Tag Archives: Tajikistan

Siemens eyes energy projects in Tajikistan

MARCH 9 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Officials from Siemens and the German Energy Agency (DENA) met with Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon in Dushanbe to discuss potential cooperation in the sector, giving Tajikistan’s struggling domestic energy sector a potential boost.

Tajikistan relies mainly on hydropower stations to generate much of its power but Mr Rakhmon’s pet project, the Rogun station, lacks investment and has aggravated relations with downstream Uzbekistan, a major cotton-producer.

Every winter, and it gets cold in Tajikistan, villages across the country face rolling blackouts as electricity rationing is introduced.

Last year German-Tajik trade amounted to just under €40.3m, less than a tenth of German-Uzbek trade and dwarfed by German-Kazakh trade which reached over €6.5b.

Perhaps, though, with the visit by Siemens, this is about to change.

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(News report from Issue No. 175, published on March 12 2014)

Tajik minister drops Russian surname

MARCH 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Looking to distance themselves from Russian culture, or perhaps just seeking to please their leader, Tajikistan’s interior minister and communications chief have ditched the -ov from their names, media reported. President Emomali Rakhmon dropped his -ov in 2007.

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(News report from Issue No. 175, published on March 12 2014)

Tajikistan arrests lawyer of opposition figure

MARCH 9 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Underling Tajikistan’s authoritarian instinct, police arrested the lawyer of jailed opposition leader Zaid Saidov, media reported. Fakhriddin Zokirov, the lawyer who represented Sadiov last year in his corruption case, is accused of forging documents and theft.

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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 175, published on March 12 2014)

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan reopen border

MARCH4 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have agreed to reopen border crossings closed since mid-January after a shootout between Kyrgyz and Tajik border guards, media reported. The re-opening of the border marks an important drop in tension between the two countries.

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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 174, published on March 5 2014)

Tajikistan plans new energy legislation

MARCH 3 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Lawmakers in Tajikistan’s lower house discussed the draft of a new law that investors hope will help them to do business in its emerging energy sector.

Tajikistan, dependent on fuel imports from Russia and unfriendly neighbour Uzbekistan, is desperate to unlock its own significant hydrocarbons potential. It hopes to both achieve energy security and earn much-needed revenue.

The problem is that the legislation appears unreformed and Byzantine even.

Although details of the law under discussion haven’t been released, it is understood that it is aimed at addressing these problems.

Russia’s Gazprom, Channel Islands-registered Tethys, France’s Total and China’s CNPC are all prospecting in Tajikistan, the latter trio joining forces to exploit the Bokhtar license area in the south-west of the republic which may hold over 3 trillion cubic metres of gas.

Neighbouring China will be the primary customer when — or perhaps at this stage that should still be an ‘if’ — Bokhtar starts gas production.

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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 174, published on March 5 2014)

FIFA president visits Tajikistan

FEB. 26 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajikistan is not known as a global football powerhouse but Sepp Blatter, the president of the game’s global governing body FIFA, is due to visit for two days on March 24/25, media reported. During his visit, Mr Blatter will watch a local football match.

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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 174, published on March 5 2014)

Tajik workers go on strike for higher wages

MARCH 2 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Workers in Tajikistan building a road for a Chinese company have gone on strike after demanding higher wages, media reported. Looking to build influence in Central Asia, China has pledged to construct a series of roads and tunnels. Tension, though, flares with how Chinese companies treat their Tajik workers.

(News report from Issue No. 174, published on March 5 2014)

Tajikistan censors media on the web

FEB. 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said that four out of six of Tajikistan’s main internet providers have blocked access to its Tajik news site since Feb. 22. Tajikistan has a poor press freedom record and has previously blocked access to international news websites.

(News report from Issue No. 173, published on Feb. 26 2014)

Tajik men carry out homophobic attack

FEB. 12 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Highlighting homophobia in Central Asia, a man who recently described his life as a homosexual for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was beaten up and stab. The man said that the attack was directly linked to the interview. Tajikistan has decriminalised homosexuality although prejudice is still rife.

(News report from Issue No. 172, published on Feb. 19 2014)

HRW criticises Tajikistan

FEB. 7 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The New York based-Human Rights Watch criticised the Tajik authorities for sentencing 26-year-old Zaid Saidov to prison after he had formed a new political party. HRW said that Saidov was found guilty of five criminal charges on Dec. 25 2013 and accused the Tajik authorities of crudely harassing their opponents.

(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)