JAN. 1 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — An ethnic Azerbaijani woman with Russian citizenship, Nurana Hasanova, was killed during an attack by an alleged member of the radical IS group on a nightclub in Istanbul on New Year’s Eve. It’s not clear ifHasanova was working at the nightclub or was visiting. At least 39 people died in the attack.
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(News report from Issue No. 311, published on Jan. 6 2017)
DEC. 16 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan will introduce an online visa application system from Jan. 10 2017 as it tries to bolster revenues from tourism.
With an economic downturn biting deep and wiping out essential profit from oil sales, Azerbaijan’s government has turned to tourism to try to plug the gap, an industry it has previously shunned. Azerbaijan’s government’s government collects 75% of its revenues from oil sales.
The head of the State Agency of Public Service and Social Innovations İnam Kerimov said that e-visa applications would improve the efficiency and transparency of the visa application process.
“At the moment the portal is in the test phase, but it will be completely ready till the 10th of January, 2017,” he said.
“Foreigners will be able to apply for visas and obtain them without waiting in the queue and collecting documents.”
A visa for a stay of up to 30 days will cost $20 and be emailed to the applicant within three days of the application being sent in.
In 2010, Azerbaijan scrapped a visa-on-arrival system for Westerners at Baku airport, making it far more difficult to enter the country. In that time it has rowed with Europe about media rights and free speech, while also hosting a series of high profile sporting and cultural events such as the European Games and the Eurovision Song Contest.
Corruption, and scepticism are rife in Azerbaijan, and people quickly questioned the motive behind the e-visa move and the tourism development drive.
“The authorities are trying to fill their expensive hotels,” said Irada, 45. “This system won’t benefit ordinary citizens.”
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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)
TBILISI, DEC. 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) pledged to lend Azerbaijan’s Southern Gas Corridor company (SGC) $600m to finance its share of the TANAP gas pipeline that will pump gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe.
The loan heaps more cash from international institutions onto the project. Media reports said that the World Bank had also pledged $800m to the project. This follows loan deals last week from the Asian Development Bank and previously from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Announcing its loan, the AIIB said that TANAP was a vital infrastructure project.
“This crucial upgrade of energy infrastructure between Asia and Europe will further strengthen the economy of Azerbaijan while underpinning energy security in Turkey, as well as several countries in southern Europe,” a statement quoted AIIB’s vice President and chief investment officer, DJ Pandian as saying.
The World Bank also said that TANAP was vital to support.
The total cost of TANAP is slated to be between $10b and $12b. SOCAR, Azerbaijan’s energy company, owns a 58% share in the project; Turkey’s Botas owns a 30% stake and BP owns a 12% stake.
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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)
DEC. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — SOCAR Trading, part of the Azerbaijani state-owned energy company, has agreed to send crude oil, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and liquified natural gas (LNG) to Poland’s Lotos Oil, media reported. Lotos Oil is listed on the Warsaw stock exchange and is the country’s second largest oil producer. This year it also bought 2m barrels of crude oil from Iran.
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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)
DEC. 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — It’s been a good couple of weeks for inter-governmental banks’ Central Asia and South Caucasus portfolios. They have lent heavily in the region, supporting infrastructure projects from gas pipelines in Azerbaijan to solar and wind power projects in Kazakhstan.
It’s a win-win situation. The institutional banks want to lend the money that their shareholders – nation states – and their constitutions require. Demand may be a better way of putting it.
For Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, the funds are a welcome source of cash at a time of economic constraint. Their economies are under huge pressure at the moment from the sustained low oil prices. Azerbaijan’s GDP has shrunk this year and Kazakhstan’s is stagnant.
They were once attractive options to lend to for commercial banks looking for decent exposure in Emerging Markets. Now they would find it difficult to raise the cash without paying prohibitively expensive interest rates.
That’s where the loans from intergovernmental banks come in. They are cheap and chunky.
The latest round of loans came with the involvement for the first time of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
This it the China-based bank that was set up on Christmas day last year but only started operations in January this year. It has now invested $600m in a loan to Azerbaijan’s Southern Gas Corridor company which is helping to build the TANAP gas pipeline from the Caspian Sea to Europe.
The AIIB has put down a major marker, then, and potentially set itself up as a challenger to the traditionally West-based intergovernmental banks that have previously dominated.
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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)
DEC. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Asian Development Bank said that it had a approved a loan of $500m to help support Azerbaijan during the economic downturn that has hit the region. Azerbaijan has been particularly hard hit by the collapse in oil prices. Over 75% of the government’s revenues come from oil sales. Its economy has shrunk by 4% this year. The ADB described the loan as “critical”.
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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)
DEC. 16 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s parliament passed a government budget for 2017 which cut spending to 16.9m manat from 18.5m manat in 2016. Azerbaijan has had to slash its spending because of a sharp fall in the price of oil which has hit government revenues hard. Oil revenues make up 75% of the government’s income. It based its 2017 budget on oil at $40/barrel.
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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)
DEC. 19 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Foreign direct investment into Azerbaijan fell by 5.3% in the first nine months of the year, the Azerbaijani central bank said, more evidence of the country’s sharp economic decline. Oil revenues form the backbone of the Azerbaijani economy. These have collapsed over the past couple of years, mirroring a sharp drop in prices. Oil majors have been less willing, too, to invest in Azerbaijan’s oil sector because of the price fall.
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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)
DEC. 13/14 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) –Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu travelled to Baku and Astana in a high- profile trip aimed at shoring up bilateral support in the South Caucasus and Central Asia region.
This was the first trip to the region by a serving Israeli PM.
Mr Netanyahu’s visit to Baku was particularly important. Azerbaijan borders Iran, Israel’s arch foe, and the two countries have built up an alliance. Azerbaijan buys Israeli weapons and has previously given its air force permission to use its airbases if conflict did break out with Iran. In return, Israel buys Azerbaijani oil.
In comments which gushed with positivity, Mr Netanyahu was quoted by the Times of Israel as saying: “The world sees so much intolerance and darkness, this (Azerbaijan-Israel cooperation) is an example of how the Muslim-Jewish relationship can and should be everywhere.”
Mr Aliyev was equally enthusiastic about bilateral relations, calling Israel an important partner and describing how his government had spent nearly $5b on buying Israeli-made weapons. The visit triggered a series of anti- Azerbaijan demonstrations in Iran. The Iranian government also officially complained and accused the Azerbaijani government of anti-Islamic tendencies.
From Baku, Mr Netanyahu flew to Astana for a meeting with Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev. He openly said that he wanted to enlist Kazakhstan’s help in supporting Israel for a non-permanent seat on the UN’s Security Council.
“We helped you get accepted as a member of the Security Council and now we are asking you to help us be a member of the council, as well,” he was quoted by media as saying to Mr Nazarbayev.
Kazakhstan starts a two-year position on the UN Security Council in January. It is one of 10 non-permanent members. The five permanent members are the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China.
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(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)
DEC. 14 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s GDP was 3.9% lower in the nine months to the end of October this year compared to the same period in 2015, the country’s statistics committee reported, confirming the country’s sharp economic downturn. A collapse in oil prices and a recession in Russia have dragged down Azerbaijan’s oil dependent economy.
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(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)
