AUG. 14 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s PM, Omurbek Babanov, has denied allegations that he accepted a racehorse as a bribe in exchange for granting government contracts to a construction firm, media reported. The opposition wants a no-confidence motion against Mr Babanov, which could collapse the ruling coalition.
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(News report from Issue No. 101, published on Aug. 17 2012)
JULY 30 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Canadian miner Stans Energy threatened legal action against the Kyrgyz parliament after it annulled a mining licence. The row deals another blow to Kyrgyzstan’s business reputation. Earlier this year, Kyrgyzstan said it wanted larger payments from its biggest investor Centerra Gold, another Canadian miner.
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(News report from Issue No. 099, published on Aug. 3 2012)
JULY 24 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan became the first country in Central Asia to scrap its visa regime for Western countries. President Almazbek Atambayev signed into law a bill passed last month by parliament that allows citizens of 44 countries — including EU countries and the US — to stay for 60 days without a visa.
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(News report from Issue No. 098, published on July 27 2012)
JULY 24 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Gold producer Highland Gold, 40% owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich through his investment vehicle Millhouse Capital, won licences to produce gold at its two exploration sites in Kyrgyzstan. Tenders on a series of other Kyrgyz gold mining prospects are expected to be handed out next month.
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(News report from Issue No. 098, published on July 27 2012)
JULY 17 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – South Africa-based Gold Fields is preparing to buy the 40% of the Talas gold mine in Kyrgyzstan it doesn’t already own for $10m from London- based Orsu Metals, the companies said. Gold mining is important to the Kyrgyz economy although there have recently been a series of high-profile set backs for investors. Last year armed horse riders raided the Talas gold mine.
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(News report from Issue No. 097, published on July 20 2012)
JULY 17 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – One Kyrgyz border guard died in a shootout with Uzbek soldiers, media reported. The shootout, which occurred in a loosely demarcated border area in southern Kyrgyzstan, underlines both the fragility of peace in the region and the mistrust between the Uzbeks and Kyrgyz.
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(News report from Issue No. 097, published on July 20 2012)
JULY 10 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz finance minister Akylbek Japarov flew to Tehran to sign a memorandum of understanding with Iranian trade minister Mehdi Ghazanfari on boosting links between the two countries, media reported. Kyrgyzstan and Iran want to generate bilateral trade of $2b a year. Iran has been increasing its ties with Central Asia.
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(News report from Issue No. 096, published on July 13 2012)
JULY 5 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Security services in Kyrgyzstan said they have detained the minister for social development, Ravshan Sabirov, for allegedly planning to take a bribe. The day before, the security services said, they arrested Mr Sabirov’s assistant for taking a $10,000 bribe, cash he alleged was going to his boss.
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(News report from Issue No. 095, published on July 6 2012)
JUNE 27 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Parliamentarians in Kyrgyzstan voted against nationalising the Kumtor gold mine owned by Canada’s Centerra Gold, after a report accused it of a series of environmental infringements. Instead, parliament ordered a review to recommend boosting its stake in Centerra Gold, which currently stands at 33%.
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(News report from Issue No. 094, published on June 29 2012)
JUNE 15 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kommersant, a respected Russian business newspaper, quoted sources close to governments in Central Asia describing negotiations with the US over potentially abandoning some military equipment during its withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014.
The sources said that, as a money-saving plan, senior US generals had discussed leaving trucks, medical and fire-fighting equipment and even armoured vehicles in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
NATO’s exit from Afghanistan is already sensitive and complex. US relations with Pakistan have broken down leaving Central Asia as the only alternative.
This means making deal with government whose human rights record falls, to put it mildly, below Western standards. Russia and China also take a close interest in Central Asia, making NATO’s potential withdrawal through the region even more sensitive.
But NATO has persevered and seemingly managed to carve itself out the route it needs.
Leaving kit in Central Asia though, even if it’s of the non-lethal variety, has not publicly been part of the plan. This has upset the Russians just when NATO needs their support.
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(News report from Issue No. 093, published on June 22 2012)