Category Archives: Uncategorised

Abdullayev visits Turkmenistan, again

NOV. 20 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijani media reported on yet another trip to Ashgabat by the head of Socar, Azerbaijan’s oil and gas company, Rovnag Abdullayev.

Mr Abdullayev was in Ashgabat for the opening of major gas conference. It’s an important time for Azerbaijan- Turkmenistan relations because Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has agreed to sign up to a new pipeline running from Baku, the Azerbaijani capital, to Europe.

Visits by Mr Abdullayev to Ashgabat may appear fairly routine but each trip brings the two countries closer together.

Europe sees Turkmen gas as critical for reducing its reliance on Russian energy and considers the pipeline running from the Caspian Sea to central Europe to be the easiest way to supply the gas.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 210, published on Nov. 26 2014)

Telenor worries in Uzbekistan

NOV. 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Norway’s government summoned the head of Telenor, the telecoms company in which it owns a 54% stake, to explain newspaper reports which have alleged that VimpelCom, a part-owned subsidiary, paid bribes in Uzbekistan to win business, Bloomberg reported.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 210, published on Nov. 26 2014)

Latvia President flies to Georgia

NOV. 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Latvian president Andris Berzins flew to Tbilisi for a two-day visit that will culminate in laying a wreath at a Georgian war memorial and a declaration of Georgia’s territorial integrity. This is important for Georgia because Latvia will hold the EU’s rotating presidency for the first half of 2015.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 210, published on Nov. 26 2014)

Pakistan aims to import Tajik electricity

NOV. 22 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Pakistan wants to export Tajik electricity on to other consumer countries, Pakistani media quoted a senior government official as saying. The announcement is, potentially, good news for Tajikistan which is looking for markets for its hydropower. Tajikistan and Pakistan are working on a grid system called CASA-1000.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 210, published on Nov. 26 2014)

Azerbaijan’s ex-deputy minister arrested

NOV. 25 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Highlighting Azerbaijan’s deep- rooted problem with corruption, police arrested former deputy defence minister Salimov Mehman for alleged corruption, media reported. Mr Mehman had been deputy defence minister from 1995 to 1999.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 210, published on Nov. 26 2014)

EU and Uzbekistan talk human rights

NOV. 18 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan and the EU held the eighth round of bilateral talks focused on human rights in Brussels. Uzbekistan’s minister for justice, Nigmatilla Yuldashev and the EU’s head of human rights, Silvio Gonzato, headed the delegations. The EU said Uzbekistan had made progress eradicating child labour in the cotton industry.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 210, published on Nov. 26 2014)

Kazakh Capital Bank signs Arsenal

NOV. 21 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakh bank Capital Bank signed a deal with top-tier London-based football club Arsenal to use its branding on a new debit card.The deal underlines the confidence and ambition of Kazakh companies. This is the first deal between a Premier League team and a Kazakh company.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 210, published on Nov. 26 2014)

Georgia takes Guantanamo inmates

NOV. 21 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The United States transferred three Yemen prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to Georgia, the second transfer since 2010, media reported. The prisoner renditions are controversial and have been banned in many countries. Georgia is one of the United States’ most staunch allies and hopes to join NATO.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 210, published on Nov. 26 2014)

IS video features Kazakh child

NOV. 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The extremist Islamic State (IS) released a propaganda video featuring a Kazakh child going through weapons training and proclaiming he wants to become a jihadist fighter. Kazakh policymakers have been warning about an exodus of recruits from Kazakhstan to IS.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 210, published on Nov. 26 2014)

Kazakhstan’s Alliance Bank completed debt deal

NOV. 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s Alliance Bank has completed a $1.2b debt restructuring deal and will now merge with Temirbank and ForteBank to become one of the biggest lenders in the country, Reuters reported. The government bought a stake in Alliance Bank in 2009. Temirbank and ForteBank are owned by billionaire Bulat Utemuratov.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 210, published on Nov. 26 2014)