JAN. 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan’s foreign minister Rashid Meredov visited Slovenia for meetings with his Slovenian counterpart, Karl Erjavec (Jan. 26). The talks focused on how to improve business ties between the two countries and are more evidence of stronger links between EU members and Turkmenistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)
>>Tajikistan is heavily linked to Russia economy>>
JAN. 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajikistan is actively considering applying for membership of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, Belarusian news agency BelTA quoted Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, as saying at a meeting of the Russian parliament.
This is the first major statement this year that Tajikistan still intends to join the trade bloc. It’s also significant because it implies Russia wants Tajikistan in the club.
The Eurasian Economic Union came into existence at the start of the year, replacing the Customs Union. It’s a trade bloc although analysts have said that the Kremlin is looking to use it to promote its own political agenda.
Armenia joined the Eurasian Economic Union on Jan. 1. Kazakhstan and Belarus were already members and Kyrgyzstan is due to join later in the year.
“Tajikistan is also interested and is mulling over the prospects of joining the Eurasian integration processes,” BelTA quoted Mr Nebanzya as saying.
Tajikistan’s economy is closely linked to Russia. It relies on jobs in Russia for its workers, who send back remittances which make up roughly half the country’s GDP.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)
>>US says that the vehicles are non-lethal>>
JAN. 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The US Defence Department started delivering to Uzbekistan 300 vehicles designed to withstand ambushes and mines, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central Asia, Daniel Rosenblum, told the Voice of America’s Uzbek language service.
This is controversial because it appears to go beyond a previous deal made between Washington and Tashkent which said that the United States would deliver non-lethal military equipment to Uzbekistan in exchange for help in withdrawing its forces from Afghanistan.
Ambush-resistant vehicles are, technically, non-lethal but these troop carriers can be mounted with machine-guns and are designed to be used during combat operations.
Uzbekistan has a dubious human rights record and activists have complained heavily about the US’ deal with Uzbekistan. Still, realpolitik meant that the US had to turn to Uzbekistan for help in extracting its kit from Afghanistan. Uzbekistan’s Soviet-era railway system is the quickest and safest way out of the country.
In the interview with Voice of America, Mr Rosenblum said Uzbekistan needed the vehicles to fight Islamic extremist groups and also for counter-narcotic operations.
“We consider them (the vehicles) to be non-lethal. They are intended to protect personnel, crews and passengers in areas that there might be explosive devices, mines, so on,” he said.
“Under those circumstances and for the purposes of counterterrorism and counter-narcotics, we thought that it was a legitimate request and decided to fulfil it.”
Technically Mr Rosenblum may be right. In reality, though, the line between so-called lethal and non-lethal equipment is becoming more blurred with this latest deal.
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(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)
JAN. 22 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia’s Central Bank increased its refinancing rate, the cost it charges other financial institutions to borrow money, by 1% to 9.5% to slow inflation. In December, the Central Bank increased the refinancing rate to 8.5% from 6.5%. New data showed prices rose 4.6% in December.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)
JAN. 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Students in Uzbekistan are being forced into signing petitions supporting the presidential candidature of Uzbek leader Islam Karimov, the Uzbek arm of the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. Mr Karimov has said he is going to stand for another term as president in an election in March.
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(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)
>>New tax code is an effort to stop tax evasion>>
JAN. 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — A new tax code in Armenia is upsetting the very people it is supposed to be helping.
The government has decided to reduce the tax for small business, those earning less than $122,000, to 1% of their sales from 3.5%. The downside of the new law is that the traders and shopkeepers have to document more closely their sales.
Media reported that hundreds of traders demonstrated in front of the parliament building against the new tax laws. Their problem is the introduction of the extra paperwork.
The bottom line is that the government wants to increase tax receipts. To do this it has decided to crackdown on tax evasion and the fiddling of receipts. And this is where the problem lies. The Armenian traders’ will have to fill in more paperwork and, they say, will actually earn less under the new tax code because they will have to declare more of their sales.
The small traders have also complained that they are being used as guinea pigs before the new tax code is rolled out to bigger businesses.
With the Armenian economy reeling from the turmoil in Russia, the government is desperate to highlight good news. It has already had to postpone the introduction of the new tax code from November until Feb. 1. The issue is becoming increasingly contentious.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)
JAN. 27 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The authorities in Libya have said three Tajik nationals died in an attack by Islamic extremists on a luxury hotel in Tripoli. Altogether seven people and three attackers died during the raid. It’s unclear who the Tajik nationals were. The hotel was used by visiting business and political delegations.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)
>>Stats show increase in wages but illnesses also rise>>
JAN. 22 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — It’s a double-edged sword living in the west Kazakh region of Mangistau, according to the Kazakh stats office at least.
Mangistau, the main oil producing region of the country, has been enjoying a salary boom that other regions of Kazakhstan can only dream of. Last year the average workers’ salary in Mangistau rose by 22% to over $1,000/month. This is around 50% more than average salaries in other rural areas of the country.
Of course Mangistau’s fortunes are closely linked to the fortunes of the energy industry which has been enjoying something of a boom over the past few years. With falling oil prices, though, that could be about to change.
The stats don’t all show good news, though. Various statistics said Mangistau has the highest rate of several diseases in the country. Some environmentalists have said that people breathe and drink the by-products of uranium mining projects and the decommissioning of the old nuclear power plant in Aktau.
Worker disputes in the region also affect the region. In 2011, the town of Zhanaozen was the centre of clashes between protesters and police. At least 15 people died.
It’s a trade-off then. The salaries may be higher in Mangistau but the work pressures and the health risks are too.
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(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)
JAN. 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The lower house of Uzbekistan’s parliament approved the re-selection of Shavkat Mirziyoyev as an official PM candidate. Mr Mirziyoyev has been PM since 2003 and Uzbek analysts said it was highly likely that he would retain the job after the March presidential election.
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(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)
>>Cycling team is closely linked to Kazakhstan>>
JAN. 27 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The disgraced former cycling champion Lance Armstrong told the BBC in an interview that cycling, including Astana Pro Team, was riddled with doping.
Mr Armstrong, who had cycled for Astana Pro Team, said the sport’s governing body, the International Cycling Union (UCI), should ban Astana Pro Team. The UCI placed Astana Pro Team under probation in December after another case of doping emerged involving two team members.
The Astana Pro Team management has strongly denied the allegations of doping.
The whole row will be embarrassing, though, for Kazakh President Nazarbayev.
Samruk-Kazyna, the Kazakh investment fund, sponsors Astana Team Pro. The team wears the blue and yellow national colours and companies and teams carrying the Astana brand, the name Mr Nazarbayev gave to his new capital, are closely linked to Kazakh nationality.
On the same day that the BBC aired its interview with Mr Armstrong, the Astana Pro Team manager Alexander Vinokourov visited Mr Nazarbayev at the presidential palace in Astana, presenting him with a yellow jersey, symbol of last year’s victory in the Tour de France — the most prestigious bike ride in the world.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)