Category Archives: Uncategorised

Editorial: Russian visit to Turkmenistan

JAN. 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The visit by Sergei Lavrov to Ashgabat could be dismissed as a pre-scheduled annual trip by Russia’s foreign minister to one of the former Soviet Union’s outlying countries.

But that would be a mistake. His meeting with Turkmen leader Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov was an important one, especially in the context of a more powerful, more determined Taliban resurgence in northern Afghanistan.

Russia-Turkmenistan relations have been worsening over the past few years, a deterioration mainly caused by rows over gas contracts and prices and also an argument over one of Russia’s mobile providers.

It’s important for Turkmenistan, and the wider Central Asia region, that Russia-Turkmenistan relations are mended.

Ashgabat may need the Kremlin’s help with organising its defences against the Taliban. If the Taliban show any real determination to break into Central Asia, the governments of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan may well need Russian backup to repel them.

ENDS

Editorial from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

Currency booths in Kazakh city

JAN. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Currency exchange booths in Almaty refused to change US dollars after the price of oil started to rise slightly, highlighting the fears and weaknesses of the Kazakh economy. Like the rest of the region, Kazakhstan’s currency has slumped with the decline in oil price. Unlike some of its neighbours, Kazakhstan hasn’t imposed heavy currency controls.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

Returning Tajik migrants pressure social systems

JAN. 29 2016, DUSHANBE (The Conway Bulletin) — A recession in Russia and the collapse of the rouble has slowed remittances to Tajikistan and forced thousands of migrant workers back home, pressuring jobs, resources and social infrastructure.

Last week, Russia’s migrant service said that there were only 863,000 Tajik workers in Russia, down by a third from last year.

Tajikistan, with its poor, agricultural economy, cannot absorb the increasing number of returning migrants.

Toshboltaev Bozorboy, a 50-year- old man, was one of the returnees. He arrived back in December and said

that he’s been unable to find a job since he flew back to Tajikistan.

“I used to work in construction sites in Moscow earning 20,000 roubles a month ($263) but there is still no other option for me except to leave for Russia,” he said.

The economic downturn started in mid-2014 when oil prices started to fall and Western-imposed sanctions on Russia started to bite. Remittances from workers abroad make up around half of Tajikistan’s GDP and the economic slowdown has had a huge impact. Most Tajiks who lost their jobs in Russia said they were unable to find new jobs in Tajikistan.

Firuz Iskandarov, 23, quit Russia in August 2014. He has been out of work since then.

“Since coming back from Russia, I have done some farming and selling fruits. But that is a seasonal work. I don’t know what we are going to do,” he said, his voice choking with emotion.

For the authorities, returning migrants are a serious issue. A migration expert in Dushanbe said: “For most it will be difficult to find a decent job, and they will not be able to provide for their families. And this can lead to an increase in domestic violence, suicide, and a deterioration in criminal situations in the country.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

Investor buys buses in Kazakh city

JAN. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Green Bus Company, a private transport company from Shymkent, has bought a 70% stake in Almatyelectrotrans, the company in charge of public transit in Almaty. Baurzhan Baibek, mayor of Almaty, said the new investor has pledged to buy 200 new buses. Almaty City will retain a 30% share in Almatyelectrotrans. Almaty’s transport network has been mired in controversy after a crash last year injured several people. Dozens of bus drivers have also protested over a new ticketing system.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

Turkmen President signs new military doctrine

JAN. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov signed a new military doctrine that confirmed Turkmenistan’s neutral status. There had been speculation that, under a potential threat from the Tablian, Mr Berdymukhamedov would reduce the importance of Turkmenistan’s neutrality in its military doctrine. He didn’t but official media reported that he did want to boost Turkmenistan’s defence measures.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

Kazakhstan sells arms to Jordan

JAN. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan has sold military equipment and weapons to Jordan, Kazakh defence minister Imangali Tasmagambetov said in a statement after a delegation returned from the Middle Eastern country. Mr Tasmagambetov said Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering, a joint venture with South African arms manufacturer Paramount, will supply several Arlan armoured vehicles to Jordan. The joint venture started producing the Arlan armoured personnel carriers last year. It set up the partnership in 2014.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

Kazakhstan’s EXPO-2017 cuts budget

JAN. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) -The organisers of Kazakhstan’s flagship EXPO-2017 event have cut its budget by 53b tenge ($140m) to keep pace with demands from the government to slash spending during this period of low oil revenue. Previously, nothing had seemingly been too expensive or too extravagant for EXPO-2017.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

Tethys looks for a new partner as debts mount up in Kazakhstan

ALMATY, JAN. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Guernsey-based Tethys Petroleum said it will seek alternative funding after Kazakhstan-based Olisol missed a payment on a share deal agreed last year.

In a press statement, Tethys said it had received just $5m of the $15m promised by Olisol. According to Tethys, privately-owned Olisol missed the Jan. 22 deadline to send a $2m tranche of its commitment to secure a stake in the company.

Olisol has said the delay was due to currency controls in Kazakhstan linked to the sharp depreciation of the Kazakh tenge over the few past months.

And Tethys is still hopeful that it will receive Olisol’s funding.

“Should the overdue funds under the interim facility arrive in a timely manner however, Tethys will continue to work with Olisol to close the wider transaction,” Tethys, which is involved in oil and gas projects across Georgia and Central Asia, said.

Tethys needs cash to meet its debt deadlines. Last year it missed a couple of consecutive cash calls at its project in Tajikistan, the Bokhtar exploration block. Its partners in the project, China’s CNPC and France’s Total, have called on it to drop out. The Tajik government has also said it would be interested in taking a stake in Bokhtar.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

KAZ Minerals output drop

JAN. 28 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Despite increasing copper production by 300% in 2015, KAZ Minerals still posted a 3% reduction in copper cathode, its finished product. The company, focused on Kazakhstan, said the quality of the copper ore it mined was below average. London-listed KAZ Minerals, previously known as Kazakhmys, also said its copper cathode production dropped from 83,500 to 81,100 tonnes.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

Rights groups criticise Kazakhstan & Azerbaijan

JAN. 27 2016, ALMATY/Kazakhstan (The Conway Bulletin) — Human rights abuses, crackdowns on freedom of speech and endemic corruption still blight Central Asia and the South Caucasus, western watchdogs said in a series of annual reports.

According to New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) civil liberties worsened in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan last year as an economic crisis battered the region.

“Central Asian governments are becoming increasingly intolerant of dissent, criticism, and human rights scrutiny – an alarming trend,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at HRW.

Specifically, Mr Williamson said that Kazakhstan had used courts to silence opposition figures and that Azerbaijan’s crackdown on journalists and rights advocates was “unprecedented.”

Freedom House, another US- based civil rights lobby group, also criticised governments in Central

Asia and the South Caucasus for their record on freedom of speech.

“The [November parliamentary in Azerbaijan] elections followed another year of intense suppression of civil society and independent media,” Robert Ruby, Freedom House’s director of communication, said.

Corruption watchdog Transparency International projected a slightly more positive outlook for the region but, while Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan all improved their rankings in its global index, absolute scores in the region were mostly unchanged or down from 2014.

Transparency International’s director for Europe and Central Asia, Anne Koch said little had improved.

“While a handful of countries in Europe and Central Asia have improved, the general picture across this vast region is one of stagnation,” she said in the report.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)