JAN. 25 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – A man working at the Centerra Gold-owned Kumtor gold mine in Kyrgyzstan died in an accident. Neither Centerra Gold nor the Kyrgyz government, which owns a stake in the company, have commented on the accident. The Kumtor gold mine is the single biggest economic asset in Kyrgyzstan and is the focus of an ownership row.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)
JAN. 28 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s Central Bank said it would compensate customers of banks who lost savings in banks which have been stripped of their licences over the past couple of weeks. Legally, the Central Bank is only obliged to compensate up to 30,000 manat ($18,400). Around 6,600 customers will be eligible for the refund.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)
JAN. 27 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s state-owned Delta, which manufactures weapons and other military equipment, said it had secured a deal worth up to 100m lari (around $40m) to build “several dozen” military evacuation vehicles for Saudi Arabia, an important deal in an economically tough environment. Georgia has invested fairly heavily in its defence and military equipment sector.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)
JAN. 28 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov flew to Ashgabat to meet with Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, at a time when relations between two countries are considered to be near a post-Soviet Union low.
During his trip Mr Lavrov offered Turkmenistan help in defending its borders against potential incursion from Taliban fighters, a threat that Turkmen authorities have said has become more acute over the past year.
The Russian foreign minister quoted Mr Lavrov as saying: “If Russia’s assistance is needed with respect to these endeavours, it goes without saying that it will be in our interests to provide it. Let me reiterate that today our Turkmen friends provided us with a detailed insight into their efforts to reliably protect the border with Afghanistan.”
Local media said Mr Berdymukhamedov declined this offer.
Relations between Turkmenistan and Russia have dipped to a new low over rows about gas contracts. This year, Russia confirmed it was scrapping gas imports from Turkmenistan and buying more from Uzbekistan. Analysts said this was a slight against Turkmenistan for discussing gas routes to Europe via Azerbaijan and the S.Caucasus, a rival route to Russia’s gas supplies to Europe.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)
JAN. 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – For policy makers involved in pushing the CASA-1000 and TAPI projects, reports from Afghanistan that the Taliban have attacked and badly damaged part of a power line sending electricity to Kabul from southern Uzbekistan is the stuff their nightmares are made of.
CASA-1000 is the World Bank-backed $1.1b project that will supply Pakistan with power from hydro-stations in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. TAPI is the name of a pipeline that will pump gas from Turkmenistan to India.
Both projects will transit across Afghanistan and form part of a loose north-south Silk Road that US officials have been touting for the past decade. The rub is that they require a stable Afghanistan and that, it appears, is exactly what they don’t have.
If the Taliban are attacking power lines running from Uzbekistan to Kabul then what would stop them attacking a power line running to neighbouring Pakistan or a pipeline running to India?
For each project, the leaders now have to inspect their security systems once again. Costs and doubts about both projects will be rising.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(Editorial from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)
JAN. 25 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Qatar Airways, the country’s flagship airline, said it would expand its routes in the South Caucasus in Q1 and Q2 of 2016. The company announced the opening of a new Doha-Yerevan route from May 2016. Qatar Airways will fly four times a week to Armenia’s capital. The company also plans to expand from seven to eleven the weekly flights to Baku, from the end of March.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)
JAN. 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — In general, it was a positive week for Central Asia and South Caucasus focused companies, mainly because oil prices bounced back from the 12-year-lows touched last week.
After posting positive company results, shares in KAZ Minerals, previ- ously called Kazakhmys, shot up in the London Stock exchange continuing their positive trajectory picked up in mid-January. It finished trading on Jan. 28 at 122.75p – a three month high.
In its annual results KAZ Minerals said it was satisfied with its output despite a drop in copper cathode production. Although it has suffered from a slump in commodities prices, the KAZ Minerals is enjoying the cheap tenge currency. KAZ Minerals is focused on exports, so its revenue base, denominated in dollars, is solid.
A strong KAZ Minerals performance gives Central Asia/South Caucasus a cheerleader in this strife-laden period dominated by low oil prices.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)
JAN. 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The visit by Sergei Lavrov to Ashgabat could be dismissed as a pre-scheduled annual trip by Russia’s foreign minister to one of the former Soviet Union’s outlying countries.
But that would be a mistake. His meeting with Turkmen leader Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov was an important one, especially in the context of a more powerful, more determined Taliban resurgence in northern Afghanistan.
Russia-Turkmenistan relations have been worsening over the past few years, a deterioration mainly caused by rows over gas contracts and prices and also an argument over one of Russia’s mobile providers.
It’s important for Turkmenistan, and the wider Central Asia region, that Russia-Turkmenistan relations are mended.
Ashgabat may need the Kremlin’s help with organising its defences against the Taliban. If the Taliban show any real determination to break into Central Asia, the governments of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan may well need Russian backup to repel them.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
Editorial from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)
JAN. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Green Bus Company, a private transport company from Shymkent, has bought a 70% stake in Almatyelectrotrans, the company in charge of public transit in Almaty. Baurzhan Baibek, mayor of Almaty, said the new investor has pledged to buy 200 new buses. Almaty City will retain a 30% share in Almatyelectrotrans. Almaty’s transport network has been mired in controversy after a crash last year injured several people. Dozens of bus drivers have also protested over a new ticketing system.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)
JAN. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan has sold military equipment and weapons to Jordan, Kazakh defence minister Imangali Tasmagambetov said in a statement after a delegation returned from the Middle Eastern country. Mr Tasmagambetov said Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering, a joint venture with South African arms manufacturer Paramount, will supply several Arlan armoured vehicles to Jordan. The joint venture started producing the Arlan armoured personnel carriers last year. It set up the partnership in 2014.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)
