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Kyrgyz CB keeps interest rate steady

JUNE 28 2017 (The Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s Central Bank kept its key interest rate steady at 5% because of rising inflation and economic growth. The rate decision is good news as it will be seen as a positive assessment of the Kyrgyz economy which has been battling against a downturn over the past three years or so. Inflation in Kyrgyzstan is currently running at around 3.8%. At the end of last year it was recording deflation.

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(News report from Issue No. 335, published on July 3 2017)

Hungary opens embassy in Uzbekistan

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JUNE 27 2017 (The Bulletin) — Hungary opened a new embassy in Tashkent, highlighting, perhaps, Uzbekistan’s new openness under President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto, who is on a short tour of Central Asia, officially opened the new embassy, highlighting its importance for boosting trade links.

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(News report from Issue No. 335, published on July 3 2017)

Late Uzbek President’s nephew receives refugee status

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JUNE 29 2017 (The Bulletin) — A court in Ukraine refused to approve the extradition of Akbar Abdullaev, the nephew of former Uzbek President Islam Karimov, to face various corruption and money laundering charges because it did not think he would receive a fair trial. Instead, Mr Abdullaev was given refugee status. He was arrested in Kiev in mid-January.

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(News report from Issue No. 335, published on July 3 2017)

Armenia to sign EU deal

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JUNE 30 2017 (The Bulletin) — Armenia and the EU have completed negotiations over a new Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement and will sign the deal in November, media reported by quoting Armenian foreign minister Eduard Nalbandian. This is the second attempt by Armenia and the EU to sign a Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement. The first, in 2013, failed after Russian pressure on Armenia.

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(News report from Issue No. 335, published on July 3 2017)

Majoritarian to be kept in Georgia

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JUNE 27 2017 (The Bulletin) — The ruling Georgian Dream’s decision to postpone introducing proportional representation in elections until 2024, pushed back from 2020, is a damaging precedent for the country’s democracy, 32 civil society organisations wrote in an open letter. The groups that have signed the letter include the influential Young Lawyers Association and Transparency International. The Georgian Dream signalled last week that it was going to brush aside pressure and not immediately ditch the majoritarian system during constitutional changes.

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(News report from Issue No. 335, published on July 3 2017)

Currencies: Kyrgyzstan’s som

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JULY 3 2017 (The Bulletin) — The Kyrgyz Central Bank said that the economy was picking up, electing to keep interest rates steady, but Kyrgyzstan’s som currency has continued to fall. It is now trading at around 69.2/$1, its lowest since March. If its drops through the 69.4/$1 barrier it will hit its lowest value since September.

The turnaround in the currency has been startling and highlights just how vulnerable the currencies of Central Asia are to the whims of their governments. Analysts said that the recent drop in the value of the Kyrgyz som from 67.2/$1, its highest level since mid-2015, has been controlled and bears the hallmarks of a managed decline.

Analysts have warned that inflationary pressures have been built into the Kyrgyz economy. A decline in the value of a national currency is one way that inflation seeps out. The Central Bank said that inflation was now around 4.4%, a large jump from the end of last year when it was measuring deflation.

GDP growth for the first five months of the year was over 6%, outpacing expectations.

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(News report from Issue No. 335, published on July 3 2017)

Jehovah Witness holds meeting in Uzbekistan

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JUNE 28 2017 (The Bulletin) — A delegation of senior officials from Jehovah Witness chapters in Europe and the United States travelled to Tashkent for a meeting with the Uzbek government. Very little detail on what was discussed was released by the Uzbek government but the Jehovah Witness officials may have been complaining about an ongoing crackdown against its members.

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(News report from Issue No. 335, published on July 3 2017)

Uzbek President orders new airport

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JUNE 30 2017 (The Bulletin) — Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has ordered officials in Tashkent to build a new airport from scratch, apparently dropping plans to build a new terminal for international flights at the current airport. The decree, did not say when the new airport would be completed or how much it would cost.

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(News report from Issue No. 335, published on July 3 2017)

Kazakh capital to host next round of Syria talks

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JUNE 19 2017 (The Bulletin) — The next round of talks in Astana focused on ending the violence in Syria have been set for July 10, media reported quoting officials. The talks are hosted by Kazakhstan but are run by Iran, Russia and Turkey. They also, importantly, include representatives from the Syrian government and also from the Syrian rebels. This will be the fourth round of talks this year in Astana focused on Syria. The Astana talks are not designed as a replacement for the Geneva peace talks which are run by the UN and are attempting to find a political solution to the civil war in Syria.

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(News report from Issue No. 334, published on June 26 2017)

Australia’s Ricciardo wins GP in Azerbaijan

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JUNE 25 2017 (The Bulletin) — Australian Daniel Ricciardo won the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Baku after what commentators described as a chaotic race with several crashes. Ricciardo races for the Red Bull team. This was the second F1 race in Baku, but the first called the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The first race, held in 2016, was called the European Grand Prix.

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(News report from Issue No. 334, published on June 26 2017)