Category Archives: Uncategorised

Georgian PM unveils new cabinet

NOV. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgian PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili unveiled his new cabinet following the Georgian Dream coalition’s parliamentary election victory last month with only one major change. Dimitri Kumsishvili, the former economy minister, has been promoted to the more important position of finance minister. Mr Kumsishvili is one of a number of cabinet ministers who used to work at Bidzina Ivanizhvili’s Kartu bank. Mr Ivanishvili is the power behind the Georgian coalition. Kakha Kaladze, who under election rules, formerly resigned his ministerial position to fight for re-election in parliament, was reappointed as energy minister.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 306, published on Nov. 25 2016)

Armenia to cut energy consumption

NOV. 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia plans to cut its consumption of gas, electricity and coal by 38% and boost its electricity generation from renewable sources, deputy energy minister Hayk Harutyunyan told local media. The ambitious plan appears to be another attempt by cash-strapped countries in Central Asia and the South Caucasus to cut expensive energy consumption. Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have both announced plans to cut back on electricity-generation plans. Kyrgyzstan has also hinted it wants to use more green energy.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 306, published on Nov. 25 2016)

Uzbek telecom expands coverage

NOV. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s state-owned telecoms operator UMS said it has expanded coverage of its 3G network to the provinces of Ferghana and Namangan. UMS installed 56 new base stations that will boost coverage both in the cities and in the rural areas. Central Asian countries have invested heavily in improving mobile connectivity across their territory.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 306, published on Nov. 25 2016)

Turkmen President’s son wins parliamentary seat

NOV. 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The son of Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Serdar Berdymukhamedov, has won a seat in the country’s parliament, local television reported, a possible first step towards inheriting the presidency from his father.

Turkmen TV broadcast Serdar Berdymukhamedov being congratulated after winning a by-election three days earlier. He had previously worked in a senior management position in the foreign ministry.

Little is known about Serdar Berdymukhamedov. Eurasianet ran a story earlier this year which said that as well as holding down government jobs he also owns a “a cotton-spinning plant, a mineral water factory and a chain of hotels”.

Earlier this year, Mr Berdymukhamedov tweaked the country’s constitution so that he could remain in power for life. He also extended the length of presidential terms to seven years from five years.

Succession has become an enduring issue in Central Asia. In September, Islam Karimov, who had ruled Uzbekistan for 25 years died. His daughter had been his preferred successor but was sidelined two years ago, paving the way for PM Shavkat Mirziyoyev to take over. In Kazakhstan, President Nursultan Nazarbayev dodged the issue of a family succession during an interview with Bloomberg this week.

Mr Berdymukhamedov took over in 2007 as Turkmenistan’s president from Saparmurat Niyazov. The only country in the region which has successfully completed a power handover within a family is in Azerbaijan, where Ilham Aliyev became president in 2003 after his father Heydar.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 306, published on Nov. 25 2016)

IMF downgrades Georgia’s economic growth

NOV. 24 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The IMF downgraded Georgia’s economic growth to 2.7% this year, from an earlier estimate of 3.4%. The downgrade was due, it said to a slightly bigger than expected drop in remittances and exports. It also downgraded growth in 2017 to 4% from 5.2%. Like the rest of the region, a recession in Russia and falling currency values have hit Georgia’s economy.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 306, published on Nov. 25 2016)

Fire kills seven Tajik workers in Russia

NOV. 19 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Seven migrant workers from Tajikistan died in a fire in the metal container they were using as their living quarters on a construction site in Siberia, media reported.

Investigators said that the cause was likely to be a short-circuit in the electric heater which was warming the container. The container had been lined with wood and felt to keep out the severe cold.

This is the third major accident involving migrant workers this year. In January a roof collapsed onto a sewing workshop in Moscow, killing at least 12 migrant workers and in September a fire in a printing workshop killed at least 16 women workers from Kyrgyzstan.

Remittances from Russia is a vital source of income for countries in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, especially for Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 306, published on Nov. 25 2016)

McCain to visit Georgia

NOV. 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — John McCain, a senior US Republican Senator, will visit Georgia, as well as Estonia and Ukraine, in January to warn about Russian aggression, part of a foreign policy push designed to try and set the agenda before president-elect Donald Trump moves into the White House. Mr McCain is one of the most high-profile US Senators. He has been a strong advocate of Georgia’s westward leaning foreign policy.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 306, published on Nov. 25 2016)

Turkmenistan to modernise oil refineries

NOV. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov ordered his government to modernise the country’s oil refineries so that it could boost its output of refined oil to 20m tonnes by 2020, 22m tonnes by 2022 and 25m tonnes by 2025, media reported. The Central Asia region in general has been suffering from a shortage of refinery capacity.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 306, published on Nov. 25 2016)

Turkey arrests Uzbek and Tajik extremists

NOV. 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkish security services arrested three dozen men from Central Asia and the South Caucasus who, they said, were working for the extremist IS group and had been planning a series of suicide attacks in Turkey’s biggest city. They said that the ringleaders were an Uzbek man and a Tajik man. Governments from Central Asia and the South Caucasus are increasingly concerned about their citizens heading to Syria to fight for IS.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 306, published on Nov. 25 2016)

Oil output drops in Azerbaijan

NOV. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan expects total oil output next year to measure 39.8m tonnes, down from 41.3m tonnes this year, Russia’s Interfax news agency reporting quoting a government official. Oil is Azerbaijan’s most valuable commodity, although it is developing gas exports. The downturn confirms a general drop in production from Azerbaijan’s aging infrastructure despite a boost in investment.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 306, published on Nov. 25 2016)