Tag Archives: Eurasian Economic Union

Kyrgyz som slips to new low

SEPT. 16 2015, BISHKEK (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s som dropped to its lowest level against the US dollar since independence, forcing the Central Bank to step in to brake its fall.

At exchange kiosks in Bishkek, the som traded at 72/$1 before recovering to around 69/$1 after the Central Bank’s intervention. Still, the fall in the som, now down 13% in the past month, has pushed up inflation and worried people.

“Food is getting more expensive, it definitely reflects on the family budget,” a 52-year-old man who declined to be named said as he left a supermarket in central Bishkek.

When the Kyrgyz government pushed the country into the Russia- led Eurasian Economic Union last month it said food prices would fall.

Emil Umetaliev, a Bishkek-based analyst, said this promise has been shown to be empty. “How can they be cheaper if in Russia they are getting more expensive because of an internal crisis?” he said.

To stop the slide, the Central Bank bought $18m worth of som but a source at the Bank told the Bulletin officials were anxious.

“The Bank made intervention but it did not particularly affect such a fast growth of dollar,” she said.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 248, published on Sept. 18 2015)

Coal production drops in Kazakhstan

SEPT. 14 2015, ALMATY (The Conway Bulletin) — Coal production in Kazakhstan dropped by 6.7% in the first eight months of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014, data released by the Eurasian Economic Commission showed.

The Eurasian Economic Commission is the administrative arm of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union. The Eurasian Economic Union is a trade bloc set up by the Kremlin that includes Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan.

The data showed a fairly pronounced slump in coal production in Kazakhstan, while the other countries maintained output.

The slump in Kazakhstan’s production may be yet another indicator of the impact of the economic recession. Kazakhstan relies heavily on coal to fire many of its larger industrial centres.

If order books are down, demand for coal and production would also slump.

EEU goods reach Kyrgyzstan

SEPT. 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Belarusian dairy producer Turovsky Milk Factory exported its first batch of products to Kyrgyzstan, media reported quoting a company spokesman. The shipment is notable because it appears to suggest that, in this instance, the concept of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union trade bloc is working.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 247, published on Sept. 11 2015)

Armenian PM wants open border policy

SEPT. 8 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenian PM Hovik Abrahamyan wants to allow citizens of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) to travel to Armenia without a passport, media reported. He said only 20% of Russians have passports, a major drag on potential tourist numbers, and suggested that they could travel to Armenia on internal passports.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 247, published on Sept. 11 2015)

Kyrgyzstan joins EEU

AUG. 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan formally joined the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union when it dropped customs barriers with its neighbour Kazakhstan, which is also a member. Both Kyrgyz president Almazbek Atambayev and Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev attended a ceremony to mark the occasion. Belarus and Armenia are also members of the group which some critics have said is an underhand way for Russia to increase its political influence.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 243, published on Aug. 14 2015)

Kyrgyzstan joins EEU

AUG. 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a decree on allowing Kyrgyzstan into the Russia- led Eurasian Economic Union. This was the final piece of paperwork that Kyrgyzstan needed to enter the trade bloc. Other members of the Eurasian Economic Union include Belarus and Armenia, which also joined this year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 242, published on Aug. 7 2015)

Armenia receives $300m loan

JULY 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Almaty-based Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) will loan $300m to Armenia to weather tough economic conditions, media reported quoting Russia’s deputy economy minister Sergei Storchak. The ADB was set up by Russia and Kazakhstan. It supports members of the Eurasian Economic Union.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Kyrgyzstan starts campaign to buy local products

JULY 9 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Ahead of its accession to the Eurasian Economic Union later this year, domestic producers in Kyrgyzstan have started a campaign to try and persuade more people to buy locally made products, the 24.kg news agency reported.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 239, published on July 9 2015)

Kyrgyz president awards Kazakh leader

JULY 6 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – BISHKEK — Kyrgyz president Almazbek Atambayev awarded Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev the Order of Manas (First Class), Kyrgyzstan’s highest honour, for helping to create the Eurasian Economic Union.

He flew to Astana to give Mr Nazarbayev the award on his 75th birthday, five days after the Kazakh leader ratified Kyrgyzstan’s accession into the Kremlin-led Eurasian Economic Union.

“We feel a strong fraternal support from the Republic of Kazakhstan,” Mr Atambayev said, according to media.

Toktogul Kakcheckeyev, an executive director at the Association of Political Scientists of Kyrgyzstan think tank in Bishkek, explained.

“The Manas award was given by Almazbek Atambayev to Nursultan Nazarbayev because of Nazarbayev’s efforts to develop regional cooperation in terms of Eurasian economic community,” he said. “Originally it was Nazarbayev’s idea to launch regional economic cooperation.”

In 1994, shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union in a speech in Moscow, Mr Nazarbayev spoke rather nostalgically of creating a Eurasian Union. This has now materialised, or, at least a version of that vision.

Still, some observers have said that Mr Atambayev’s award to Mr Nazarbayev was a brazen attempt to curry favour with the most powerful leader in Central Asia.

And Kyrgyzstan has form with this. The Kyrgyz parliament can be relied upon, almost every year, to nominate Mr Nazarbayev for a Nobel Peace Prize for giving up the nuclear weapons that Kazakhstan inherited after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

Mr Nazarbayev is only the twelfth recipient of a First Class Order of Manas in its 19 year history.

Other recipients include Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary- General.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 239, published on July 9 2015)

Gazprom hints at Kyrgyz gas price rise

JUNE 25 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Gazprom wants to raise the price that consumers in Kyrgyzstan pay for their gas, local media reported quoting the director-general of its Kyrgyz subsidiary, Bakyt Abildayev.

This is a particularly sensitive topic because of tense street protests in Yerevan, triggered by the Russian-owned Armenian electricity distributor which wants to raise prices.

“We cannot endlessly subsidize gas industry. I propose to develop a new pricing policy for [the next] three to five years,” Mr Abildayev said.

When Gazprom bought the Kyrgyz gas distribution network in 2013 it was bankrupt and badly needed investment. Gazprom paid a token $1 for the network and promised much needed investment and also to keep prices low. This pleased ordinary Kyrgyz and also the government. It was interpreted as a sweetener as the Kremlin extended its influence over Central Asia and brought Kyrgyzstan into its Eurasian Economic Union (EEU)

Now, though, the situation has changed. Kyrgyzstan has signed up to the EEU and cash is tighter in Russia. The collapse in energy prices has hit Russia hard.

Perhaps this is why, with their allegiance guaranteed, Russia is now looking to increase the price it charges consumers for electricity and gas in Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.

Kyrgyz politics often plays out on the street. If Mr Abildayev is serious about increasing gas prices in Kyrgyzstan, he should probably expect a reaction.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 237, published on June 25 2015)