JULY 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – At a meeting in Ashgabat, Japan’s economy minister Daishiro Yamagiwa said he wanted to improve relations with Turkmenistan. This is significant because it highlights Turkmenistan’s growing status as a trade partner for countries across Asia and not just for its gas clients.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JUNE 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Hualing Group, a Chinese investment company, bought a building in central Tbilisi previously used as the ministry of economy for $9.5m. Hualing Group is committed to turning the building into a 100-room hotel by 2018.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JULY 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s Central Bank said the percentage of non-performing loans held by banks had fallen from a peak of 33% to 13% because of a combination of tax breaks and state financing. It’s unclear exactly how these measures helped to reduce non-performing loans.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JULY 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia has given Armenia a $200m loan to buy Russian-made weapons for its military, media reported quoting Ara Nazaryan, the Armenian deputy defence minister. Russia is Armenia’s closest ally in the region. It is still officially at war with Azerbaijan.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JULY 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan has bought four SU-30 fighter jets from Russia, media reported quoting a senior Kazakh airforce commander. Kazakhstan has said that it wants to bolster its armed forces.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JULY 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s railway network said it would cut the cost of freight across its network by 20% to try and boost traffic, media reported. Georgia is an important link between Europe and Asia but freight traffic on its railway has dropped slightly this year.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JUNE 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia said one of its soldiers had been killed in a shootout with Azerbaijan around the disputed region of Nagorno- Karabakh. Armenia and Azerbaijan sporadically clash around Nagorno-Karabakh where a shaky 1994 ceasefire maintains a fragile peace.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JULY 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan’s economy ministry said that electricity prices may have to rise by 12% this year, media reported. Electricity prices have become an issue in the region because a proposed rise in Armenia has sparked street demonstrations.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JUNE 20 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – TBILISI — Georgia’s government launched an investigation into the causes of a flood this month that killed at least 20 people, injured dozens more, flooded the city’s zoo and destroyed hundreds of buildings.
Local pressure groups, though, criticised the authorities for their slow response to the worst natural disaster to hit Tbilisi in living memory. This criticism could sting the ruling Georgian Dream coalition and damage their already fragile public support.
Nick Davitashvili, from the environmental activist group Guerilla Gardening Tbilisi, said: “The response by the government left a lot to be desired. Volunteers had to take on part of the relief efforts.”
Muddy, destroyed cars still lay around Heroes Square in the centre of the city more than week after the flood on June 14.
Immediately after the flood, thousands of volunteers shovelled mud and donated clothes and medicine to tho. The government, though, has now said that volunteers’ role is over.
“The risks are increasing and we are worried about the young people,” PM Irakli Garibahsvili said.
The ministry of environment has said that it is looking into setting up an early warning system for future disasters but the Caucasus Environmental NGO Network, the country’s largest environmental NGO said that this was an attempt to deflect responsibility for the flood.
“No disaster threat analysis, or preventive measures, have been conducted in Tbilisi for 15 years,” it said in a statement.
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(News report from Issue No. 237, published on June 25 2015)
JUNE 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s parliament approved a plan to sell off the government owned Post Office. Armenia needs to update and modernise its Post Office which has 3,000 employees and 250 branches across the country.
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(News report from Issue No. 237, published on June 25 2015)
