SEPT. 9 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan plans to simplify the registration process for migrant workers by the end of 2013, media quoted Serik Sainov, head of the interior ministry’s migration department, as saying. Thousands of foreigners work illegally in Kazakhstan. Simplifying registration rules should benefit both businesses and individuals.
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(News report from Issue No. 151, published on Sept. 11 2013)
SEPT. 10 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — After days of talks, Toronto-listed Centerra Gold said it had agreed a non-binding deal with the Kyrgyz government over ownership of the Kumtor gold mine. Under the deal, Kyrgyzstan would swap its 32.7% stake in Centerra Gold for a 50% stake directly in a company that would own Kumtor. It would also pay Centerra Gold $100m.
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(News report from Issue No. 151, published on Sept. 11 2013)
SEPT. 5 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Officials in Georgia destroyed 180 hours of secret audio and video recordings of politicians, journalists and business people. The records, taken mainly by interior ministry officials under the previous government, were potentially to be used to blackmail people.
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(News report from Issue No. 151, published on Sept. 11 2013)
AUG. 31 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — US singers Beyonce and Kanye West sang at the wedding of Aysultan Nazarbayev, grandson of Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev. Leaders of ex-Soviet states often pay popstars to sing at private concerts. In June, Jennifer Lopez sang for Turkmen President Kurbangkuly Berdymukhamedov.
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(News report from Issue No. 150, published on Sept. 2 2013)
AUG. 29 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — A diplomatic scandal centred on the status of the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh is likely to lead to the sacking of Lithuania’s envoy in Baku.
Lithuania’s media is reporting that Dalia Grybauskaite, the Lithuanian President, is likely to fire her envoys to Hungary and Azerbaijan after they were recorded describing Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Armenia.
The diplomatic spat not only embarrasses Lithuania but also acts as a wider reminder of Nagorno-Karabakh’s ultra-sensitive status. Azerbaijan and Armenia are still at war over Nagorno-Karabakh and only a 1994 UN negotiated ceasefire holds a shaky peace.
There are still almost weekly shoot-outs between the opposing armies and Azerbaijan has pledged to re-take the enclave from Armenia-backed forces.
Ms Grybauskaite has, apparently, acted after a recording of a private conversation between Arturas Zurauskas, Lithuania’ ambassador in Baku, and Renatas Juska, Lithuania’s ambassador in Budapest, surfaced on YouTube in July.
In the recording the men agree that Nagorno-Karabakh should be considered Armenian. They also refer to the enclave by its Armenian name, Artsakh. Azerbaijan stakes its own historical claim to the province.
The incident also serves as a reminder of the increased diplomatic clout that Azerbaijan’s burgeoning energy wealth has now given it.
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(News report from Issue No. 150, published on Sept. 2 2013)
AUG. 27 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Police in Germany arrested Akhat Alpysbayev, the Consul-General at Kazakhstan’s consulate in Frankfurt, and a more junior Kazakh diplomat for smuggling cigarettes into the country, German newspaper Bild reported. The arrests will embarrass Kazakhstan which has been professionalising its diplomatic service.
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(News report from Issue No. 150, published on Sept. 2 2013)
AUG. 23 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Toronto-listed Centerra Gold and the Kyrgyz government began negotiations over the ownership of the Kumtor gold mine in eastern Kyrgyzstan. The Kyrgyz government holds a 32.7% stake in Centerra Gold, which owns Kumtor, but it says it should own more of the country’s biggest industrial asset.
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(News report from Issue No. 149, published on Aug. 26 2013)
AUG. 23 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan should produce 1.1m tonnes of processed cotton in 2013, the same level as last year, an industry website reported quoting government officials. Cotton is a major foreign currency earner for Uzbekistan, the world’s sixth largest producer and second largest exporter.
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(News report from Issue No. 149, published on Aug. 26 2013)
AUG. 22 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s four-party governing coalition collapsed, triggering potential long-term political instability. The Ata-Meken and Ar-Namys parties, always tricky partners in the coalition, withdrew their support over corruption allegations against PM Omurbek Babanov and a stalling economy.
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(News report from Issue No. 102, published on Aug. 24 2012)
AUG. 9 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Hackers attacked the Kyrgyz foreign ministry website, temporarily plastering it with Turkish language slogans, media reported. It was not clear who was behind the attack, the website of the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. The attack did, though, show the vulnerability of Kyrgyzstan’s government.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 147, published on Aug. 12 2013)