Author Archives: Editor

Turkey lifts ban on sending cargo flights to Armenia

JAN. 6 2023 (The Bulletin) — Turkey lifted a ban on cargo flights to Armenia, part of its package to “normalise” relations. The move was agreed in July 2022 and is designed to lay the foundations for the slow opening of the Armenia-Turkey border. There have been no diplomatic or trade relations between Turkey and Armenia since 1993 when the border was closed. Armenia and Turkey have agreed to open the border to citizens of third countries although they have not put a timeline on this.

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— This story was published in issue 532 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Jan. 16 2023

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2023

Azerbjainan’s energy fund SOFAz denies it plans to buy Latvian gas firm

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JAN. 5 2023 (The Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s energy wealth fund SOFAZ was forced to deny that it intended to buy Latvia’s biggest gas trading company Lavija Gaze after some news agencies reported that it would shortly become the biggest shareholder. SOFAZ’s cash pile has been swelled by huge inflows from oil and gas sales this year and analysts have said that it is looking to buy assets, especially in Europe.

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— This story was published in issue 532 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Jan. 16 2023

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2023

Iranian chess player loses hijab for Kazakh chess tournament

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JAN. 3 2023 (The Bulletin) — A female Iranian chess player who removed her hijab at a chess tournament in Kazakhstan in solidarity with protesters in Iran fled into exile in Spain. Sara Khadem was told that she wouldn’t be safe if she returned to Iran any time soon. Women in Iran are required to wear a hijab, although not in Kazakhstan.

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— This story was published in issue 532 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Jan. 16 2023

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2023

Poisonous cough medicine kills 19 children in Uzbekistan

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JAN. 2 2023 (The Bulletin) — Poisonous cough medicine has killed at least 19 children in Uzbekistan, officials said. The Doc-1 Max cough medicine, produced by Indian manufacturer Marion Biotech, reportedly contained excessive levels of toxins used to make antifreeze. All Doc-1 Max products have now been withdrawn from Uzbekistan and reports said that Uzbek police had arrested several officials who had approved the cough medicine. Campaigners say the authorities need to tighten up their oversight of drugs sold in Uzbekistan.

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— This story was published in issue 532 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Jan. 16 2023

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2023

Mirziyoyev promises to slash civil service

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DEC. 28 2022 (The Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s Pres. Shavkat Mirziyoyev pledged to slash the size of the country’s bureaucracy by 30% to save up to $250m. His detractors have called the pledge a gimmick designed to deflect negative headlines, mainly around corruption and a lack of gas and power for households.

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— This story was published in issue 532 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Jan. 16 2023

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2023

Chodiyev nephew buys Uzbek bank

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DEC. 28 2022 (The Bulletin) — The nephew of Patokh Chodiyev, one of the owners of Kazakhstan’s Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation, has agreed to buy Uzbekistan’s state-owned UzAgroExportBank for $85b, the Uzbek government reported. Alimzhan Chodiyev is buying the bank through his company, Support Level. Critics of the Uzbek government’s privatisation scheme say it is set up for well-connected Uzbek businessmen to buy the best state assets.

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— This story was published in issue 532 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Jan. 16 2023

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2023

New Mercure hotel opens in Bukhara old town

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DEC. 27 2022 (The Bulletin) — Accor, the French hospitality group, opened a Mercure hotel in the old town of Bukhara. Bukhara, and nearby Samarkand, have been the focus of a major tourism drive by the Uzbek government which wants tens of thousands more people to visit the sites each year. Culture campaigners have warned that Bukhara is too small and fragile to cope with a massive growth in tourist numbers.

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— This story was published in issue 532 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Jan. 16 2023

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2023

Repressive leader of Azerbaijan’s Nakchivan retires

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DEC. 21 2022 (The Bulletin) — Vasif Talibov, the repressive leader of Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan exclave, quit after 26 years for health reasons. He had been given the job by Heydar Aliyev, father of the current Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev. Human rights groups had highlighted Nakhchivan under Mr Tabilov as being particularly repressive and corrupt. Analysts had said that Mr Aliyev would want to exert more direct control over Nakhchivan after his victory over Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020. Shahin Mirzayev, the emergencies minister, was appointed head of the region (Jan. 17).

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— This story was published in issue 532 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Jan. 16 2023

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2023

Kazakh police arrest investigative journalist

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DEC. 19 2022 (The Bulletin) — Police in Kazakhstan arrested investigative journalist Mikhail Kozachkov for allegedly taking a bribe from a crime boss to smear and blackmail business leaders. His supporters have said that he is being targeted in retaliation for his investigations into corruption in the police. They also said that Mr Kozachkov is being denied proper legal assistance.

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— This story was published in issue 532 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Jan. 16 2023

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2023

Uzbek airports cut landing rates for foreign airlines

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OCT. 21 2021 (The Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s airports cut their landing rates for foreign airlines by around 15% and divided service options into ‘pick-and-mix’ packages (Oct. 21). Central Asia’s airports and airlines are competing for the lucrative Asia-Europe passenger and freight trade. Rano Juraeva, chairman of Uzbekistan Airports, said in a statement that the rate cut was designed to “attract foreign airlines”. As well as investing in airports and logistics hubs, governments in Central Asia have been investing in upgrades to their state-run national airlines.

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— This story was published in issue 505 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Oct. 28 2021