Tag Archives: economy

Putin’s Eurasian Union shapes up

OCT. 4 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – So it’s finally official. The Kremlin sees the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan Customs Union as a tool for further integration.

In an article for the newspaper Izvestiya on Oct. 4, Russian PM Vladimir Putin wrote of his vision for a Eurasian Union based around Moscow’s leadership emerging from the customs union. The timing of this article underlined its importance. This was Mr Putin’s first major policy statement since Sept. 24, 2011 when he said he would return as Russian president.

For Central Asia, but not yet for the South Caucasus, the customs union is already important. Kazakhstan is an enthusiastic member, Kyrgyzstan has officially applied to join and Tajikistan is thinking about it.

Russia uses the customs union as a bulwark against the growing influence of China and the West in Central Asia, a region it considers to be its natural sphere of influence.

Although Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan may be able to afford to resist, for Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan it has become politically and economically important to join the customs union.

Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev can also claim to have been the first to float the idea of a Eurasian Union. He mentioned the concept during a speech at a Moscow university in 1994.

Now, 17 years later, this Eurasian Union is gaining momentum.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 59, published on Oct. 4 2011)

Georgia wants Russia to sign a non-aggression pact

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OCT. 3 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Ahead of another round of talks between Georgia and Russia over Russian hopes to join the WTO, media quoted Georgian deputy foreign minister David Dzhaglania as saying that Moscow should sign a non-aggression pact. Already a member of the WTO, Georgia effectively holds a veto over Russian entry.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 59, published on Oct. 4 2011)

Kyrgyzstan applies to join the Customs Union

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SEPT. 23 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan has applied to join the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan customs union, Bloomberg quoted Russian first deputy PM Igor Shuvalov as saying. Kyrgyzstan has hinted throughout the year it wants to join the union which some analysts say is a Russian ploy to pull in its former Soviet neighbours.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 58, published on Sept. 27 2011)

Kazakhstan inches closer to WTO membership

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SEPT. 22 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan signed a bilateral trade agreement with the US, media reported, taking it a step closer to WTO membership. The key aspect of the deal allows easier access to the Kazakh market for US service providers, especially in the energy industry. Kazakhstan first applied for WTO membership in 1996.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 58, published on Sept. 27 2011)

US engagement in Central Asia marks the return of the Silk Road

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SEPT. 27 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Silk Road is back in vogue, at least at the UN’s General Assembly last week.

On the sidelines of the meeting, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and foreign ministers from Europe, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia were busy plotting a revival of the ancient trading route.

Media reports said the US sees the Silk Road as a way of boosting economic activity in Afghanistan from 2014 when NATO forces pull out of the country.

But if the Silk Road, which has always been a concept rather than a single physical route, is going to return to its glory days it requires a stable, prosperous and open Central Asia through which trade can flow.

Kazakhstan, with its anticipated economic growth of around 7% a year and increasingly open markets, is perhaps the only Central Asian state which fits that description. Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are relatively closed and instability plagues Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Of course, a modern day trading system already straddles Central Asia. Lorries carry goods from China to Russia and on to Europe and pipelines pump oil from the Caspian to Western markets. It may not be the Silk Road with Afghanistan at its core that the US envisages, but it is a start.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 058, published on Sept. 27 2011)

Armenia-Iran trade increases fast

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SEPT. 19 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Trade between Armenia and Iran has increased by 40% recently, Iran’s ambassador in Yerevan said according to local media. Iran has been looking to increase military and economic relations. Iran mainly exports gas to Armenia and imports power from Armenia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 57, published on Sept. 19 2011)

Georgia unable to reach WTO deal with Russia

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SEPT. 13 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – More deadlock between Georgia and Russia over Russian negotiations to join the WTO. In Switzerland, after the latest round of talks, officials from both countries emerged to say that no deal had been reached, media reported. Georgia has a veto over Russian WTO plans. More talks are scheduled.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 57, published on Sept. 19 2011)

Kazakh president says Kashagan will hit 2012 start

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SEPT. 16 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – According to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Kashagan oil project in the Caspian Sea is back on schedule. On a trip to West Kazakhstan, he said Kashagan will produce oil next year as planned, local media reported. Kashagan is crucial to Kazakh plans to join the world’s top five oil producers by 2018 but rumours have been circulated that it had been delayed.

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(News report from Issue No. 57, published on Sept. 19 2011)

Kazakh president visits France

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SEPT. 19 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Underlining Kazakhstan’s increasing prominence in global economic affairs, President Nursultan Nazarbayev flew to France for a meeting with French President Nikolas Sarkozy. No major deals were signed at the meeting but the leaders promised closer cooperation and flights between Paris and Astana.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 57, published on Sept. 19 2011)

Forbes magazine moves into Kazakhstan

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SEPT. 8 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – US publisher Forbes said it would start producing a Kazakh edition of its magazine, a nod to the country’s growing reputation in international investment circles. This will be the third Forbes title in the former Soviet Union after Russia and Ukraine. Forbes did not say when the first issue would be published.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 56, published on Sept. 12 2011)