JAN. 28 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia met in Paris to discuss a solution to their dispute over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. While little substantial progress was made at the one-day meeting, foreign mediators consider getting Azerbaijan and Armenia to sit across a table as positive.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 122, published on Feb. 25 2013)
DEC. 23 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s central bank reported generally positive economic data when it said that it would hold interest rates steady at 8% because of slightly weaker than expected inflation, media reported. Inflation speeded up slightly towards the end of the year but still only peaked at around 4%, the bank said.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 118, published on Dec. 28 2012)
DEC. 14 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Gagik Tsarukyan, leader of Prosperous Armenia, the second largest party in the Armenian parliament, announced he would neither field a candidate in February’s presidential election nor publicly support any of the other candidates, media reported. His rivals said this move undermined the election.
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(News report from Issue No. 118, published on Dec. 28 2012)
DEC. 7 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – It is dry, that’s for sure, but Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index is also a decent benchmark of how countries are dealing with corruption in their systems — an issue that foreign investors, local businessmen, politicians and economists follow closely.
The 2012 edition makes for interesting reading on Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
Topping the table for the region is, again, Georgia at 51st place in the 176 country list. Armenia is next at 105th position, alongside the likes of the Philippines and Mexico.
Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan occupy 133 position with Russia and then follows Kyrgyzstan (154) and Tajikistan (157). Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan prop up the table in 170th position. Behind them lie only Somalia, North Korea, Sudan, Afghanistan and Myanmar.
And the big changes from last year? Well, Georgia continues to rise through the ranks, it was placed in 64th position last year, and Armenia has also jumped forward, from 129th in 2011. Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan have also improved their rankings, slightly.
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have remained fairly consistent.
By comparison, though, the biggest faller from the Central Asia and South Caucasus region was Kazakhstan which fell 13 places in the rankings from 120th position in 2011.
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(News report from Issue No. 116, published on Dec. 7 2012)
DEC. 5 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s parliament passed a budget that called for a 10% rise in government spending in 2013, RFE/RL reported. The Armenian economy is expected to grow by 7% this year and 6% in 2013 and, unlike many countries, the debate in Armenia focuses on just how much more revenue to spend rather then cut.
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(News report from Issue No. 116, published on Dec. 7 2012)
NOV. 29 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov flew to Yerevan for talks with his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sargsyan. Media reported that the talks were to concentrate on bilateral cooperation. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said Turkmenistan may agree to supply Armenia with electricity via Iran.
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(News report from Issue No. 115, published on Nov. 30 2012)
OCT. 31 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Underlying a blossoming partnership, media reported that Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had discussed in a telephone conversation the progress of a series of joint projects, including the delayed construction of a $330m hydropower station on the border.
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(News report from Issue No. 111, published on Nov. 2 2012)
OCT. 29 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – In televised comments, Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan accused some state prosecutors and police of being corrupt and having links to criminal gangs. Political commentators said Mr Sargsyan’s unusually strong comments could be political and timed for a presidential election set for Feb. 2013.
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(News report from Issue No. 111, published on Nov. 2 2012)
OCT. 18 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Yerevan’s main airport, Zvartnots, temporarily suspended flights of the national carrier Armavia over a debt dispute, media reported. Zvartnots has said that Armavia owes it more than $3m and refused to service its flights, leaving them stranded. Zvartnots and Armavia have previously rowed about debt.
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(News report from Issue No. 109, published on Oct. 19 2012)
OCT. 15 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia sent an aid flight carrying food to Syria’s second city of Aleppo. Up to 100,000 ethnic Armenians live in Aleppo, the commercial centre of Syria. Thousands of Armenians have fled Aleppo to escape Syria’s worsening civil war.
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(News report from Issue No. 109, published on Oct. 19 2012)
