JULY 7 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will visit Dushanbe on Sept. 12/13 during a meeting of the shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the China and Russia led Central Asia military alliance. Tajikistan has close cultural and economic ties with Iran.
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(News report from Issue No. 192, published on July 9 2014)
MARCH 4 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — If Georgia’s support for the revolution in Ukraine was no surprise, Uzbekistan’s apparent concern about the territorial integrity of Ukraine is.
Uzbekistan was the first from the block of former Soviet states that you would have bet on supporting Russia to break ranks.
“Events in Ukraine … create a real threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country and have caused deep anxiety and concern in Uzbekistan,” the Uzbek foreign ministry said in a statement on its website.
Uzbekistan has a reputation for isolationism. It has awkward relations with its neighbours and has stayed clear of the Russian-led Customs Union.
Even so, Uzbekistan is part of the military orientated Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) which includes Russia, China and most of Central Asia. Russia is also an important economic partner for Uzbekistan.
For Uzbekistan to issue such a statement criticising the Russian military’s deployment in Ukraine is risky. Uzbekistan’s relations with its former colonial master have been patchy and, after this proclamation, may be even patchier.
Perhaps spurring Uzbekistan on in the background is its current ties to NATO. NATO is paying Uzbekistan handsomely to shift its kit from Afghanistan back home. Uzbekistan, possibly, had one eye on their current benefactors when issuing the statement.
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(News report from Issue No. 174, published on March 5 2014)
SEPT. 13 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — The leaders of Russia, China and the Central Asian states except Turkmenistan met in Bishkek for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. The SCO, described by some as a counterbalance to NATO, agreed to support Russia on blocking a US attack on Syria after a suspected chemical weapons attack.
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(News report from Issue No. 152, published on Sept. 18 2013)
AUG. 19 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, will meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin for the first time on Sept. 13 in Bishkek on the sidelines of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a Russia and China led Central Asia-focused group, Iranian media reported.
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(News report from Issue No. 148, published on Aug. 19 2013)
APRIL 26 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkey signed up to become a so-called dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a group led by China and Russia that includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Belarus and Sri Lanka already hold the same status with the SCO but Turkey is a NATO member and that makes its partnership more important. Analysts have often described the SCO as a potential Chinese and Russian-led military rival to NATO.
This analysis of the SCO, though, is too simplistic. The SCO is more than just a security group. It is also a financing organisation and a forum for inter-governmental conversation and debate.
Turkey, too, has deep economic, historical, cultural and linguistic ties with Central Asia, the focus of the SCO’s activities. Turkish senior governments ministers often visit the Central Asia capitals and it is only natural that Turkey should look to become a member in the region’s main security grouping.
Turkey’s interest in the SCO and its promotion as a dialogue partner should be welcomed by all, including NATO.
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(News report from Issue No. 133, published on April 29 2013)
DEC. 4 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – PMs of members of the Russia, China lead Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which focuses on Central Asia, met in Bishkek. China’s Wen Jiabao also met privately with Kyrgyz PM, Zhantoro Satybaldiyev. They discussed China’s future investment in Kyrgyzstan, and a potential trans Central Asia pipeline.
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(News report from Issue No. 116, published on Dec. 7 2012)
JUNE 6 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – China had a gift for its Central Asia partners who attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Beijing on June 7.
It had set up a new $10b fund through its Export-Import Bank to loan to its neighbours. Of course there are strings attached and the fund will buy China yet more impact in the region.
It already has a huge amount of clout, much of the region’s energy resources heads east and rarely a week passes without new deal being announced, but China still clearly wants more from Central Asia.
The first big deal announced by China from its new fund was a $1.1b loan to help pay for a refit of its refinery near Atyrau in western Kazakhstan, media reported.
Reuters published figures that showed just how deeply China has invested over the past few years. According to Kazakhstan, China has invested $15b into the country since 1991, a tenth of all foreign investment. Roughly $10b of that, though, has come since 2008 and now, according to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev about 20% of all its energy exports will flow to China.
The rest of Central Asia has also seen a massive boost in Chinese investments over the past few years, a trend that looks set to continue.
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(News report from Issue No. 091, published on June 8 2012)
JUNE 6 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Ahead of a meeting of heads of states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) members in Beijing, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon signed a number of deals with China, media reported. The deals will ensure a road is built from China across Tajikistan and grant a Chinese company copper exploration rights.
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(News report from Issue No. 091, published on June 8 2012)
NOV. 7 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – At a meeting in St Petersburg, PMs from the six countries in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) said they wanted to set up a development bank. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are members of the SCO which is lead by Russia and China. Many analysts see the SCO as a bulwark against western interests in the region.
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(News report from Issue No. 64, published on Nov. 8 2011)
JUNE 15 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan hosted the 10th annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a Central Asian security organisation lead by Russia and China. Heads of states and senior officials from India, Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan joined leaders from the SCO member states for the meeting.
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(News report from Issue No. 45, published on June 21 2011)
