MAY 29 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan wants to increase its meat and poultry exports to neighbouring countries over the next three years, media reported quoting agriculture minister Asylzhan Mamytbekov. Mr Mamytbekob said that meat exports increased by 300% in 2014.
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(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)
JUNE 3 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A Turkish infrastructure company has agreed to fund construction of a new hydro- power dam in Georgia, media reported.
The agreement boosts Georgia- Turkey relations and will also strengthen electricity generation in the country.
Anadolu Tasit Ticaret will spend $80m on building the 51-megawatt Khedula-3 hydro- power plant in the Svaneti region in the Caucasus mountains.
Georgia’s government is a major proponent of developing hydropower and energy minister Kakha Kaladze said that this new development was just part of an ongoing process to boost the sector.
“This is being done for our people and for our country. This is being done for Georgia to be an energy independent country, he said. But it’s not without its controversies.
Hydropower currently produces around 85% of Georgia’s power but with economic and industrial development demand rising, so is demand for power. The tension lies between those who want to develop hydropower, which often means smashing through pristine mountain valleys and destroying villages, and those who want to protect the environment.
The government is still to make a final decision about one of the most controversial hydro- power projects in Georgia, the proposed 200m high dam at Khudoni.
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(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)
JUNE 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Oil output at Tengizchevroil, Kazakhstan’s biggest oil producer, rose by 4.4% in Q1 compared to the same period in 2014, Reuters reported quoting its director-general Tim Miller. Chevron owns 50% of Tengizchevroil, ExxonMobil owns 25%, Kazmunaigas owns 20% and Lukoil owns 5%.
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(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)
MAY 29 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – An unnamed Spanish company is reportedly on the brink of signing a deal to lease the so-called Alphabet Tower in Batumi for 1 lari a year. That’s about 40 cents.
The Alphabet Tower, much like its neighbouring Batumi Tower which houses a ferris wheel halfway up one of its flanks, has become an item of ridicule since it was built in 2011.
It was one of former President Mikheil Saakashvili’s projects to beautify Batumi and yet it has been virtually abandoned since it was completed. And this is important. The current government, headed by the Georgian Dream coalition, despises Mr Saakashvili. It views his projects around Batumi with particular contempt and has already sold the Batumi Tower. Selling off these towers, it appears to think, is a way of pouring more scorn and ridicule on Mr Saakashvili.
Designed and built by a Spanish architect the Georgian alphabet twists and winds its way up the side of the Alpabet Tower. There are 33 letters in the modern Georgian alphabet, but only 31 on the tower. Two letters had been missed.
The tower has never been used the media reported that a lift running to the top floor was out of service. If the Spanish company did take the lease on the tower, and it reportedly wants to put a restaurant on the top floor, it would have to spend thousands of dollars repairing it.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)
MAY 29 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan has agreed to increase the amount of electricity it supplies to Afghanistan by four times over the next five years, media reported quoting senior officials. Turkmenistan has become an increasingly important regional power and energy supplier.
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(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)
JUNE 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – At a meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan’s energy ministry pledged to help Iraq explore for more oil.
The joint agreement was important because it underlined Azerbaijan’s determination to play a greater role in regional affairs. Iraq has been looking for partners to explore for more oil deposits and, although this agreement doesn’t actually put an exploration phase in motion, it does lay important groundwork for one.
Natig Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s energy minister, said: “We’re talking about investing in Iraq. We plan to choose there one of the projects, that is, an oilfield, and will work on it. In turn, Iraqi companies have been invited to participate in projects in Azerbaijan. I’m sure this collaboration will be productive.”
Azerbaijan has assumed an increasingly important role in the region.
Azerbaijan has hosted Afghan government delegations and promised to play a role in developing government institutions there, Israel considers Azerbaijan to be a regional ally and Baku has also rebuilt relations with Tehran over the last couple of years.
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(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)
MAY 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – In a boost for EU aspirations to pump gas from Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan said that although the countries which ring the Caspian Sea still argue over ownership, it didn’t see any problems building a pipeline across it, media reported. The EU is keen to diversify its gas supplies away from Russia.
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(News report from Issue No. 233, published on May 28 2015)
MAY 28 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A senior Uzbek official hinted that Uzbekistan wanted to increase its export of refined cotton fabrics. Media quoted Dilbar Mukhamedova, a senior official in UzbekYengil- Sanoat, the state company which produces light industrial goods, as saying that Uzbekistan currently produces $1b of refined cotton products.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 233, published on May 28 2015)
MAY 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Direct Tbilisi-Tehran flights will begin next month, media reported quoting Tbilisi mayor David Narmania. The launch of a direct route between Tbilisi and Tehran highlights the growing links between the two countries. Tehran’s mayor Mohammad Bagher was visiting Tbilisi to sign a twinning agreement.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 233, published on May 28 2015)
MAY 22 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – With European gas supplies in mind, Turkmenistan intends to increase gas output, media quoted the petroleum minister, Muhammetnur Halyov, as saying. Turkmenistan is positioning itself to become a major supplier of gas to the EU in the next few years.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 233, published on May 28 2015)