MAY 8 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – As expected, parliament approved a law that will extend the time that citizens of most Western countries can stay in Georgia without a visa to 360 days from 90 days. Visa-free regulations were tightened in the summer.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – In Vienna, Austrian president Heinz Fischer told Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov that Austria wanted to buy Turkmen gas. Europe is trying to persuade Turkmenistan to send its gas west to Europe. Turkmenistan is looking for more clients for its gas.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) holds its 24th annual meeting and business forum in Tbilisi May 14-15, placing Georgia firmly at the centre of the region’s attention.
Georgia is the first country in the Caucasus to host the annual EBRD meeting. Uzbekistan hosted the event in 2003. The Bank is a major player in Georgia, and has invested a total of $3b over the last 22 years.
This meeting is strategically important for Georgia to demonstrate its economic development, especially now, when the country is mired in a currency crisis. The lari has lost around 32% of its value since November.
Deputy minister of finance Davit Lezhava said the meeting was a perfect opportunity to spread information about Georgia to the outside world.
“I hope that the meeting will result in more investment, greater integration with the democratic world and in more political support,” Mr Lezhava told the Bulletin.
Over $7.2m was spent in preparing the EBRD annual meeting by the private sponsors and the government, media reported.
Mr Lezhava said that he didn’t know how much came from the state’s budget.
“But whatever the governmentcontribution was, it is not a waste of money because we will have great benefits from this event,” he said.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 9 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Kremlin-led Eurasian Eco- nomic Union officially signed up Kyrgyzstan as its fifth member after Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Armenia. Before Kyrgyzstan actually joins, though, the Kyrgyz parliament has to ratify the deal. Kyrgyzstan is worried about the impact on its trade with China.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Ahead of a EU summit in Riga later this month, Georgian president Georgy Margvelashvili travelled to Brussels to meet the EU President Donald Tusk, NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg. Georgia sees the Riga summit a chance to press its pro-EU agenda.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan and Turkey began joint military exercises, underling their close alliance and highlighting just how isolated Armenia is. Media reported that the drills would continue until May 16. Azerbaijan and Turkey share an animosity for Armenia.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia agreed to send a military officer as a token member of a United Nations peace-keeping force in Mali, west Africa.
Although from a practical point-of-view sending a solitary officer is a purely symbolic gesture, it still resonates with Armenia’s sense of self-esteem.
Media quoted defence minister Seyran Ohanian who was emphatic on the motives behind supporting the UN peace-keeping mission to Mali.
“Armenia’s involvement in international peacekeeping operations is aimed not only at increasing the international prestige of our country and helping build a pro-Armenian position in the world, but also at prevention and mitigation of possible threats (to Armenia) outside the country,” he said.
The emphasis should, just possibly, lie on ambitions to increase Armenia’s international prestige. Nobody has suggested that Mali’s security is a major concern in Yerevan.
It’s also worth remembering that Mali, and its collapse into a near failed state, was French foreign adventure and Armenia views France as one of its key international supporters.
Armenia has been involved with UN peace-keeping missions since 2004. Its main involvement has been in Lebanon, where an estimated 100,000 Armenians live, although it has also sent its forces to Afghanistan and Kosovo.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia has negotiated a reduced price for gas from Russia’s Gazprom but the government will not pass this saving on to consumers, energy minister, Yervand Zakharyan, said. Instead, Mr Zakharyan said, consumers will pay the same price.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 11/12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) laid the groundwork for more collaboration in the financial sector with a couple of deals.
At a meeting in the UAE, the Dubai International Financial Centre and the Kazakh Central Bank agreed to exchange expertise and coordinate strategies, while Nasdaq Dubai and the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) inked an agreement to link their financial instruments.
Luca Anceschi, professor of Central Asian Studies at Glasgow University said: “These new financial links between Almaty and Dubai open another avenue besides construction and trade in non-state sectors.”
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 8 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Switzerland-based Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculo- sis and Malaria has said Kyrgyzstan needs to repay $120,000 for misuse of funds, media reported. The Global Fund described the $120,000 as “unsubstantiated and inappropriate to the crite- ria for financing”.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)