OCT. 29 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – It may seem routine between neighbours but a phone call by Tajik president Emmomali Rakhmon to his Uzbek counterpart, Islam Karimov, is significant. The two leaders barely talk and tension between the countries has been rising. Quoting the Tajik presidential press service, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported the telephone call on Oct. 29.
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(News report from Issue No. 111, published on Nov. 2 2012)
OCT. 31 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Underlying a blossoming partnership, media reported that Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had discussed in a telephone conversation the progress of a series of joint projects, including the delayed construction of a $330m hydropower station on the border.
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(News report from Issue No. 111, published on Nov. 2 2012)
NOV. 1 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – In one of his first major policy statements since becoming Georgia’s PM last week, Bidzina Ivanishvili said he would not restore diplomatic ties with Russia until it reversed its recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. South Ossetia and Abkhazia broke away from Georgia in the mid-1990s.
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(News report from Issue No. 111, published on Nov. 2 2012)
OCT. 27 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – It may have been grand-standing, but it was still clear that Tajik president Emomali Rakhmon was pleased.
Mr Rakhmon was opening a new tunnel under a treacherous mountain road that links the north of Tajikistan to the south, when, according to the Russian news agency RIA-Novosti, he said that this was now the shortest route between Asia and Europe.
He was wrong, of course, but the Shakhristan Tunnel is still important. Not only does it improve journey times between Dushanbe, the capital, and Khujand, the second city, but this 5km-long tunnel under the Pamir mountains also underlines China’s commitment to the region.
With funds from Beijing, a Chinese company built the tunnel under a pass which is often closed by snow in the heavy winter months.
Tunnel projects in Tajikistan form just one part of China’s regional strategy. It is investing heavily in Central Asia, building relations by improving transport links, handing out cheap loans and buying up resources.
Across the border from where Mr Rakhmon was admiring his new tunnel, the Uzbek government was also thanking Beijing. It had just borrowed $220m to modernise a heating plant in Tashkent.
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(News report from Issue No. 111, published on Nov. 2 2012)
OCT. 31 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – World Trade Organisation (WTO) members are ready to vote Tajikistan into their club later this year after the Tajik government agreed to move its trade policies in line with international standards, media reported. Kyrgyzstan is currently the only state from Central Asia with WTO membership.
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(News report from Issue No. 111, published on Nov. 2 2012)
OCT. 26 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The US government has been cheerleading the positive impact that NATO’s supply chain to Afghanistan will have in Central Asia. A new north-south Silk Road, they like to call it.
But a report published this month by the New York-based Open Society Foundations suggested that in four key areas — building inter-state cooperation, tackling corruption, strengthening transport links and improving the lives of ordinary people — the so-called Northern Distribution Network (NDN) has yet to make any significant impact.
It’s an important report as it is possibly one of the first heavy-weight assessments of the NDN.
The Open Society Foundations report estimated that it costs $17,500 to shift a container to Afghanistan through NDN. At roughly 750 containers a week that’s $682.5m a year.
On top of this are transit fees paid to Russia and the Central Asian states of 500m. Nearly half of this goes to Uzbekistan, which holds the Soviet-era railway to Afghanistan that is bearing most of the load.
The NDN has made, and will continue to make, a significant impact on the politics and economics of Central Asia. The Open Society Foundations’ report, though, states that it is still some way off acting as a catalyst for a new Silk Road.
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(News report from Issue No. 110, published on Oct. 26 2012)
OCT. 11 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbek president Islam Karimov continued his diplomatic push across Central Asia and the South Caucasus by visiting Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev. Since the start of September, Mr Karimov, normally one of the more stand-offish regional leaders, has already visited Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 108, published on Oct. 12 2012)
OCT. 4 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – From 2013, Armenia will lift visa requirements for citizens of the European Union and Schengen Area (Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Iceland), media reported. Currently, citizens of these countries are able to buy a visa on arrival. Earlier this year, Kyrgyzstan scrapped visas for many Western countries.
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(News report from Issue No. 107, published on Oct. 5 2012)
OCT. 4 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian president Vladimir Putin flew into Tajikistan for the start of a two-day visit which is expected to culminate in a deal to extend Russia’s lease on a military base. The base is Russia’s largest overseas mission and is considered a vital component of its military strategy.
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(News report from Issue No. 107, published on Oct. 5 2012)
OCT. 2 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Apparently keen to improve relations with neighbours, Uzbek president Islam Karimov made a rare visit to Turkmenistan a month after he had made an equally rare visit to Kazakhstan. Media reported that Mr Karimov and Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov discussed regional security and transport issues.
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(News report from Issue No. 107, published on Oct. 5 2012)