AUG. 8 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The TAPI gas pipeline that is planned to run from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India is already influencing regional trade links. At a meeting in Ashgabat to discuss progress on the project, Pakistan and Turkmenistan also agreed to improve bilateral ties.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 195, published on Aug. 13 2014)
AUG.11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Sixty paintings by Uzbekistan’s Victor Ufimtsev, considered one of the masters of the mid-20th century futurist movement, have been lost or been stolen, an Uzbek opposition website reported. Opposition members in Uzbekistan have previously alleged that members of the Uzbek elite have stolen the paintings.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 195, published on Aug. 13 2014)
AUG.10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian president Vladimir Putin hosted talks between Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.Fighting around Nagorno-Karabakh has intensified over the past few weeks threatening a 1994 cease-fire.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 195, published on Aug. 13 2014)
AUG.11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili responded to criticism from US senators that Georgia was unfairly prosecuting former president Mikheil Saakashvili for abuse of power by saying his prosecution would create a more equal society.The US, Georgia’s most important ally, has said charges against Mr Saakashvili are politically motivated.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 195, published on Aug. 13 2014)
AUG.11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgian defence minister Irakli Alasania flew to Kabul to meet his Afghan counterpart and sign various memorandums agreeing to broaden cooperation. The visit and the agreements underline Georgia’s desire to help Afghanistan and curry favour with the US. It wants to join NATO and is using its military as an extension of its diplomatic corps.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 195, published on Aug. 13 2014)
AUG.11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili responded to criticism from US senators that Georgia was unfairly prosecuting former president Mikheil Saakashvili for abuse of power by saying his prosecution would create a more equal society.The US, Georgia’s most important ally, has said charges against Mr Saakashvili are politically motivated.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 195, published on Aug. 13 2014)
AUG. 8 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The level of water in the Toktogul reservoir in Kyrgyzstan, vital for the country’s hydroelectric power production, is down by roughly a quarter because of the especially dry Central Asian summer, media reported. Uzbekistan has also reduced gas supplies leading analysts to predict energy shortages this winter.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 195, published on Aug. 13 2014)
AUG. 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – This is the age of austerity and when money is tight, costs have to be trimmed.
That’s certainly the message Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev was sending out when he announced that he was merging several ministries.
“It is hard to understand, why one government body must be responsible for oil and gas, while another one deals with solid energy resources, the third department controls the power grid and the fourth one the nuclear industry,” Reuters quoted Mr Nazarbayev as saying. “This is why I believe it is time to concentrate the entire energy sector in the hands of one person.”
He appointed his ally Vladimir Shkolnik head of a new super Energy Ministry that merged the Oil and Gas Ministry, the Environmental Protection Ministry and the Ministry for Industry.
Kazakhstan’s economic growth has slowed due to sanctions on Russia over its interference in Ukraine and the failure of the giant Caspian Sea oil field Kashagan to start producing.
Mr Nazarbayev’s downsizing didn’t stop with the energy sector. He disbanded the Agency for Fighting Financial Crimes and gave its responsibilities to the Agency for Civil Affairs and also cut the Ministry for Emergencies, handing its duties to the Interior Ministry.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 195, published on Aug. 13 2014)
AUG.12 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan has said it will export power to Iraq and Afghanistan, media reported. The deal is particularly important for the US which has urged Azerbaijan to increase its involvement in regional politics. Azerbaijan has become relatively rich through oil and gas exports.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 195, published on Aug. 13 2014)
AUG. 5 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan’s military detained five Tajik shepherds and their livestock for a week after they strayed into Uzbek territory, media reported, briefly heightening tension between the two neighbours. Uzbekistan- Tajikistan relations are particularly important to monitor for stability in Central Asia.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 194, published on Aug. 6 2014)
