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Putin persuaded me into exile, says former Kyrgyz president

MARCH 7 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — In an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Belarusian service, former Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiyev said that Vladimir Putin — then Russian PM, now its president — had telephoned him during a revolution in 2010 to persuade him to flee into exile in Belarus. Kyrgyzstan wants to extradite Mr Bakiyev, who now lives permanently in Belarus, to face various corruption charges.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Kyrgyzstan hosts Eurasian presidency

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MARCH 7 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan hosted its first meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council, part of the system that runs the Kremlin-lead Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), as it officially took over the rotating presidency of the trade bloc. Kyrgyzstan’s presidency of the EEU comes at a time when the organisation has become increasingly unpopular, especially in Kyrgyzstan, over sluggish economic growth rates. The Eurasian Intergovernmental Council is attended by PMs.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)f

Georgian official investigate archpriest

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MARCH 8 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s prosecutors said they are investigating archpriest Giorgi Mamaladze for planning to kill Shorena Tetruasvili, an aide to Patriarch Ilia II, when he was caught carrying cyanide as he boarded a plane in Tbilisi bound for Germany this year. Initially, prosecutors said archpriest Mamaladze had been planning to kill the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church as he rested in Germany after medical treatment.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Rio-Tinto is planning investments in Kazakhstan, says official

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MARCH 9 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — After a meeting with two senior officials from Rio Tinto at a trade fair in Toronto, Kazakhstan’s deputy minister for investment development, Timur Toktabayev, said that the mining company planned a couple of significant investments in the country. The British-Australian company is one of the biggest miners in the world but doesn’t currently have any projects in Kazakhstan. If it did start work on a project in Kazakhstan, it would give the country a major PR boost.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Kazakh company to invest in Yurt tourism

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MARCH 10 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Baiterek Travel Center, a government-linked tourist development company, plans to invest around $2.8m building a yurt camp resort in the Zhambyl region of southern Kazakhstan, the Interfax news agency reported by quoting a source at the regional chamber of entrepreneurs. Kazakhstan has been looking to boost tourism numbers. Since 2014 it has scrapped visa requirements for visitors from dozens of Western countries.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Tajik police investigates Dushanbe ex-mayor

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MARCH 8 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Police in Tajikistan are investigating the former mayor of Dushanbe, Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloev, for corruption linked to the construction of a shopping centre, media reported. Mr Ubaidulloev had served as the mayor of Dushanbe for 20 years before, surprisingly, resigning in January. He was replaced by Rustam Emomali, the son of Tajik president Emomali Rakhmon. Analysts have said that before he quit as mayor of Dushanbe, Mr Ubaidulloev was considered the ultimate elite insider and that the corruption allegations are part of a power struggle.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Kazakh bank posts improving results

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MARCH 10 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Halyk Bank, Kazakhstan’s second largest bank by assets, said its net income in 2016 was 9.2% higher than in 2015 at 131.2b tenge ($412m). Importantly, its Q4 net income was 32% higher in 2016 than the same period in 2015 and the proportion of loans considered to be bad, those more than 90 days overdue, had dropped to 10.2% by Dec. 31, from 11.5 % on Sept. 30. The data suggested that the economic downturn that has hit Kazakhstan is lifting. Last week, Halyk Bank confirmed it would merge with Kazkommertsbank.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Kazakhstan to host another round of Syria talks

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MARCH 9 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s foreign ministry confirmed that Astana would host another round of talks aimed at ending a civil war in Syria on March 14/15. This is the third round of talks in Astana this year, lead by Russia, Iran and Turkey. Delegates representing both Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and Syrian rebels are expected to attend. The US has only previously participated as an observer.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Stock market: Brent

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MARCH 8 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Governments across the Central Asia/South Caucasus region will be nervously watching the Brent spot price as it slips back down to that all-important $50/barrel level. This is the psychological breakpoint.

If Brent oil dips below $50/barrel, national budgets, which have just been adjusted upwards, will have to be rethought. It broke through this level in mid-December and had hovered around the $55/barrel mark since then, before taking a downturn.

Oil prices had been pushed up in mid-December by a plan lead by producers to cut output. Data, though, this week showed that crude oil stocks held by the US government have risen, raising concerns that the fragile coalition patched together to contain global production was cracking. Data from Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Nigeria also suggested that production was rising again.

Kazakhstan’s output estimate has also been increased. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Kazakhstan would produce 1.88m barrels of oil/day in 2017, compared to an earlier estimate of 1.86m barrels/day. In 2016, it produced 1.73m barrels of oil/day.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Azerbaijani president travels to Iran

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MARCH 5 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev flew to Tehran for talks with his Iranian counterpart President Hassan Rouhani in which both men reaffirmed their commitment to completing a freight railway link between India and Europe. The plan is to ship goods from India to an Iranian port and then load the kit on to freight trains that will run across Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia. As reported, the first freight train travelled between Azerbaijan and Iran on March 5.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)f