FEB. 8 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan intends to use the inaugural European Games in Baku next year to build its case to hold the 2024 Olympic Games, Azad Rahimov, the Azerbaijani sports minister told reporters at the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Azerbaijan has twice bid to host the Olympics. It failed to make the short-list on both occasions.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
FEB. 6 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Usually Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s president, prefers to stand above everyday politics. It’s too dirty, too grubby for the president to become involved with.
Last year he hardly campaigned during a presidential election.
At an economic forum, though, in Baku, Mr Akuyev allowed himself to attack his opponents. The US government funded Radio Free Europe/Radio liberty reported that Mr Aliyev had said that October’s presidential election meant “the end of the opposition, the top of its shame.”
Certainly, the opposition collation performed poorly in the election. Its campaign was disorganised and characterised by a lack of leadership but it’s unclear what exactly would have provoked Mr Aliyev into the outburst.
It’s also unclear what he has to gain from it.
Since the election, the authorities in Azerbaijan have continued to hound Mr Aliyev’s opponents, often arresting them on charges which human rights groups have said have been fabricated.
Mr Aliyev may have been trying to defend the authorities’ actions. He said that “those who receive grants from abroad have no place in Azerbaijani politics.”
The reference is clear. Mr Aliyev was accusing his opponents of being influenced by foreign agents. It looks as if Azerbaijan’s politics is going to get tougher still.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
FEB. 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijani foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov visited Baghdad and said that Iraqi gas could possibly be exported to Europe through the so-called Southern Gas Corridor. Exporting Iraqi gas through Azerbaijan and its Southern Gas Corridor would require Turkish support.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
FEB. 5 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Mohammad al-Mosallam, deputy head of business development at Qatar Holding, visited Baku and held talks with the Azerbaijani minister of agriculture, Heydar Asadov, about possibly investing in the sector. Qatar Holding is one of the biggest investment groups in the world and could be a boost for Azerbaijan’s agriculture.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
FEB. 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan underlined its credentials as a regional energy transport lynchpin by offering to pump Iraqi gas to Europe through its pipeline network.
The offer came during a trip to Baghdad by Azerbaijani foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov and underlines the importance of the so-called Southern Gas Corridor.
“The project is there, so if there are other countries that want to join the Southern Gas Corridor, including Iraq which has already expressed some interest in this project, we are ready to start negotiations,” the AFP news agency quoted Mr Mammadyarov as saying.
Azerbaijan is planning a massive boost to its gas extraction and pipeline infrastructure over the next few years to cope with a rise in gas exports. This means developing the Southern Gas Corridor and attracting partners to tap into it.
Iraq is, of course, trying to boost its gas exports since the end of the US-led war and has turned to Azerbaijan for help.
To make the deal go through, Azerbaijan needs the support of Turkey which is its partner in the Trans- Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP). Turkey, a NATO member and ally of the United States, is likely to agree.
All this underlines the importance of the Southern Gas Corridor running through the South Caucasus between the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea and Europe.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
FEB. 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — An earthquake measuring 5.7 magnitude on the Richter scale hit central Azerbaijan. No casualties were reported but the earthquake underlined Azerbaijan’s vulnerability to tectonic shocks. The epicentre of the earthquake was roughly 200km from the capital Baku.
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(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
FEB. 6 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Highlighting Azerbaijan’s poor infrastructure, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) pledged to lend $150m to build new roads. The loan is part of a multi-tranche plan by the ADB to boost the road network across the country. The total cost of the project is $625m with ADB funding $500 and the Azerbaijani government the other $125m
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(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
FEB. 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Rovnag Abdullayev, the head of Azerbaijan’s state-owned energy company SOCAR, said that demand for petrol in Azerbaijan was rising by 10-11% each year, media reported. This is important because is both serves as an economic indicator and also shows the need to boost refinery capacity in Azerbaijan.
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(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
FEB. 3 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Reports from the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh said shootouts between Azerbaijani and Armenia soldiers have intensified over the past few weeks. Information from Nagorno-Karabakh is generally patchy and difficult to verify. The dispute, though, is considered a dangerous flashpoint for regional stability.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)
FEB. 4 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan is offering its four Winter Olympic athletes handsome prize money if they return from the Sochi 2014 Games with a medal, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. According to their report, Azerbaijani athletes will win $510,000 for a gold medal, $255,000 for a silver medal and $130,000 for a bronze medal.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)