Author Archives: Editor

Coronavirus smashes in the region’s currencies

TBILISI/March 26 (The Bulletin) — Currencies plunged across Central Asia and the South Caucasus because of the combined impact of the Covid-19 virus, a collapse in oil prices and a surge in the value of the US dollar.

Central Banks raced to pump money into their systems and sell off foreign currency assets to prop up the value of their currencies as the impact of the pandemic on business and economies across the globe became apparent.

In the past couple of weeks the region’s two most-traded currencies, the Kazakh tenge and the Georgian lari, have lost around 20% of their value.

Airlines have stopped flying into the region, land borders have closed and projects and foreign direct investment that had been pledged have been put on hold.

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— This story was first published in issue 440 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020

Kyrgyzstan bans export of foodstuffs

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MARCH 26 (The Bulletin) — In Kyrgyzstan, the government on March 23 also banned the export of most foodstuffs. Three of the countries main cities — Bishkek, Osh and Jala-Abad — are in lockdown to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Like much of the rest of the region, Kyrgyzstan has closed down air links, in and out of the country, to deal with the coronavirus.

The Kyrgyz government has not laid out any financial aid of its own for businesses to deal with the economic fallout of the coronavirus but it has made an official request to the IMF for help.

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— This story was first published in issue 440 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020

Tajikistan says that it has no cases of the coronavirus

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MARCH 26 (The Bulletin) — Tajikistan is one of only a handful of countries in the world, Turkmenistan being another, that has not reported any cases of the coronavirus. It has not imposed any social-distancing rules and has not placed any of its cities under a lockdown. Instead, towns across the country celebrated the traditional Persian New Year festival of Nowruz as usual.

The health authorities, though, have been imposing a two-week quarantine scheme on people arriving back into the country. They have said that they are running out of beds and places to put people into.

Reports from Moscow said that hundreds of migrant workers were trapped at airports after the cancellation of dozens of flights.

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— This story was first published in issue 440 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020

Coronavirus forces Georgia’s tourist industry to close

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TBILISI/March 26 (The Bulletin) — The spread of the coronavirus has forced Georgia’s tourism industry, a source of pride and economic strength over the past half a decade, to shut down. Businesses linked to the sector said that it may take years to rebuild.

Irakli Areshidze, a bar owner in Tbilisi, told a correspondent for The Bulletin that he had had to leave debts unpaid and abandon his business for now.

“It’s a very difficult situation,” he said. “We had to pay for the February expenses with the March income, but the March income was so low we needed to use the savings.”

The Georgian tourism sector has been marketed heavily in Europe and the Middle East. For Arabs it is an escape from the heat, for Europeans it is an exotic bridge towards the former Soviet Union.

Lika Jguburia has been working as a guide. He said that all the tour reservations until October have been cancelled.

“To lose a job and a major source of income is simply awful,” he said. “And it has happened so quickly.”

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— This story was first published in issue 440 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020

Like Tajikistan, Turkmenistan says that it has no cases of the coronavirus

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MARCH 26 (The Bulletin) — Like Tajikistan, Turkmenistan has not reported any cases of the coronavirus. President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has also been talking up the healing properties of various plants.

Even so, the authorities in Turkmenistan, regarded as one of the most isolated countries in the world, have imposed major travel restrictions into Ashgabat. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty have also said that food prices are rising in the city.

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— This story was first published in issue 440 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020

Coronavirus hit will drag down the Uzbek economy

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MARCH 26 (The Bulletin) — The spread of the coronavirus, the global lockdown and the collapse of the travel tourism industry will hit Uzbekistan hard, at least in 2020. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has worked to open up the country over the past four years and has placed large emphasis on pulling in Western tourists.

The tourist season should be about to kick-off instead, some of the country’s biggest sites are empty.

Mr Mirziyoyev has also ordered the government to borrow $1b to try to help businesses recover from the impact of the coronavirus. The Uzbek justice ministry said that the country’s GDP growth for 2020 was likely to be 3.7%, compared to an earlier estimate of 5.5%.

The Uzbek Central Bank has said that businesses will also have an extended period to pay back any loans and told credit organisations to be lenient with its debt collecting.

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— This story was first published in issue 440 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020

Azerbaijan sets up fund to deal with coronavirus

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MARCH 26 (The Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s government has said it will set up a fund to help businesses recover from the impact of the coronavirus and has asked the country’s wealthy to contribute. The ministry of defence, and the Central Bank have said they will make a contribution and President Ilham Aliyev and his wife, Mehriban, who is also the vice-president, have donated their salary for the year.

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— This story was first published in issue 440 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020

Uzbekistan reports 65 cases of the coronavirus

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MARCH 26 (The Bulletin) — Uzbek officials had reported 65 cases of the coronavirus by March 26 and imposed a lockdown on three cities — Tashkent, Namangan and Andijan. A state-of-emergency has been declared, giving the police far-reaching powers. Borders have been closed and public transport systems have also been shut down.

The government has also banned all events with more than 10 people.

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— This story was first published in issue 440 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020

Uzbekistan tweaks hated registration system

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MARCH 19 (The Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s government unveiled a new registration system for people wanting to live and work in Tashkent which will replace the Soviet ‘propiska’ system that was so hateD. The ‘propiska’ system made it expensive, time-consuming and complicated for people to move to Tashkent from regional Uzbekistan. Earlier this year, the government said that it wanted to change this system. Now it has published a new set of rules which will force people moving to Tashkent to register with the police, as before, but also allow them to roll over temporary permits more easily. The Uzbek government wants to liberalise Soviet control systems.

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— This story was first published in issue 440 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020

Socar opens more petrol stations in Azerbaijan

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MARCH 19 (The Bulletin) — Socar, the Azerbaijani state oil and gas company, said that it had opened its 31st petrol station in Azerbaijan. Trading under the Socar Petroleum brand, the petrol station will offer Euro-95 and A-92 quality fuels. Socar has been building up its network of petrol stations for some time. Socar Petroleum started operations in 2008.

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— This story was first published in issue 440 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin