Author Archives: Editor

Belarussia’s MAZ to set up assembly plant in Uzbekistan

MARCH 5 (The Bulletin) — Uzbek and Belorussian officials agreed a deal for MAZ, the state-owned Belorussian lorry and bus producer, to set up an assembly plant in Uzbekistan. Since the death of former president Islam Karimov in 2016, Uzbekistan tried to rival Kazakhstan as a base for car and vehicle manufacturing in Central Asia.

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— This story was published in issue 475 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 15 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

OPEC agrees to allow Kazakhstan to increase its oil production quota

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MARCH 5 2021 (The Bulletin) — OPEC, the Saudi Arabia-dominated oil exporting group agreed to allow Kazakhstan to raise its output. OPEC members had cut production to boost oil prices. Now that prices have increased, Brent crude is at around $69/barrel — its highest since the end of 2019, OPEC has loosened restrictions. Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, along with Russia, are not OPEC members but had gone along with the cuts. From April, Kazakhstan can boost its output by 20,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), up from its current level of 1,437,000bpd. Azerbaijan, though, has agreed to maintain its output at 595,000 bpd.

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— This story was published in issue 474 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 5 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Tajik labourers say that Chinese firms abuse them

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DUSHANBE/MARCH 5 (The Bulletin) — Tajik labourers working for a Chinese firm constructing a new government building in Dushanbe have complained of poor conditions and harassment, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported (March 5).

The Tajik workers refused to give their names to reporters because they said that if they were caught complaining, they would be fired. “All heavy and manual work in construction is done by Tajiks, and local workers wear yellow helmets and Chinese wear red hats. Most of them are employers, engineers and office workers,” one worker told RFE/RL.

Tajikistan is heavily in debt to China which has given dozens of soft loans to build roads, new government buildings and beautify Dushanbe and other cities.

Activists have said that Chinese companies’ attitude towards different workers has been made worse by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Most of the workers here are former migrants who can’t go to Russia because the border is closed,” said another person working on the site. Remittances from migrant workers typically make up around half of Tajikistan’s GDP.

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— This story was published in issue 475 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 15 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

India creates coronavirus air corridor with Uzbekistan

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MARCH 5 2021 (The Bulletin) — In what some analysts have described as a case of coronavirus realpolitik, India added Uzbekistan to a so-called ‘air bubble’ that allows Indians to travel to other countries with only limited restrictions. India has now set up ‘air bubbles’ with 27 countries. It is trying to build up influence in Central Asia and sees Uzbekistan as its best route.

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— This story was published in issue 474 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 5 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Uzbekistan aims to increase fruit exports to China

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MARCH 4 2021 (The Bulletin) — Uzbekistan wants to expand the range of fruit that it exports to China, which is fast becoming Central Asia’s main export market for nearly all its goods, Muslim Khalilov, a senior Uzbek official in the government’s export promotion department, told the freshplaza.com website. Mr Khalilov said that Uzbekistan already exports 14 types of fruit to China and that it wants permits to export lemons, grapes, plums, peaches and persimmons to China too.

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— This story was published in issue 474 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 5 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Indian Army trains Turkmen special forces

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MARCH 4 2021 (The Bulletin) — The Indian Army has started training Turkmen special forces, Indian media reported, in what appears to be an intensifying of the budding relationship between India and Turkmenistan. India has been trying for the past decade to catch up with its main rival China and improve links and influence in Central Asia. Turkmenistan wants to export gas to India.

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— This story was published in issue 474 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 5 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

WizzAir says that it is still too early to resume post-pandemic Kutaisi operations

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MARCH 4 2021 (The Bulletin) — WizzAir, the Hungarian low-cost airline, said that although the coronavirus pandemic is easing, it is still too early to say when it will resume flights from Kutaisi in Georgia. WizzAir started flying from Kutaisi in 2012 and had turned it into a major hub linking Georgia to Europe. At its peak in 2019, WizzAir had flown to 39 destinations from Kutaisi.

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— This story was published in issue 474 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 5 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Car imports to Azeraijan rise despite coronavirus pandemic

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MARCH 4 2021 (The Bulletin) — Despite the damage to Azerbaijan’s economy from the coronavirus pandemic, car imports increased last year to 53,729 from 47,709, a rise of 12%, Safar Mehdiyev, chairman of the Azerbaijani state customs committee, said. This is double the number of car imports into Azerbaijan compared to 2018.

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— This story was published in issue 474 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 5 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Azerbaijan’s F1 GP to go ahead without spectators

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MARCH 3 2021 (The Bulletin) — Azerbaijani officials said that the F1 Grand Prix, touted as the highlight of Azerbaijan’s sporting calendar since it was inaugurated in 2016, will go ahead this year but without any spectators. Last year, like many of the F1 Grand Prix, the race was cancelled because of the coronavirus. The race, through the streets of Baku, is considered a fine city circuit. It is scheduled for June 6.

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— This story was published in issue 474 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 5 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Georgian soldier commits suicide

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MARCH 3 2021 (The Bulletin) — A Georgian soldier shot himself with his rifle, Georgia’s ministry of defence said. It said that the cause of the suicide was “family-related problems”, although this has not been independently confirmed. Suicides in the military are less common in Georgia than in neighbouring Armenia and Azerbaijan where bullying and hazing are still part of army life.

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— This story was published in issue 474 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 5 2021