MAY 7 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia will allow parliament to vote on the appointment of the prosecutor-general, media reported, a move designed to bolster democracy. Under the current system the PM appoints the country’s top prosecutor. New laws will introduce a special council to advise on an appointment which will then need to be approved by government and parliament.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia has negotiated a reduced price for gas from Russia’s Gazprom but the government will not pass this saving on to consumers, energy minister, Yervand Zakharyan, said. Instead, Mr Zakharyan said, consumers will pay the same price.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 11/12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) laid the groundwork for more collaboration in the financial sector with a couple of deals.
At a meeting in the UAE, the Dubai International Financial Centre and the Kazakh Central Bank agreed to exchange expertise and coordinate strategies, while Nasdaq Dubai and the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) inked an agreement to link their financial instruments.
Luca Anceschi, professor of Central Asian Studies at Glasgow University said: “These new financial links between Almaty and Dubai open another avenue besides construction and trade in non-state sectors.”
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 8 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Switzerland-based Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculo- sis and Malaria has said Kyrgyzstan needs to repay $120,000 for misuse of funds, media reported. The Global Fund described the $120,000 as “unsubstantiated and inappropriate to the crite- ria for financing”.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – KT, the second largest South Korean mobile network, said that it had won a $110m contract to build an advanced electricity metering system. The project is in partnership with the Asian Development Bank. The plan is to install 1m metres in Uzbekistan’s three biggest cities by 2017.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – US and Georgian forces began two weeks of military exercises, war games which are likely to irritate neighbouring Russia. The exercises are an annual arrangement designed to increase understanding and cooperation between the two armies. Georgia wants to join NATO.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan imported goods worth 6.3% less in March 2015 compared to March 2014, media reported quoting the Central Bank, further evidence, if it was needed, of the economic stagnation that has hit the region. Exports were down 19.5%.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The National Statistics Committee of Kyrgyzstan said foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 37% in the first four months of 2015, figures which highlight the current difficult economic climate.
This marks the second year of decreasing FDI in Kyrgyzstan after a jump in 2013. Most of the loss this year can be attributed to the construction sector, impacted by economic sanctions and crisis in Russia, and to the mining sector, due to the Kumtor gold mine stalemate.
Alex Nice, Central Asia analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said: “Economic and political uncertainty may have depressed foreign investment and of course relatively weak gold prices may also depress new investment in Kumtor, the biggest source of FDI.”
With the fall in remittances from migrant workers abroad and low GDP growth for the next couple of years, Kyrgyzstan needs to improve its business climate in order to attract more, rather than less foreign investors interest.
But as the head of the Association for Foreign Investment, Kairat Itibayev, told media, infrastructure in Kyrgyzstan needs improving.
“Businessmen from Turkey, for example, lament that there is a lack of storage space, unstable electricity, and unusable roads,” he said.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – On a trip to New Delhi, Tajikistan’s foreign minister, Sirojiddin Aslov, met with Indian foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, and defence minister, Manohar Parrikar, to discuss India’s accession into the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan Trade and Transit Agreement (PATTTA).
Tajikistan and India have looked to improve their diplomatic and trade relations over the past years. Both countries now see the PATTTA, a mechanism designed to increase regional trade which was only finalised in April, as an option for cooperation. Pakistan has yet to agree to India’s accession.
Trade turnover between India and Tajikistan has grown in the past years, although it still stands below $30m. India has openly made designs on Central Asia. It tried, and failed, to buy into the giant Kashagan oil field in the Caspian Sea and is a partner in the so-called TAPI project that should pump Turkmen gas to south Asia.
India does, though, operate the Farkhor Air Base in south- western Tajikistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 9 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev said the Kremlin-led Eurasian Economic Union had a strong future despite current trade problems. Mr Nazarbayev made the comments after meeting Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Kazakhstan and Russia have erected trade barriers over the past few months.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)