Category Archives: Uncategorised

Georgian interior minister soothes EU’s concerns on eve of visa-free access

TBILISI, MARCH 20/23 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — On the eve of visa-free access to the EU’s Schengen Zone for Georgians, interior minister Giorgi Mghebrishvili was in Brussels to meet officials from the EU and NATO to reassure them that Georgia would be a reliable ally.

Fighting organised crime, an issue that nearly scuppered Georgia’s chances of visa-free access to the Schengen zone last year, migration and terrorism dominated the meetings.

Dimitris Avramopoulos, the EU’s Commissioner for migration was quoted by media as saying: “Today with the minister we discussed stronger and deeper cooperation in the field of security, fight against organised crime and I can say that I am very happy with the outcome of this excellent discussion.”

After the meetings, Mr Mghebrishvili said Georgia would sign a memorandum of cooperation with EUROPOL, the EU’s crime- fighting intelligence unit.

Georgians will be able to travel to the Schengen Zone without a visa from March 28.

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(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)

Uzbek authorities crackdown on money changers

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MARCH 21 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The authorities in Uzbekistan are trying to crackdown on Black Market money changers, the Eurasianet website reported. It described a raid by both undercover and uniformed police on money changers outside a major Tashkent supermarket. Under President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, in power since September, the Uzbek authorities have managed a careful devaluation of the som currency. The crackdown on the once thriving som Black Market, appears designed to coincide with this devaluation.

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(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)

Russians prefer to holiday in Azerbaijan and Georgia

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TBILISI, MARCH 23 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Baku and Tbilisi are among the top five destinations for Moscovites to choose to holiday in during this year’s spring break in April/May, the Vestnik Kavkaza website reported by quoting the RoomGuru.ru hotel and apartment booking website.

The data, based on bookings made for April 29 – May 10, may be anecdotal but they are more evidence of the growing popularity of both cities as tourist destinations for Russians. Both Baku and Tbilisi represent far cheaper options compared to Europe and are almost certain to guarantee sun, an important draw for Moscovites breaking out of a long cold winter.

Russians have also steered away from holidaying in Europe since sanctions were introduced in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. This, combined with a collapse in oil prices, triggered a recession which has reduced Russians’ spending power.

Maya Lomidze from the Association of Russian Tour Operators, told Vestnik Kavkaza that it was no coincidence that Baku and Tbilisi had grown in popularity.

“Azerbaijan and Georgia are actively developing inbound tourism, creating comfortable conditions for tourists and the potential for this is far from being exhausted,” she was quoted as saying.

Georgia’s tourism board has been working hard to try to entice Russians back to the country after direct flights were resumed in 2014, after being scrapped in 2008 during a war between the two neighbours.

The Georgian tourism agency said that just over 1m Russians visited Georgia in 2016, figures don’t distinguish between tourist and business trips, a 12% rise on 2015.

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(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)

Swedish fashion brand H&M opens first store in Kazakhstan

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ALMATY, MARCH 18 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Confounding the sluggish economic outlook, Swedish fashion retailer H&M opened its first shop in Kazakhstan in one of Almaty’s biggest shopping malls, Mega Alma-Ata.

Young Kazakh fashionistas had been waiting since July last year when H&M said it was going to open the store, to start shopping at one of the most recognisable global high street brands.

Azamat, a civil servant, was walking with H&M bags through the Mega mall.

“It is very well-known brand, I have heard of it. And here is the only shop that has opened in Kazakhstan, in Almaty, so I came here and I’m glad,” she said.

Gaukhar, a student, reflected on other high-profile openings over the past couple of years. “I saw many people came to the opening, it was a bit wild. Just like the first months of Starbucks here,” she said.

Kazakhstan has developed something of a reputation as shopping Mecca in Central Asia. Ten years ago there were few international brands in Kazakhstan, now a European shopper would feel at home browsing the shops of Almaty’s main streets or a shopping mall in Astana.

Kazakhstan’s economy has been in limp mode since mid-2014. The tenge has halved in value and people’s living standards have fallen, but Aigerim Karimova, marketing specialist at the Mega shopping mall said that H&M’s entry into the Kazakh market showed that the economy had turned a corner.

“The very fact that H&M has entered the Kazakh market is already a modest victory,” she told said.

And the head of H&M’s business programme in Central Asia, Milena Yershova said in July that the company will be aggressive.

“H&M opens large stores which offers customers choice,” she said.

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(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)

Georgian presidents daughter complains of drug bust

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MARCH 21 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The daughter of Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili, Ana, accused police of planting drugs on one of her close friends as a way of incriminating her father. Police detained Mikheil Tatarashvili, the friend, earlier in March, apparently in possession of 18 pills, described as opiates. Police have denied the allegations that they planted drugs on Mr Tatarashvili. Relations at the top of the Georgian political spectrum between the Georgian Dream coalition government and Mr Margvelashvili, elected as Georgia’s president in 2013 on a Georgian Dream ticket, are strained.

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(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)

LSE de-lists Kazakhstan focused oil producer

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MARCH 24 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tethys Petroleum the Canada- based, Kazakhstan-focused oil producer applied to de-list its shares from the London Stock Exchange. In a statement it said that it was too expensive and of little benefit to maintain its listing on both the London and Toronto Stock Exchanges. It will maintain its listing on Toronto’s Stock Exchange. The de-listing is planned for May 2.

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(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)

Azerbaijan airline to connect regions with Moscow

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MARCH 20 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — AZALJet, the budget airline of Azerbaijan Airlines, said it had started direct flights from Ganja and Qabala to Moscow’s Vnukovo airport. The routes are an important part of the transport network that connects migrant workers in Azerbaijan and the rest of the former Soviet Union, with jobs in Russia. Starting up the routes is a sign that people are starting to have more faith in the region’s economies. Like the rest of the South Caucasus/Central Asia region, Azerbaijan’s economy relies on remittance flows from Russia.

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(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)

OSCE reveals final report on elections in Uzbekistan

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MARCH 22 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — In its final report on the Uzbek presidential elections in December, the OSCE’s ODHIR laid out 24 points where Uzbekistan could improve its electoral system. It said these were aimed at improving the system’s transparency and strengthening the confidence ordinary people have in the process, as well as stopping fraud and ensuring there is genuine competition. The election was the first that ODHIR, the OSCE’s election monitoring unit, had observed in Uzbekistan. Its broad assessment was that the process had been flawed.

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(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)

Roxi wants merger in Kazakhstan

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MARCH 23 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — London-listed Roxi Petroleum said that it was trying to merge with Switzerland-based Baverstock to create a new company called Caspian Sunrise. Under the offered deal, Baverstock which already owns 10.45% of Roxi, would take control of an additional 41% stake in the new company. The new company’s main asset is the BNG contract area in Kazakhstan.

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(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)

Azerbaijani economy will grow, says Fitch

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MARCH 16 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Fitch, the ratings agency, said that the Azerbaijani economy was likely to pick up this year after contracting by 3.8% in 2016. In an interview with Reuters, Paul Gamble, head of Fitch’s emerging Europe department said that the economy would grow by 0.2% this year and 1.7% in 2018. Earlier this month, the Asian Development Bank said that Azerbaijan’s economy would shrink again this year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)