OCT. 14 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – At a meeting in Yerevan, leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) agreed to set up a new crisis response centre. The thinking behind the centre is to improve the exchange of information between CSTO members on terrorism. The CSTO includes Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan.
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(News report from Issue No. 301, published on Oct. 21 2016)
OCT. 19 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Nine people, including six soldiers, died in a helicopter crash in east Uzbekistan, media reported. The helicopter that crashed was a Mi-171, a Soviet-built troop transport. Uzbek media described the crash as an accident but didn’t give any more details. There have been several accidents involving the Mi- 171 over the past few years.
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(News report from Issue No. 301, published on Oct. 21 2016)
OCT. 13 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s clans have pulled together behind Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the acting president and PM, in a power-sharing deal designed to ensure stability after the death of Islam Karimov last month, diplomatic sources told Reuters news agency.
Analysts, including The Conway Bulletin, have said that the smooth promotion of Mr Mirziyoyev and his seemingly inevitable victory in a presidential election in December, suggested that a deal had been done between Uzbekistan’s key power-brokers, but this is the first time that diplomatic sources have gone on record to confirm this.
The unnamed sources said that both Security Service chief Rustam Inoyatov and finance minister Rustam Azimov supported Mr Mirziyoyev as the Uzbek elites’ front-man but that he would consult with them on major decisions.
“Rival clans had agreed that Mirziyoyev would be the public face of the Uzbek leadership with the title of president, but that he would in reality not be able to make independent decisions,” Reuters quoted the sources as saying.
This is not without precedent in Central Asia, where succession issues have dominated politics. In 2006, when Turkmen president Saparmurat Niyazov died, Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, an obscure former dentist, was picked to become president as a compromise by the various power groups. He, though, has since developed a personality cult and rules the country virtually single-handedly.
In Uzbekistan, Karimov had ruled for 25 years, ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, although it was clear that in the last couple of years he and his family had ceded control to other people.
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(News report from Issue No. 300, published on Oct. 14 2016)
OCT. 12 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – China’s football coach Gao Hongbo resigned after his team lost 2-0 to Uzbekistan in a World Cp qualifier match. Mr Gao had returned to coaching China this year, after a two-year stint in 2009- 2011. In September, Uzbekistan was ranked in the top-50 national teams in the FIFA ranking.
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(News report from Issue No. 300, published on Oct. 14 2016)
SEPT. 7 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko flew into Samarkand to visit the grave of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, who died last month. Acting President and PM Shavkat Mirziyoyev welcomed Mr Lukashenko and accompanied him to Karimov’s grave.
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(News report from Issue No. 300, published on Oct. 14 2016)
BISHKEK, OCT. 1 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan reopened previously closed border crossings and pledged to improve relations after a friendly meeting in the Uzbek city of Andijan in the Ferghana Valley.
The sudden improvement in Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan relations comes just a month after the death of Islam Karimov, Uzbek president since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. He was regarded as a belligerent leader who preferred to keep relations with his neighbours cool.
By contrast acting President and PM Shavkat Mirziyoyev has appeared eager to improve Uzbekistan’s relations and one of his first acts, at least according to many analysts, was to mend relations with Kyrgyzstan.
This year, both countries have strengthened their forces in a stand- off that has threatened to escalate into conflict. In August, Uzbekistan suspended rail links with Kyrgyzstan.
Relations between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have been tense for years due to border disputes, rows over gas
prices and interethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan after a revolution in 2010. The Uzbek-Kyrgyz meeting on Oct. 1 culminated in a photo-op at the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border where Uzbek deputy PM, Adkham Ikramov, and his Kyrgyz counterpart, Mukhammetkalyi Abulgaziyev, exchanged kind words.
“Today, we understand just how much Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan need such meetings,” Mr Ikramov said.
The unprompted thawing of relations caught many by surprise.
Ruziali, an Uzbek student living in Bishkek, said that economic gains were behind the move.
“If acting President Shavkat Mirziyoyev wins the election, relations with Russia could improve and it is quite possible that we will enter the Eurasian Economic Union, of which Kyrgyzstan is already a member,” he said.
Uzbekistan holds a presidential election in December which is expected to confirm Mr Mirziyoyev as president.
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(News report from Issue No. 299, published on Oct. 7 2016)
OCT. 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – During a visit to Uzbekistan by the World Bank’s new regional director for Central Asia, Lilia Burunciuc, the Uzbek ministry of economy asked for a $100m loan to improve the country’s job market. The ministry said it wanted to create around 500,000 new, sustainable jobs over the next five years. In June, the World Bank committed to a new partnership with Uzbekistan, earmarking around $3b for a vast range of projects.
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(News report from Issue No. 299, published on Oct. 7 2016)
OCT. 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – US media sympathetic to the Republican party has hinted that a gift by car manufacturer GM to the Clinton Foundation in 2010 may have triggered a visit by Hillary Clinton to a factory GM part-owns in Uzbekistan in 2011 when she was Secretary of State.
This is not the first time that Ms Clinton has had to fight off allegations of poor judgement linked to her charitable foundation that she co- founded with her husband, former US President Bill Clinton, but it is the first time that Uzbekistan has fea- tured in the US presidential debate.
Fox News, which favours the Republican party, referenced a corruption scandal which has hit GM Uzbekistan this year over alleged bogus car sales to Russia.
“Clinton isn’t tied to any of the allegations,” it reported. “But it’s another example of how Clinton Foundation donations and subsequent State Department actions have put the Democratic presidential nominee in an awkward position.”
In 2010, GM gave the Clinton Foundation cars worth $685,000. A year later, Ms Clinton visited the GM Uzbekistan factory, a joint venture with the Uzbek government, in east
Uzbekistan, giving it a major publicity boost.
Business deals, and subsequent allegations of bribe paying, with Uzbekistan have proved damaging to Western companies before. Ms Clinton may also be tarnished by association.
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(News report from Issue No. 299, published on Oct. 7 2016)
OCT. 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – GM Uzbekistan said it has discontinued sales of its Ravon Matiz car model in Russia and shifted exports to Belarus. The company did not give a reason for the marketing decision. Uzbekistan and Belarus have improved trade ties. GM Uzbekistan, a joint venture between US-based GM (25%) and state-owned Uzavtoprom (75%), has had to grapple with a corruption scandal involving car sales to Russia in the past few months.
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(News report from Issue No. 299, published on Oct. 7 2016)
OCT. 6 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan’s acting President and PM Shavkat Mirziyoyev banned unscheduled police raids on businesses, in a move to improve, at least on paper, Uzbekistan’s business climate.
According to the decree, from January 2017 only pre-approved checks, linked to criminal activity or financial misconduct, can be ordered. This should end police raids, which have been linked to corruption.
This move fits Mr Mirziyoyev’s drive to build a presidential look for himself.
For the past few weeks, he has toured all regions in Uzbekistan, meeting foreign leaders and appearing more approachable than his predecessor Islam Karimov who died at the beginning of September
Mr Mirziyoyev is expected to win a presidential election in December.
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(News report from Issue No. 299, published on Oct. 7 2016)
