Tag Archives: Eurasian Economic Union

Kazakhstan’s trade turnover with Eurasian Union states drops

NOV. 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s trade turnover with member states of the Eurasian Economic Union – that’s Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan – has dropped by nearly 26% to $12.1b in the first nine months of this year compared to the same period in 2014, its statistics agency said.

The data is more evidence of the sharp downturn in the region’s economy. It is particularly jarring for Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev who has been one of the main architects and biggest supporters of the Eurasian Economic Union. It was hoped that the trade bloc would stimulate trade but instead, by anchoring outlying economies to Russia, it has hampered it.

A sharp drop in oil prices and Western-imposed sanctions have tipped Russia into a recession and forced its rouble currency to drop in value.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 257, published on Nov. 20 2015)

Kyrgyzstan troubles with EEU

NOV. 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – There are still hundreds of teething problems that Kyrgyzstan has to overcome to successfully complete its integration into the Kremlin-lead Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), the country’s representative on the EEU’s board, Danil Ibraev, told media. Kyrgyzstan joined the group, which also includes Belarus, Kazakhstan and Armenia, in August. Kyrgyz business owners have complained about bureaucracy.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 257, published on Nov. 20 2015)

Eurasian Dev Bank to give Armenia $300m crisis loan

NOV. 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Almaty-based Eurasian Development Bank is close to agreeing a deal to lend the Armenian government $300m to help it through the economic malaise enveloping the Central Asia and South Caucasus region.

If it is agreed, the first $100m is due at the end of this year with the outstanding $200m handed over by the end of 2017.

Like other countries in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, Armenia has been trying to deal with the fallout of the drop in oil prices and a recession in Russia which have combined to tip the entire region into an economic depression.

“Current macroeconomic actions have been agreed with the Armenian government,” Dmitry Pankin, the EDB CEO, told the Armenpress news agency.

“The project has been approved by the expert council and is now being considered by the Eurasian Stabilisation and Development Fund. After the official decision, the final conditions will be agreed upon.”

The Eurasian Development Bank is an overtly political organisation. It’s membership mirrors the membership of the Kremlin-led Eurasian Economic Union — Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia — with the addition of Tajikistan.

It was set up before the Eurasian Economic Union to give the trade bloc extra weight.

It also acts as a kind of sweetener. Armenia is reliant on Russia for economic and political support. It joined the Eurasian Economic Union at the start of this year under duress from Russia but can now access cheap loans to keep its economy running.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

Smuggled petroleum flows into Kyrgyzstan

OCT. 28 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The amount of smuggled petroleum products flowing into Kyrgyzstan from Kazakhstan has increased enormously since the country joined the Kremlin-led Eurasian Economic Union in August, Melis Turgunbayev, director of state-owned energy company Kyrgyzneftegaz, said. He said the flood of smuggled goods had halved the trade in legally imported petroleum products.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 254, published on Oct. 30 2015)

We will not block Armenia-EU deal, says Russia

OCT. 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia said it would not block Armenia signing an agreement with the European Union that will deepen bilateral relations.

This is important because the deal has been drawn up to replace the Association Agreement that Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan ducked out of signing at the last moment two years ago.

Back then the West accused Russia of interfering by giving Armenia sweeteners to ditch the EU for the Kremlin-led Eurasian Economic Union, which is joined this year. The Kremlin pulled a similar trick with Ukraine, although this led to a public outpouring of anger, street demonstrations and, eventually, a revolution.

Russian news agencies quoted Vasily Nebenzya, a Russian deputy foreign minister, saying that the Kremlin would not try to stop the deal this time.

“I think that [the planned EU-Armenia accord] does not contradict partnership with the Russian Federation,” he said.

The deal that Armenia and the EU hope to sign this year is not as deep as the Association Agreement of 2013 was intended to be but it is an important step for EU-Armenia relations.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 254, published on Oct. 30 2015)

Azerbaijan could join EEU, says minister

OCT. 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan said for the first time that it could join the Kremlin-led Eurasian Economic Union. At a press conference in Baku, deputy economy minister Sevinj Hasanova said: “We are analysing how our participation in the World Trade Organisation is useful. Therefore, Azerbaijan’s joining the EEU or other organisations should be analysed.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 254, published on Oct. 30 2015)

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 254, published on Oct. 30 2015)

Markets: Trade turnover among Eurasian Economic Union members falls

OCT. 15 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Eurasian Economic Commission published the latest statistics on trade turnover among EEU countries. It made for interesting, if also distressing, reading.

Trade among Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan was down by a quarter in Jan.-Aug. 2015, compared to the same period last year.

By volume, Russia was the country that suffered the largest fall, amounting to over $4b. In terms of percentage, however, all other countries except for Kyrgyzstan fared worse — Kyrgyzstan acceded as a full member only in August, so its numbers could be misleading.

Curiously, Armenia increased trade turnover with non-EEU countries such as Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan by over 40%.

In the two periods analysed by the Commission, oil prices were significantly different. And this can be clearly seen in Kazakhstan’s statistics, which show a sharp fall in exports to Italy, China and Russia, its main trade partners by volume. In particular, the value of Kazakhstan’s exports were reduced by the double whammy of lower oil prices and the decrease in the value of the tenge after the government abandoned its peg to the US dollar.

It is undeniable that the rouble crisis and the fall in oil prices have affected the Eurasian region. And the EEU has been unabel to contain the spill-over effects on its members.

OCT. 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) —

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 253, published on Oct. 23 2015)

EX-Armenian PM Sargsyan heads Eurasian Union Commission

OCT. 16 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Former Armenian PM Tigran Sargsyan will take over as chairman of the Eurasian Economic Commission on Feb. 1, an appointment that highlights Russian President Vladimir Putin’s influence over the group.

The Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) announced Mr Sargsyan’s appointment after a meeting in Astana. Mr Sargsyan succeeds Russian Viktor Khristenko.

According to media, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said of Mr Sargsyan’s appointment: “His candidacy is supported by the Russian President as they worked together some time ago.”

The Eurasian Economic Commission runs the EEU — which also includes Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan as its members — on a day-to-day basis, and Mr Sargsyan’s appointment should, at first sight, give Armenia more influence over the trade bloc.

The reality is different, though. The EEU is a Russian project and Mr Lukashenko’s words show just how influential Mr Putin is over the group. Without his support, Mr Sargsyan could not have been appointed as chairman.

Since April 2014, Mr Sargsyan has been the Armenian ambassador to the United States. He had been PM between 2008-14 but quit abruptly after his government’s reforms to the state pension programme proved unpopular.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 253, published on Oct. 23 2015)

Kyrgyzstan and Belarus relaunch relations

OCT. 7 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan said it has reopened its embassy in Minsk, three years after it broke off relations with Belarus. In 2012, Belarus refused to extradite former Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who had been sentenced to prison in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan joined the Kremlin-led Eurasian Economic Union in August. Belarus is also a member.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 251, published on Oct. 9 2015)

Kyrgyz minister complains about “flood” of imports

BISHKEK, SEPT. 25 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Alluding to concerns about the impact of the Kremlin-lead Eurasian Economic Union, Kyrgyzstan’s deputy PM Vladimir Dil said cheap products from Russia and Kazakhstan have been flooding the market.

Many politicians and government officials in Kyrgyzstan were sceptical in August about the benefits of joining the trade block that includes Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Armenia. Some said that the Kremlin views the Eurasian Economic Union as a political project and that it pressured Kyrgyzstan, which has become increasingly reliant on Russia for economic and military support, into joining.

Now Mr Dil has stepped out and seemingly openly criticised the Eurasian Economic Union.

“We are seeing a very large flow of goods from Kazakhstan and Russia to our side. The changes in the exchange rates of the rouble and the tenge has turned goods in markets of our allies far cheaper than ours,” Mr Dil said. He didn’t explicitly mention the Eurasian Economic Union but the inference was clear. Kazakhstan cut its peg to a US dollar towards the end of August. The Kazakh tenge immediately lost around a quarter of its value.

A large drop in the value of the tenge and entry to the Eurasian Economic Union, it appears, has exposed Kyrgyzstan to cheap imports.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)