DEC. 10 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Industrial output in Kazakhstan rose 10.5% in the first 11 months of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009 but agricultural output fell by 12.3%, the Kazakh Statistics Committee said. This reflects Kazakhstan’s rebound from recession but also a drought which hit grain production.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 19, published on Dec. 13 2010)
DEC. 8 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan established a new government-run company to supply fuel to the US airbase outside Bishkek. An opaque firm
registered in Gibraltar with links to the son of ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev had previous controlled lucrative contracts to supply fuel to the base, which is vital to NATO operations in Afghanistan.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 19, published on Dec. 13 2010)
NOV. 25 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) – The heads of governments of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states met in Dushanbe to discuss increasing humanitarian and economic cooperation. They were candid about the results other than to say they had agreed to boost regional aid. Founded in 2001, the SCO consists of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Mongolia, India, Pakistan and Iran hold observer status and attended the meeting.
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NOV. 18 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) – Alongside China, Russia, Cuba, Iraq and Morocco, Kazakhstan will not attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo next month, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said. This year the committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to an imprisoned Chinese dissident angering China. China is one of Kazakhstan’s biggest investors.
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(News report from Issue No. 16, published on Nov. 22 2010)
NOV. 15 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) – Bicycle lanes cut through many major cities in the developed world. They are, perhaps, a public luxury that wealthy, well organised societies can afford and away from Europe or North America are far less common. Roads have to be smooth, drivers disciplined and the public has to be wealthy enough to be concerned with both traffic management and pollution and not just scraping together a living.
Now, Almaty has its own bicycle lane — the first in Central Asia. Opened this month, the bicycle lane runs 2.5km along a pavement at the side of Abai street which cuts across Almaty.
Kazakhstan has high aspirations. It is once again enjoying economic growth and this year it gained international political kudos through its chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) which monitors democracy and human rights.
Almaty, no longer the capital but still Kazakhstan’s cultural and financial centre, also holds serious aspirations and in January 2011 hosts the Asian Winter Games.
But Kazakhstan’s recent wealth has also brought traffic and pollution problems to Almaty. In rush hour, the roads are gridlocked and exhaust fumes choke the air.
It appears, though, to be taking traffic management seriously. In 2011 Almaty will finish construction of a seven-station metro system and the bicycle lane in Abai is just the start of a proposed 40km network — similar to wealthy, well-organised European cities.
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(News report from Issue No. 15, published on Nov. 15 2010)
NOV. 9 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) – Germany’s human rights commissioner called on the International Labour Organisation, a UN agency, to investigate Uzbekistan for using child labour to pick its cotton harvest. This is the sharpest criticism by a leading European figure of Uzbekistan’s alleged use of child labour. Uzbekistan has previously promised to stop the practice.
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(News report from Issue No. 15, published on Nov. 15 2010)
NOV. 3 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) – In 2010 Kazakhstan harvested 13.9m tonnes of grain down from 22.7m tonnes in 2009, a senior official from the Kazakh ministry of agriculture said. This represents a drop of 31%. Droughts have reduced grain harvest this year throughout the world.
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(News report from Issue No. 14, published on Nov. 8 2010)
NOV. 8 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Since Mikheil Saakashvili became Georgia’s president in 2004, the US has considered Georgia its most reliable ally in the South Caucasus.
But this year Georgia, perhaps worried by US President Barack Obama’s drive to mend ties with Russia which it fought in a 2008 war, has steadily improved relations with one of the US’ biggest enemies — Iran.
Iran has also been on a determined charm offensive in the South Caucasus and Central Asia. Facing increasing international isolation over its nuclear development programme, Iran has reached out to its former Soviet neighbours — especially Azerbaijan and Tajikistan — and visits regularly for talks on trade and cultural affairs.
On Nov. 3, Iran’s foreign finister Manouchehr Mottaki visited Tbilisi. Alongside improving air links between Tehran and Tbilisi and dropping visa requirements, Iran will open up a consulate in the Georgian Black Sea port of Batumi, a favoured holiday destination for Iranians. Iran already pays Georgia for electricity supplies and, importantly for Georgia, has refused to recognise the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
This budding friendship is likely to irritate the US which suspects Iran is trying to build a nuclear weapon. It has already expressed displeasure at Iranian overtures in the South Caucasus.
On Oct. 19, a few days after Iran’s defence minister visited Azerbaijan, the US sent a senior Treasury Department official to Baku to warn Azerbaijan against improving ties with Tehran.
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(News report from Issue No. 14, published on Nov. 8 2010)
NOV. 2 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan is considering introducing regulations to require foreign companies working in Kazakhstan to deposit 35% of their savings in Kazakh banks, Berik Kamaliyev, deputy minister of trade and industry, told a government meeting. He said the aim was to bolster the Kazakh banking sector.
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(News report from Issue No. 14, published on Nov. 8 2010)
OCT. 28 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Booming commodity prices and a sustained revival in Russia’s economy are driving economic recovery in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a report. The IMF said economies in both regions will grow this year except for Kyrgyzstan where political turmoil has dented growth.
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(News report from Issue No. 13, published on Nov. 1 2010)