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MPs receive pay rise, angering ordinary Kazakhs

APRIL 11 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — MPs in Kazakhstan have received a pay rise of 50%, media reported. According to the Eurasianet website, the pay rise has angered many ordinary Kazakhs who are struggling through a sharp economic downturn. MPs have responded that the pay rise was organised four year ago and that they were the last group of government officials to receive a pay rise. The pay rise, active since March 1, means that MPs in Kazakhstan now earn $2,000 to $2,200 every month.

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(News report from Issue No. 324, published on April 13 2017)

Azerbaijani environmentalist force suspension of gas pipeline

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APRIL 6 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Reuters reported that a court in Italy ordered the halt of construction work on the final segment of a pipeline running from the Caspian Sea to central Europe to protect an olive grove. Protesters have been complaining that the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) would destroy the ancient grove. TAP is part of the $40b Southern Gas Corridor which is seen as a vital piece of infrastructure for the EU’s gas imports. The suspension of construction work is a temporary measure.

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(News report from Issue No. 324, published on April 13 2017)

Power production increases in Turkmenistan

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APRIL 6 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — In the first quarter of 2017, Turkmenistan produced 6.2% more electricity than the same period in 2016, official media reported by quoting deputy PM Dadebay Amangeldyev. Turkmenistan has been boosting its electricity generation capacity specifically with an eye on exports to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

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(News report from Issue No. 324, published on April 13 2017)

Kazakh car-maker to produce Chevrolet Niva

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APRIL 10 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — SaryArkaAvtoProm, a Kazakh car- maker based in Kostani in the north of the country, started production of the Chevrolet Niva car, the GM-AvtoVAZ company said in a press release. The announcement is a major boost for Kazakhstan’s fledgling car-making industry. It has been hard hit by a sharp economic downturn that has knocked consumer confidence. The SaryArkaAvtoProm is one of three car-making factories in Kazakhstan. GM-AvtoVAZ is a joint-venture set up by the US’ GM and Russia’s AvtoVAZ. It will sell the Chevrolet Niva produced by SaryArkaAvtoProm in southern Russia.

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(News report from Issue No. 324, published on April 13 2017)

Tajik President’s son starts as Dushanbe mayor

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APRIL 10 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon officially signed a decree appointing his 29-year-old son, Rustam Emomali, as the mayor of Dushanbe. Mr Emomali had been acting mayor of Dushanbe since January when the previous long- serving incumbent was suddenly fired. He had to wait until he had been elected to the city assembly before he could take up the position on a full-time basis. He was elected to the assembly at the end of last month. Some analysts have said that Mr Emomali’s promotion is part of the grooming he is undergoing ahead of taking over from his father as president.

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(News report from Issue No. 324, published on April 13 2017)

Golf legent meets Turkmen president

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APRIL 9 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — US golf legend Jack Nicklaus flew to Ashgabat to meet with Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov to update him on progress to the golf course that his company Nicklaus Design is building outside Ashgabat. At the meeting, official media said that the two men exchanged views on the state of golf around the world. In an interview with the AP news agency last year, Mr Nicklaus said that he had signed up to build two golf courses in Turkmenistan.

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(News report from Issue No. 324, published on April 13 2017)

‘Silk Road’ train links UK and China via Kazakhstan

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APRIL 10 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — A train carrying whisky, baby food and vitamins left a depot in southern England at the start of an 18-day journey through Central Asia to China.

This modern-day ‘Silk Road’ odyssey is part of China’s push to promote freight transport by rail between East Asia and Europe.

At its heart, the 11,000km route relies upon a stable Central Asia with modern infrastructure and it shows just how important the region has become as a transport hub. The ‘Silk Road’ train will travel through Europe into Russia and then dip down into Kazakhstan before crossing into western China and terminating in Yiwu on the eastern coast Xubin Feng, the head of Yiwu Timex Investment Company, underlined the importance of the train.

“Restoring the ancient Silk Road as a means by which China, North Europe and now the UK can exchange goods is an important and exciting initiative,” he said.

The project is part of China’s drive to promote its so-called ‘One Belt, One Road’ programme. Three months ago, the first freight train arrived from China to Britain and several other European capitals have already been linked up to China by rail.

And this ‘One Belt, One Road’ policy is important for Central Asia, and in particular Kazakhstan, as it plays a vital, and potentially lucrative, stagepost role.

Kazakhstan has started to leverage its position as a link between Europe and East Asia and, as well as promoting its rail infrastructure, it has also promoted itself as a refuelling pitstop for airlines crossing to Asia.

Also, this year, the first train from Kazakhstan headed through China to Vietnam, opening up another route.

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(News report from Issue No. 324, published on April 13 2017)

Armenia to hold visa liberalisation talks with EU

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APRIL 12 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Visa liberalisation with the EU is the next obvious step for EU-Armenia relations, Armenian foreign minister Edward Nalbandian said at a meeting with his European counterparts. Last month an enhanced partnership agreement came into play between the EU and Armenia. Georgia won visa-free access to the EU at the end of March, but Armenia is a member of the Russia-centric Eurasia Economic Union and a visa- liberalisation process has not been discussed.

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(News report from Issue No. 324, published on April 13 2017)

Georgia to buy all its gas from Azerbaijan

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APRIL 12 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgian energy minister Kakha Kaladze said that Georgia would not purchase any more gas from Gazprom until the end of the year and will instead buy all its gas from Azerbaijan. Gas purchases from Gazprom have been controversial for Georgia after it signed a deal at the beginning of the year changing the arrangement from a barter deal to a paid-for deal. Mr Kaladze has refused to name the price agreed with Gazprom for gas purchases, fuelling speculation that he had agreed to pay too high a price. Mr Kaladze has always maintained that the deal gives Georgia more flexibility, including being able to choose how much gas to buy from Gazprom.

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(News report from Issue No. 324, published on April 13 2017)

GE buys into Kazakh train engine maker

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ALMATY, APRIL 12 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — GE Transportation, a division of US engineering giant GE, bought a 50% stake in Kazakh train maker Lokomotiv Kurastyru Zauyty for an undisclosed amount.

The deal could be one of the biggest investments by a Western company in a Kazakh engineering company outside the extractive industries this year.

In a press release Jamie Miller, the GE Transportation CEO, as saying: “Kazakhstan has a strategic plan for its railroad to support economic growth and increased regional trade, and today’s announcement underscores GE’s commitment to working with KTZ to ensure that Kazakhstan’s rail infrastructure remains modern and reliable.”

For Kazakhstan the deal will likely be a relief, although the amount that GE Transportation paid for its 50% stake has not been released. It has been trying to attract more Western investment into industries outside the oil, gas and mining sectors. Its railway sector is one area in which it has been investing heavily.

Lokomotiv Kurastyru Zauyty was set up in 2009 by Kazakh railway company Temir Zholy and Russia’s Transmashholding. It is Central Asia and the South Caucasus’ biggest manufacturer of locomotive trains and exports across the region.

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(News report from Issue No. 324, published on April 13 2017)