FEB. 16 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s energy minister, Kubanychbek Turdubayev, has accused Russia of working too slowly on upgrades to hydropower projects, eurasianet.org reported. Upgrades to the Kambar-Ata 1 dam and the Upper-Naryn Cascade were part of a 2012 deal that saw Moscow secure an extension to leases on military bases in Kyrgyzstan.
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(News report from Issue No. 219, published on Feb. 18 2015)
FEB. 9 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a major boost for the retail market in Tajikistan, Auchan, the French supermarket brand, has agreed to open up its first franchise in Dushanbe later this year.
Media said that Auchan had signed a deal with French distributor Schiever to manage the stores.
It did not report where exactly the store would open but it did say that it would stock mainly Russian produce and open in 2015.
Schiever already runs Auchan’s stores in Poland.
The news is, obviously, good for Tajikistan which has been short on positive economic news lately. It’s also a departure from the norm.
Headlines from Tajikistan recently have focused on major Chinese expansion but little investment from European retailers.
It will also shake up the Tajik retail sector which has been dominated by small shops selling goods of variable quality. The Auchan store will, according to press reports, be roughly the size of a football pitch.
The Auchan store project is partly financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) which has expanded its portfolio of projects across the region. In 2014, the EBRD said, it invested 100m euro into Tajikistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 219, published on Feb. 18 2015)
FEB. 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan’s President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has pardoned 10 Iranian prisoners, Iran’s media reported. This is significant as the state-controlled Tehran Times described the release as part of a move by Turkmenistan to improve ties.
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(News report from Issue No. 219, published on Feb. 18 2015)
FEB. 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev said that all government spending, excluding social projects, would be cut by 10% to cope with the economic slowdown, media reported. He made a point, though, of denying that there was an economic crisis in Kazakhstan.
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(News report from Issue No. 219, published on Feb. 18 2015)
FEB. 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in Kazakhstan convicted the former head of the anti-monopoly commission, Murat Ospanov, of corruption and ordered him to pay a $6m fine. Government prosecutors had wanted an 11-year jail sentence. Kazakhstan has prosecuted several government officials in an aggressive anti-corruption campaign over the past year.
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(News report from Issue No. 219, published on Feb. 18 2015)
FEB. 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The World Bank agreed a $195m loan to Uzbekistan for a railway project that will speed up trade with China, media reported. The $1.6b project in the eastern Ferghana Valley will also bypass a Soviet-built section of railway that passes through Tajikistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 219, published on Feb. 18 2015)
>>Releases linked to election in March>>
FEB. 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The authorities in Uzbekistan unexpectedly released Khayrulla Khamidov a sports commentator imprisoned in 2010.
As well as being a soccer commentator, Mr Khamidov was a popular religious speaker who had a large following. He produced CDs and spoke at weddings on social issues.
When he was arrested, on charges of setting up an illegal religious organisation, his supporters said it was an attempt by the authorities to dampen a popular social commentator who they considered was a growing threat to stability. He was imprisoned for six years.
Mr Khamidov’s release, then, appears to be a large concession. Human rights groups have long criticised Uzbekistan for its harsh record against religion. Perhaps, though, this is beginning to change.
The Tashkent-based Initiative Group of Independent Human Rights Advocates of Uzbekistan has said 16 other religious prisoners were released alongside Mr Khamidov.
No official reason for the release has been given although ordinary Uzbeks believe it is linked to a presidential election set for March 29.
Uzbekistan is in flux at the moment. Islam Karimov, who has ruled over the country since the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, is increasingly frail. The election in March and what goes before and after it are increasingly important to monitor.
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(News report from Issue No. 219, published on Feb. 18 2015)
>>Economy minister warns of more price rises>>
FEB. 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s economy minister, Temir Sariev, said that inflation could hit 13% this year, double the rate the government is aiming for.
Mr Sariev said that a combination of events had forced a large price jump in Kyrgyzstan — the falling Russian rouble, a slowdown in the economy and joining the Kremlin-steered Eurasian Economic Union.
In December annualised inflation measured over 10%, sharply up from the beginning of the year.
Last month the Kyrgyz Central Bank raised interest rates by 50 basis points to 11%, its highest rate since 2012.
But alongside the rouble devaluation and entry to the Eurasian Economic Union, Mr Sariev said that other problems had also weighed on the economy and had made the start of 2015 difficult.
“Seasonal water shortage has brought two big problems for us. Firstly, agricultural products produced in fewer amounts. Second, less energy produced. As a result, we had to buy it in Kazakhstan,” he said according to media reports.
The problem for the government is a weak economic outlook triggers resentment.
Opposition parties have already said that intend to hold a series of rallies in Bishkek this spring themed around what they described as a new economic crisis.
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(News report from Issue No. 219, published on Feb. 18 2015)
>>Appointment angers Tbilisi who want him extradited>>
FEB. 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a surprise move, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko appointed Russia’s arch foe, Mikheil Saakashvili, as an adviser and an official overseas representative of the government.
The appointment has irritated Georgia’s government who want Mr Saakashvili, a former Georgian president, extradited.
They accuse him of various crimes and have placed him on the Interpol wanted list. Since leaving office in 2013, Mr Saakashvili has lived in New York.
“For a long time, we’ve been thinking how to use the knowledge, experience and unique know-how of Mikheil Saakashvili in the best way,” Mr Poroshenko’s press service said. “Until recently, Mikheil was, in fact, a freelance consultant of Ukraine on reforms. And now, finally, he gets official status.”
His arch rival in Georgia, the head of the coalition which chased him from power after nearly 10 years, Bidzina Ivanishvili, saw it differently. He said several members of Mr Saakashvili’s government now worked in Ukraine and that most are wanted on corruption charges in Tbilisi.
“Now they have found asylum in Ukraine, but let us wish for them that events develop in a better way there,” he said in an interview with Georgian media.
The appointment of Mr Saakashvili to the Ukraine government will also anger Russian president Vladimir Putin. The men were locked in a personal battle during their presidencies which culminated in a brief war in 2008.
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(News report from Issue No. 219, published on Feb. 18 2015)
FEB. 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Georgian interior ministry said it arrested Jokia Bodokia, a senior official in the Tbilisi city government, for taking a bribe. PM Irakli Garibashvili has said that he wants to make wiping out corruption a priority. Opposition said he is using the purge to attack his enemies.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 219, published on Feb. 18 2015)