Author Archives: admin

Tajik President travels to Pakistan for trade talks

NOV. 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajik president Emomali Rakhmon travelled to Islamabad for a two-day visit that will culminate with talks with Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif on plans to create a regional power market.

Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan hope to supply Pakistan and Afghanistan with power generated by their hydropower stations in a project dubbed CASA- 1000. The project is viewed as vital for increasing trade and diplomatic links between the neighbours.

And CASA-1000 already appears to be having a positive impact on relations between Tajikistan and its neighbours. This trip to Pakistan, will be Mr Rakhmon’s sixth.

An official at the Tajik embassy in Islamabad also said that wider trade relations would be discussed.

“During the Tajik president’s visit, they will discuss energy import, transit trade and linking the region through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which will bring prosperity in the entire area,” the unnamed official told the Express Tribune newspaper.

Electricity is one of Tajikistan’s and Kyrgyzstan’s main exports. Pakistan and Afghanistan are deficient in electricity.

Tajikistan and Pakistan don’t share a land border. A sliver of Afghanistan separates the countries.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 256, published on Nov. 13 2015)

Two Tajik officers die of knive attacks

NOV. 8 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Unknown assailants armed with knives attacked four Tajik army officers in Dushanbe, killing two of them. The army has not given a motive for the attack although the officers were involved with Tajikistan’s military draft. Officially at least, all Tajik men have to serve two years in the army.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 256, published on Nov. 13 2015)

Georgia’s court reinstates Rustavi-2 TV management

NOV. 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in Tbilisi reinstated the former management of the Rustavi-2 TV station, the focus of an ownership tug-of-war between supporters of the ruling Georgian Dream coalition against supporters of the former government of the UNM party. Earlier this month a court handed control of the station to a pro-government businessman.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 256, published on Nov. 13 2015)

Kazakh President’s daughter makes online profit

NOV. 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – An investigation by a Kazakh website showed a company linked to the youngest daughter of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Aliya Nazarbayeva, is charging 2% for online payments through Kazakhtelecom.

In June, Kazakhtelecom, Kazakhstan’s largest provider of internet services, imposed a 2% charge when customers paid for its services online.

An investigation by the informburo.kz website showed that the service company Instant Payments had become the intermediary for these transactions and was the ultimate beneficiary of the 2% fee. Ms Nazarbayeva is the founder and owner of Instant Payments, informburo.kz reported. Within a day, the report had disappeared from the informburo.kz website but not before it had triggered public anger.

Typical of this anger was a comment from Vladimir P on alau.kz. “We are living a crisis, but everything goes in their large, immense pockets, not to the people,” he wrote.

Neither Ms Nazarbayeva nor Kazakhtelecom have commented. There is no suggestion of any wrong-doing.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 256, published on Nov. 13 2015)

Uzbekistan says it wants foreign investment

NOV. 6 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan’s government said it wanted foreign investors to buy stakes in state-owned enterprises, part of a privatisation plan it said was designed to bring expertise into some of its biggest companies.

Deputy PM Rustam Azimov made the statement at an investment forum in Tashkent.

“[The plan is] to attract strategic investors who are able to bring new technology and equipment (and) organise the production of modern and competitive products,” Reuters quoted Mr Azimov as saying.

He cherry-picked three companies, seemingly as a teaser to pique foreign investor interest. These were cement maker Kizilkumcement, chemical producer Ferganaazot and electronics plant Foton.

For foreign investors, though, Uzbekistan has always been a complicated to do business in. It holds a high level of natural resources, mainly gold, gas and cotton, but is riddled through with corruption and intrigue. Western companies have previously had their assets taken by the Uzbek state too.

It remains to be seen if Uzbekistan is serious about opening up to foreign investors — and also whether these investors are Western, Korean, Chinese, Russia or from elsewhere.

The Uzbek government does need to raise funds though to deal with the current economic malaise.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 256, published on Nov. 13 2015)

EU chief praises Georgia

NOV. 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – On a visit to Tbilisi, Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign policy chief, praised Georgia’s contribution to EU-led military peace operations in Africa but also warned the country that it shouldn’t take media freedom for granted.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 256, published on Nov. 13 2015)

Azerbaijani President fires communications minister

NOV. 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev fired his long-serving communications minister Ali Abbasov, the second sacking of a government minister in two months.

Mr Aliyev has generally preferred to keep people in key positions for years, so the sackings have created an unusual sense of instability around the Azerbaijani government.

Mr Abbasov had been communications minister for over 11 years.

The presidential press service announced the sacking through an online statement. No reason was given for the sacking although shortly afterwards police arrested 10 senior officials in the communications ministry and charged them with corruption.

The pattern is similar to the sacking last month of national security minister Eldar Mahmudov. He had also been in the job since 2004. Similarly, after Mr Mahmudov was sacked, police arrested several senior officials in the national security ministry for corruption.

Azerbaijan is routinely criticised for its corruption levels but it is unusual for the state to purge its own ranks for alleged graft and even more unusual for an internal investigation to trigger ministerial sackings.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 256, published on Nov. 13 2015)

Coca-Cola halts Uzbekistan plant?

NOV. 10 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Coca-Cola Ichimligi may have suspended its operations in Uzbekistan, according to a report published by US-funded RFE/RL. Tashkent residents said Coca-Cola products have disappeared from shops. Coca-Cola Ichimligi is reportedly linked to Gulnara Karimova, daughter of Pres. Islam Karimov.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 256, published on Nov. 13 2015)

EGT grows in Georgia

NOV. 9 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Bulgarian manufacturer Euro Games Technology reported positive growth in Georgia, where it expanded its product line to several casinos. EGT, which manufactures slot machines and roulettes, said most of its machines operate at casinos in Batumi, a resort town on theGeorgian Black Sea coast. The company said it grew its market share from 25% in 2014 to 33% this year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 256, published on Nov. 13 2015)

Korea-Uzbek business to boost

NOV. 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – South Korea wants to boost further its investments in Uzbekistan, local media reported quoting government officials. South Korea and Uzbekistan have developed close relations over the past few years. There are thousands of ethnic Koreans living in Uzbekistan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)