President Vladimir Putin met Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, and Iran's deputy defense minister was in Kyrgyzstan for a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. An ambassador cited by China Daily said ties between Astana and Beijing had reached a new high.
Other items included the Austrian government approving deportations to Uzbekistan, and a Swiss court discontinuing the money laundering trial of Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of Uzbekistan's former president, and the Swiss bank Lombard Odier. Kazakhstan's electoral commission explained why the country is not introducing electronic voting.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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