Tag Archives: international relations

Kazakhstan starts chairing UN Security Council

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JAN 1 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan began a 1-month chairmanship of the UN Security Council for the first time. It is sitting at the Security Council as one of two representatives for the Asia-Pacific region. Its 2-year term as a UN Security Council member finishes at the end of 2017. Pres. Nazarbayev had set serious precedent on Kazakhstan becoming the first Central Asian member of the Security Council.

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— This story was first published on Jan. 5 2018 in issue 356 of The Conway Bulletin

Germany’s Honorary Consul in west Kazakhstan dies

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DEC. 26 (The Conway Bulletin) — Germany’s Honorary Consul in west Kazakhstan, Peter Kreiger, has died, the German diplomatic service said. Kreiger was 54-years-old and was living in Atyrau. He had been Germany’s Honorary-Consul for West Kazakhstan since October 2010 and worked as a consultant in the oil and gas sector. Media suggested that he had died of a heart attack.

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— This story was first published on Jan. 5 2018 in issue 356 of The Conway Bulletin

Turkmen gas supplies to China drop

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DEC. 26 (The Conway Bulletin) — Gas supplies to China from Turkmenistan fell by 7% in November although compared to the same period in 2016 volumes have still increased, Reuters reported quoting Chinese customs data.

There has been no official explanation from either Turkmenistan or China on the gas supply drop but the slump will pile extra pressure onto the already-faltering Turkmen economy.

Turkmenistan’s economy is dependent on its gas sales to China. It is China’s largest supplier, providing it with 40% of its imports. Chinese data showed that imports from Turkmenistan were 1.592m tonnes, down from 1.71m tonnes in October. This is still 11% higher than a year earlier.

Turkmenistan’s economy is already under pressure from the collapse in energy prices since 2014.

Turkmen Pres. Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has sacked ministers and other officials as he looks to shift blame. The government has also cut subsidies for utilities and reports have said that the Black Market price of the US dollar has soared against the Turkmen manat.

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— This story was first published on Jan. 5 2018 in issue 356 of The Conway Bulletin

Chinese company to build wind farm in Kazakhstan

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DEC. 27 (The Conway Bulletin) — China’s Goldwind Science and Technology has won an order to build a wind power plant in Kazakhstan, it said. The 5MW plant will be built near Almaty and shows both Kazakhstan’s drive to develop green energy and also the increasing influence of China on the region’s commerce. The contract was given to Goldwind Science by China’s CITIC, the main contractor for the wind power plant. CITIC is a major constructor in Kazakhstan.

— This story was first published on Jan. 5 2018 in issue 356 of The Conway Bulletin

Nazarbayev and Jeenbekov patch up relations

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DEC. 25 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov promised to improve ties at a meeting in Bishkek. Relations between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan strained in October during a Kyrgyz presidential election when outgoing Kyrgyz president Almazbek Atambayev accused Mr Nazarbayev of trying to meddle.

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— This story was first published on Jan. 5 2018 in issue 356 of The Conway Bulletin

Sargsyan travels to Georgia

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DEC. 25 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan flew to Tbilisi for talks with his Georgian counterpart Giorgi Margvelashvili that both sides described as “wide-ranging”. From Tbilisi, Mr Sargsyan was heading to Moscow for an informal meeting of heads of states of CIS countries. Armenia’s diplomacy in the South Caucasus is delicate. It needs to cultivate good relations with Georgia to counter its enemies Azerbaijan and Turkey. Georgia, though, through pipeline politics is increasingly close to Ankara and Baku.

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— This story was first published on Jan. 5 2018 in issue 356 of The Conway Bulletin

Russia is looking at funding Kyrgyz hydro projects once again

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DEC. 22 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia is, apparently, looking at potentially funding hydropower projects in Kyrgyzstan two years after it pulled out of a $700m deal to finance the development of the Kambar-Ata-1 hydropower station and four smaller projects along the Upper Naryn River. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty quoted Russian deputy PM Arkady Dvorkovich as hinting that Russia was looking again at potential projects. Kyrgyzstan has not found an alternative funder for the Upper Naryn river projects since Russia pulled out.

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— This story was first published on Jan. 5 2018 in issue 356 of The Conway Bulletin

Georgia agrees gas imports from Azerbaijan

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JAN 3 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia will buy almost 100% of its gas supplies from Azerbaijan this year, officials told local media, completing a total switch from Russia-supplied gas. The announcement is, effectively, a continuation of a policy laid out in May last year when Georgia’s then-energy minister Kakha Kaladze said that Georgia would stop buying Russian gas. He had earlier switched the way that Georgia imported Russian gas from a barter deal to a paid-for deal.

— This story was first published on Jan. 5 2018 in issue 356 of The Conway Bulletin

Uzbekistan talks to Russia’s Rosatom on developing nuclear power

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DEC. 29 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan is in talks with Russia’s Rosatom to commission building two new nuclear power stations, media reported. Uzbekistan currently relies primarily on gas-fired power stations for its electricity. It is still some way off commissioning a nuclear power station but it has signed various memorandums of understanding with Russia on nuclear power. Relations between Russia and Uzbekistan have improved after Shavkat Mirziyoyev took over as president in 2016.

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— This story was first published on Jan. 5 2018 in issue 356 of The Conway Bulletin

Turkmenistan briefly cuts power to Afghanistan

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JAN 2 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan cut power supplies to northern Afghanistan for two days after, media has reported, the Afghan authorities refused to pay an increased fee for electricity. Power supplies were renewed after Turkmenistan agreed to delay price increases by a month. Turkmenistan’s economy has been hit hard by a drop in energy prices since 2014.

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— This story was first published on Jan. 5 2018 in issue 356 of The Conway Bulletin