OCT. 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev met in Astana at the Kazakhstan-Russia Business Forum and signed several bilateral agreements worth $4b. Both parties said they want to boost trade ties. No specific details of the deals were released.
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(News report from Issue No. 299, published on Oct. 7 2016)
BISHKEK, OCT. 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Joining the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) has made conditions worse for Kyrgyz businesses, economy minister Arzybek Kozhoshev said in some of the harshest criticism so far levelled at the Kremlin-focused project.
Kyrgyzstan joined the EEU last August but has always been a reluctant partner — the other partners are Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Belarus — with businesses speaking out about the extra red tape and the risk of damaging important trade relations with China.
Now Mr Kozhoshev said that data showed extent of the damage.
“The first year in the EEU has not shown any positive results yet. Some economic indexes have worsened and export volumes have dropped,” Mr Kozhoshev said at a business forum.
“Textile exports dropped by 21.5% in the first half of the year compared to last year. Dairy products exports also fell by 24% in the same period. Our trade partners have created artificial barriers for our manufacturers.”
Kyrgyzstan’s economy has been under pressure, much like the rest of the region, but Mr Kozhoshev’s message was clear. Much of the problem, he said, was down to the EEU.
Coincidentally the two main architects of the EEU, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, were meeting in Astana for a Kazakhstan- Russia Business Forum. They had a very different take on the EEU.
During the session, Mr Nazarbayev lauded the EEU and encouraged all ministers to recount a positive story about the bloc.
“The Eurasian Economic Union is a key element in the revival of the Great Silk Road,” he was quoted by media as saying.
Some analysts in the West have said the driving force, and the Kremlin’s main aim, behind the EEU was political rather than economic.
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(News report from Issue No. 299, published on Oct. 7 2016)
SEPT. 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Abdulaziz Kamilov, Uzbekistan’s foreign minister, paid an official visit to Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon in Dushanbe in an effort to boost cooperation. Mr Kamilov and Mr Rakhmon held talks on joint efforts to combat terrorism and on water and energy issues that still divide the two countries. Uzbekistan has maintained strong opposition against Tajikistan’s decision to build a major dam and hydropower plant because it would affect downstream water supply.
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(News report from Issue No. 298, published on Sept. 30 2016)
SEPT. 28 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Rustam Azimov, Uzbekistan’s finance minister, flew to South Korea to boost trade, an extension of the diplomatic push that the new administration in Uzbekistan initiated after the death of President Islam Karimov earlier this month.
In Seoul, Mr Azimov met with South Korea’s Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan and the chairman of Korea Eximbank, Lee Dukhoon, who pledged investments of $250m in the transport and telecoms sectors.
This week, Abdulaziz Kamilov, Uzbekistan’s foreign minister, visited Dushanbe and earlier this month foreign leaders, including Russia’s
Vladimir Putin and Kazakhstan’s Nursultan Nazarbayev, were in Uzbekistan to mourn Karimov and swap notes with acting President and PM Shavkat Mirziyoyev who is likely to be given the job full-time.
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(News report from Issue No. 298, published on Sept. 30 2016)
SEPT. 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Chinese authorities said they would shut border crossings with Kyrgyzstan for three days at the beginning of October because of a national holiday. It is not uncommon for countries to close off their borders in connection with national holidays, but this decision seems to be tied to worsening security between the two countries. China and Kyrgyzstan blamed on Uyghur separatists an attack to the Chinese embassy in Bishkek in late August. China has not said it will close any other international border during this hoilday.
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(News report from Issue No. 298, published on Sept. 30 2016)
SEPT. 16 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Heads of states of CIS countries convened in Bishkek for their annual meeting, a summit that focused on countering both the growing recruitment drive of the IS extremist group in the region and the threat from the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan. Notably, this was Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko’s first visit to Kyrgyzstan since former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev fled to Belarus after being ousted in a revolution in 2010.
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(News report from Issue No. 297, published on Sept. 23 2016)
SEPT. 15 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Ex-Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev lodged accusations of drug smuggling against NATO forces that used the Manas airbase in Kyrgyzstan for their mission in Afghanistan. US forces agreed to lease the Manas airbase in Dec. 2001 and left in June 2014.Mr Akayev served as president of Kyrgyzstan from 1990 to 2005, when he was unseated during a revolution.
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(News report from Issue No. 296, published on Sept. 16 2016)
SEPT. 12 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev flew into Samarkand to pay his respects to recently- deceased Islam Karimov, former Uzbek president. At the time of Karimov’s funeral on Sept. 3, Mr Nazarbayev was attending a G20 summit in China. During the visit, Mr Nazarbayev met with Uzbekistan’s acting president Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
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(News report from Issue No. 296, published on Sept. 16 2016)
SEPT. 12 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Vatican released a schedule for Pope Francis’ second trip to the South Caucasus. The Pope will spend two days in Georgia, Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, and the following day in Azerbaijan. In June, Pope Francis had visited Armenia.
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(News report from Issue No. 296, published on Sept. 16 2016)
SEPT. 11 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The first rail freight from China arrived in Afghanistan via Central Asia, potentially opening up a new trade route. China has tried to create interconnected transport infrastructure in Central Asia to promote alternatives to sea shipping. The railway linking China and Afghanistan also crosses Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan for a total length of 7,500 km.
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(News report from Issue No. 296, published on Sept. 16 2016)