Tag Archives: Kyrgyzstan

Frustrated Kyrgyz President delays signing EEU customs code

BISHKEK, DEC. 27 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev delayed signing a new Eurasian Economic Union customs code, media reported, a very public signal of his frustration with the Kremlin-led group.

The code, drawn up to replace an earlier one agreed by the EEU’s predecessor the Customs Union, and a deal on foreign trade policies were supposed to have been signed by member states at a meeting in St Petersburg in a setpiece end-of-year summit.

Instead, Tigran Sarkisyan, head of the EEU’s executive unit, was forced to issue a statement explaining the delay.

“All documents were signed except the first issue on the agenda, a statement of the development of EEU trade policies, which three countries signed but Kyrgyzstan refused to sign, and the second document, the Customs Code, which three countries signed but Kyrgyzstan refused to sign,” media quoted him as saying.

Belarus’ Alexander Lukashenko was absent from the meeting.

Hours later the Eurasian Economic Commission released another statement which said that Mr Atambayev had apparently signed the deals. There was no explanation on what had triggered Mr Atambayev’s change of mind.

Kyrgyzstan joined the EEU in August 2015 but has complained that the rules favor Kazakhstan and Russia and that it has lost business since joining. Local businessmen have also said the mountain of red tape has increased costs.

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(News report from Issue No. 311, published on Jan. 6 2017)

Turkey accuses Kyrgyz man for Reina attack

JAN. 2 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Radical Islamist recruitment from Central Asia came under the spot- light after the authorities in Turkey accused a Kyrgyz man of killing at least 39 people at a nightclub in Istanbul on New Year’s Eve. The attack was claimed by the extremist IS group. The Turkish authorities later retracted the accusation and instead said that they were hunting for an ethnic Uighur who may have spent time in Kyrgyzstan. Security experts have said that Central Asia is a prime recruiting group for IS.

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(News report from Issue No. 311, published on Jan. 6 2017)

Kyrgyzstan deal to sell 4,000 donkeys to China sparks anger from animal rights activists

BISHKEK, DEC. 16 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyz plans to export 4,000 donkeys to China have angered animal rights protesters who have said that the animals are transported in inhumane conditions and are often killed for gelatin extracted from their skins which is then used in traditional Chinese medicine.

The BBC reported that Chinese importers bought the donkeys from a village near Osh in southern Kyrgyzstan for an estimated 3,000-4,000 soms ($43-57) per donkey.

China is a major importer of donkeys. It sources many from Africa.

The donkeys are often used to work the land but are also butchered for their skins. Chinese medicine producers want the gelatin from the donkeys’ skins.

A couple of years ago, donkey meat was discarded in Kyrgyzstan, after hundreds of donkeys had been killed and skinned.

Animal rights activists want the export of donkeys to China to be stopped or at least regulated. Business leaders in the region though said that the donkey trade had become a profitable export for poor farmers.

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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

Uzbekistan develops ties with Pakistan

DEC. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — On a trip to Pakistan, Uzbekistan’s deputy PM Ulugbek Rozukulov agreed with Pakistani business minister Khurram Dastgir Khan to set up a joint business council to improve ties between the two countries. Since former president Islam Karimov died in September, Uzbekistan has worked to improve relations with its neighbours. Pakistan has also invested more time into developing ties in the Central Asia region. It is part of both the CASA-1000 project to import electricity from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan and also part of the TAPI gas pipeline project to import gas from Turkmenistan.

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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

Kyrgyzstan buys buses from Russia

DEC. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russian truck and bus producer GAZ said that it sold 30 city buses to Kyrgyzstan for 2.7m euro. It said that the buses were destined for Osh and that they were designed to carry up to 104 passengers.

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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)f

Iranian president Rouhani tours Kazakhstan, building support for Iran’s trade routes

ALMATY, DEC. 21/22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Iranian Leader Hassan Rouhani toured Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia, a tour that underlines Iran’s ambitions in the region.

Western sanctions on Iran were eased this year, triggering a wave of enthusiasm of a potential return of Western business but, aside from a handful of high-profile deals, this has failed to materialise. Analysts have said that, instead, Iran and Mr Rouhani have turned their focus on Central Asia where they have built up strong business and economic ties over the past few years.

This was highlighted in a statement released by Mr Rouhani’s press team before he left Tehran. He said that Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan formed a vital part of Iran’s trade corridors.

“We will gain access to Europe and the Black Sea through Armenia, and to the northern and eastern countries through Kazakhstan,” he said.

“Also, China is seeking to connect its railway to Tajikistan, Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran through Kyrgyzstan”.

And positive bilateral relations were on show throughout Mr Rouhani’s trip. Speaking after his meeting in Astana with Mr Rouhani, Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev said: “An agreement was reached to strengthen the political influence of the two countries within the framework of international organizations such as the UN, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, SCO.”

The issue of the UN is particularly important as Kazakhstan is starting two years as one of the non-permanent Security Council members.

Prior to landing in Kazakhstan, Mr Rouhani had visited Armenia. It has developed ties based on swapping its gas for Armenia’s electricity.

From Kazakhstan, Mr Rouhani travelled to Bishkek where he received public support from president Almazbek Atambayev for Iranian membership of the Russia and China led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Iran applied to join the group in 2008 but Western sanctions slowed its application. Now those sanctions have been lifted, Iranian membership has been talked of again.

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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

China may invest in Kyrgyz airline

DEC. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — China Southern Airline is considering buying a 49% stake in Air Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyzstan’s minister of transport, Zhamshitbek Kalilov, told media. The Kyrgyz government had, earlier this year, failed to sell a stake in the company. Any partner would have to upgrade the Air Kyrgyzstan fleet and take on its debt. Kyrgyzstan is looking to raise cash to get it through a sustained economic downturn.

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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

Kyrgyzstan scraps tourist registration requirements

BISHKEK, DEC. 19 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan cancelled the reintroduction of a law that required all tourists to register with an interior ministry unit within five days of arriving in the country.

The law had proved unpopular with tourists, who didn’t understand the system and felt vulnerable to extortion, and also with businesses whose revenues had been hit.

Kyrgyzstan reintroduced the rule on Nov. 5 but never properly explained why. It was also seen as a step backwards for Kyrgyzstan which had scrapped tourist visas in 2012.

In a direct plea to the government, tourism leaders in the Karakol region of east Kyrgyzstan, popular for skiing and hiking, posted a video explaining the impact on their businesses.

“Tourism in Karakol is one of the main economic activities of the city, owing to which we live and eat,” Jamilya, 29, a owner of local cafe said in the video. “Your law on registration is the absolute opposite to the development of Kyrgyzstan and development of tourism and I ask you to hear the voice of the people and cancel the registration.”

Kyrgyzstan, which is short on natural resources but is renowned for its Alpine scenery, has tried to market itself as an adventure tourism destination. Tourism now accounts for nearly 5% of the country’s GDP.

Azamat Aitbaev, a member of Karakol city parliament and the initiator of the video messages told The Conway Bulletin that tourist numbers were down 70-80% compared to last year.

“December is the most active month in winter tourism, and we have already lost it because of this mandatory registration,” he said.

Under the reinstated rules citizens of Western countries will be able to stay in Kyrgyzstan for 30 days without registering and citizens of other FSU states, and countries with special bilateral agreements, will be able to stay in Kyrgyzstan for up to 90 days without registering.

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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

Kyrgyz President meets Indian PM Modi for talks

BISHKEK, DEC. 20 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — A few days after hosting Tajik president Emomali Rakhmon, Indian PM Narendra Modi held talks with Kyrgyz president Almazbek Atambayev.

At the talks, Mr Modi praised Kyrgyzstan for a being a beacon of democracy. “Our societies share a sense of warmth. We are also bound by a common belief in democratic values and traditions,” he was quoted by media as saying.

India has been pushing to improve its links with Central Asia. It has built relations through gas projects, mainly the TAPI gas pipeline running from Turkmenistan, and has also been accepted as a member of the Russia and China led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation which focuses on Central Asia.

Mr Atambayev said that he wanted to strengthen economic links with India.

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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

Kyrgyz business group criticises new tax code

BISHKEK, DEC. 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s Association of Markets and Businesses has criticised the government for rushing through reforms to the tax code without consultation, media reported.

Reports said that the government had published a new tax code on Dec.

6 without consulting the group. Sergey Ponomarev, the group’s leader, said that it had been working with the government for six months previously to produce a new tax code.

“The previous code has been discussed for a year and the document became balanced. It wasn’t perfect, but at least the development process and decision were complied,” he said. Mr Pomomarev said the business community would need six months to look at the new proposals. Kyrgyzstan is suffering from an economic downturn and its looking to raise revenue.

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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)