MAY 8 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said it will give a syndicated loan for the second phase development of the Caspian Sea Shah Deniz gas project. EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti said on a visit to Baku that the size and timeframe were undecided.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – In an opinion poll for the National Democratic Institute in Georgia, only 24% of respondents said they would vote for the ruling Georgian Dream Coalition. The poll is another blow to the authority of the coalition.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
APRIL 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Germany’s Kaltenberg beer, which traces its roots back to the Bavarian royal family, will open a brewery in Georgia. It may have a reputation as a wine-making country but Georgia is also a major consumer of beer.
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(News report from Issue No. 230, published on May 6 2015)
MAY 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan’s ministry of justice has drawn up a list of names that it wants to ban parents giving to their babies, media reported. The so-called black list appears to be an attempt to centralise names.
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(News report from Issue No. 230, published on May 6 2015)
APRIL 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan will miss a May 8 deadline to join the Kremlin- led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), the new PM Temir Sariyev said. Kyrgyzstan still plans to join but not until the end of the month. Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Armenia are already members.
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(News report from Issue No. 230, published on May 6 2015)
APRIL 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s parliament approved former economy minister Temir Sariyev to be prime minister, the fifth in five years.
Mr Sariyev succeeds Djoomart Otorbayev who quit after failing to secure a deal with Canada’s Centerra Gold over the Kumtor gold mine, Kyrgyzstan’s largest industrial asset.
Control of Kumtor, and Kyrgyzstan’s push to increase its ownership, has dominated Kyrgyz politics. Mr Sariyev referenced it.
“Nationalisation will only create certain risks and threats for us. We must seek other ways,” he said.
Mr Otorbayev, who served as PM for about a year, had pushed to trade Kyrgyzstan’s 32.7% stake in Centerra Gold in for a 50:50 stake in a new company that would own Kumtor. When this stalled he switched to calling for more directors on the Centerra Gold board. This also failed.
Some Kyrgyz MPs have called for the government to nationalise Kumtor.
Mr Sariyev takes over as head of a coalition of MPs from three parties — the Social Democrats, Ata-Meken (Father- land) and Ar-Namys (Dignity). Together they hold 69 seats out of the 120 seat-parliament. In November, Kyrgyzstan holds another parliamentary election, its second since a constitutional change in 2010 handed more power to parliament.
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(News report from Issue No. 230, published on May 6 2015)
MAY 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – At a meeting of Azerbaijani, Turkish and Georgian defence officials, the three countries said they were moving towards a trilateral defence agreement. The countries have held a series of meetings this year to try and work out the protocol for a deal. Any deal would isolate Armenia further.
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(News report from Issue No. 230, published on May 6 2015)
APRIL 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The European Investment Bank, the EU’s institution for giving long-term funding, opened an office in Tbilisi. The office will serve the whole of the South Caucasus and underlines the EU’s commitment to the region. It also announced a $40m loan to the Bank of Georgia to fund small sized projects.
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(News report from Issue No. 230, published on May 6 2015)
MAY 5 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s parliament approved a Russian plan to extend the life-span of the Metsamor nuclear plant by 11 years to 2026, media reported.
Metsamor, built in the 1970s, provides 40% of Armenia’s power but it is controversial. There are concerns over its safety record and its position in an area known for earthquakes.
Russia’s nuclear agency Rosatom will carry out maintenance at the nuclear site, media reported, a project also funded by Russian cash. In February, Russia agreed to lend Armenia $230m to pay for the maintenance and also to give a $30m grant.
Whatever Armenia professes about its various pro-West policies, it is in Russia’s pocket. Russia owns the gas pipeline monopoly, maintains a large military base in Armenia and has pulled Yerevan into its economic union.
This nuclear deal at Metsamor, which has been a few years in the making, just confirms its grip over Armenia.
The Metsamor nuclear plant, which sits near Yerevan near the border with Turkey, is no stranger to controversy. In 2011, the National Geographic magazine published a story with the headline: “Is Armenia’s Nuclear Plant the World’s Most Dangerous?”
The EU and the US appear to think so. The EU offered Armenia nearly $300m to fund the closure of the nuclear plant, an offer Armenia rejected.
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(News report from Issue No. 230, published on May 6 2015)
APRIL 29 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan’s Central Bank said it would keep its key interest rate at 9% because the economy was set to hit its inflation target. In January the Central Bank raised its interest rate by 1%. Uzbekistan’s main currency exchange exists on the black market but the statement gives insight into the Central Bank.
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(News report from Issue No. 230, published on May 6 2015)