DEC. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russian truck and bus producer GAZ said that it sold 30 city buses to Kyrgyzstan for 2.7m euro. It said that the buses were destined for Osh and that they were designed to carry up to 104 passengers.
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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)f
ALMATY, DEC. 21/22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Iranian Leader Hassan Rouhani toured Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia, a tour that underlines Iran’s ambitions in the region.
Western sanctions on Iran were eased this year, triggering a wave of enthusiasm of a potential return of Western business but, aside from a handful of high-profile deals, this has failed to materialise. Analysts have said that, instead, Iran and Mr Rouhani have turned their focus on Central Asia where they have built up strong business and economic ties over the past few years.
This was highlighted in a statement released by Mr Rouhani’s press team before he left Tehran. He said that Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan formed a vital part of Iran’s trade corridors.
“We will gain access to Europe and the Black Sea through Armenia, and to the northern and eastern countries through Kazakhstan,” he said.
“Also, China is seeking to connect its railway to Tajikistan, Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran through Kyrgyzstan”.
And positive bilateral relations were on show throughout Mr Rouhani’s trip. Speaking after his meeting in Astana with Mr Rouhani, Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev said: “An agreement was reached to strengthen the political influence of the two countries within the framework of international organizations such as the UN, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, SCO.”
The issue of the UN is particularly important as Kazakhstan is starting two years as one of the non-permanent Security Council members.
Prior to landing in Kazakhstan, Mr Rouhani had visited Armenia. It has developed ties based on swapping its gas for Armenia’s electricity.
From Kazakhstan, Mr Rouhani travelled to Bishkek where he received public support from president Almazbek Atambayev for Iranian membership of the Russia and China led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Iran applied to join the group in 2008 but Western sanctions slowed its application. Now those sanctions have been lifted, Iranian membership has been talked of again.
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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)
DEC. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — China Southern Airline is considering buying a 49% stake in Air Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyzstan’s minister of transport, Zhamshitbek Kalilov, told media. The Kyrgyz government had, earlier this year, failed to sell a stake in the company. Any partner would have to upgrade the Air Kyrgyzstan fleet and take on its debt. Kyrgyzstan is looking to raise cash to get it through a sustained economic downturn.
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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)
BISHKEK, DEC. 19 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan cancelled the reintroduction of a law that required all tourists to register with an interior ministry unit within five days of arriving in the country.
The law had proved unpopular with tourists, who didn’t understand the system and felt vulnerable to extortion, and also with businesses whose revenues had been hit.
Kyrgyzstan reintroduced the rule on Nov. 5 but never properly explained why. It was also seen as a step backwards for Kyrgyzstan which had scrapped tourist visas in 2012.
In a direct plea to the government, tourism leaders in the Karakol region of east Kyrgyzstan, popular for skiing and hiking, posted a video explaining the impact on their businesses.
“Tourism in Karakol is one of the main economic activities of the city, owing to which we live and eat,” Jamilya, 29, a owner of local cafe said in the video. “Your law on registration is the absolute opposite to the development of Kyrgyzstan and development of tourism and I ask you to hear the voice of the people and cancel the registration.”
Kyrgyzstan, which is short on natural resources but is renowned for its Alpine scenery, has tried to market itself as an adventure tourism destination. Tourism now accounts for nearly 5% of the country’s GDP.
Azamat Aitbaev, a member of Karakol city parliament and the initiator of the video messages told The Conway Bulletin that tourist numbers were down 70-80% compared to last year.
“December is the most active month in winter tourism, and we have already lost it because of this mandatory registration,” he said.
Under the reinstated rules citizens of Western countries will be able to stay in Kyrgyzstan for 30 days without registering and citizens of other FSU states, and countries with special bilateral agreements, will be able to stay in Kyrgyzstan for up to 90 days without registering.
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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)
BISHKEK, DEC. 20 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — A few days after hosting Tajik president Emomali Rakhmon, Indian PM Narendra Modi held talks with Kyrgyz president Almazbek Atambayev.
At the talks, Mr Modi praised Kyrgyzstan for a being a beacon of democracy. “Our societies share a sense of warmth. We are also bound by a common belief in democratic values and traditions,” he was quoted by media as saying.
India has been pushing to improve its links with Central Asia. It has built relations through gas projects, mainly the TAPI gas pipeline running from Turkmenistan, and has also been accepted as a member of the Russia and China led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation which focuses on Central Asia.
Mr Atambayev said that he wanted to strengthen economic links with India.
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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)
BISHKEK, DEC. 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s Association of Markets and Businesses has criticised the government for rushing through reforms to the tax code without consultation, media reported.
Reports said that the government had published a new tax code on Dec.
6 without consulting the group. Sergey Ponomarev, the group’s leader, said that it had been working with the government for six months previously to produce a new tax code.
“The previous code has been discussed for a year and the document became balanced. It wasn’t perfect, but at least the development process and decision were complied,” he said. Mr Pomomarev said the business community would need six months to look at the new proposals. Kyrgyzstan is suffering from an economic downturn and its looking to raise revenue.
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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)
BISHKEK, DEC. 9 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Canadian gold miner Centerra Gold said it suspended its regular quarterly dividend issue because the bank accounts of its subsidiary in Kyrgyzstan that operates the Kumtor mine has been frozen.
Scrapping the quarterly $0.04 dividend payout to shareholders breaks with a six-year tradition and highlights tension between the Kyrgyz government and the Toronto- listed mining company. The Kyrgyz government, owns a 27% stake in the company but wants, instead, to own a direct stake in Kumtor.
“In light of the current restrictions relating to funds held at Centerra’s wholly-owned Kyrgyz Republic subsidiary, Kumtor Gold Company, Centerra’s Board at its regularly scheduled board meeting yesterday decided against declaring a third quarter dividend,” the company said in a statement.
“In addition, the Board has decided to suspend future dividends for the time being.”
Kumtor’s bank accounts have been frozen since June because of an unpaid environmental fine. Centerra has said the fine is politically motivated to force it to relinquish more equity in the gold mine. For the past couple of years, Kyrgyzstan has argued that it wants to give up its share in Centerra in exchange for a direct 50% stake in Kumtor.
Kumtor is Centerra’s biggest asset. In 2015 it accounted for 97% of its total revenues. And the gold mine is also vital for the Kyrgyz economy. It is its single biggest industrial asset, making up an estimated 10% of total GDP.
Reuters quoted RBC Capital Markets analyst Stephen Walker who said that for every quarter Centerra fails to pay a dividend, Kyrgyz state- owned Kyrgyzaltyn will lose around $9.5m in revenue – a vital source of funding.
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(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)
DEC. 15 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Asian Development Bank and the Kyrgyz government signed a loan agreement for the upgrade of the Soviet-era Toktogul hydropower plant, the biggest in Kyrgyzstan. The ADB will provide loans totalling $60m and a $50m grant. Toktogul produces around 40% of the country’s electricity. This is the third phase of the refurbishment at Toktogul. The ABD has already participated in the funding of the first two phases.
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(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)
BISHKEK, DEC. 11 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyz voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to change the country’s constitution and shift power from the president’s office to the PM.
The referendum was controversial because opposition groups said that it was designed to empower current president Almazbek Atambayev who has to stand down next year. They accused him of eyeing up a strengthened PM’s office as his next role.
Under the changes the PM will be able to sack cabinet ministers and heads of local administrative regions and the president will no longer chair the Kyrgyz defence council. The referendum also banned same-sex marriage, angering gay rights groups.
Around 80% of the vote was cast in favour of the referendum proposals. Vote turnout was around 42% and one senior Western diplomat told The Conway Bulletin that the referendum only gained enough momentum because officials had cajoled people living in new villages that have sprung up on the outskirts of Bishkek, the capital, into voting for the proposals.
Even so, there was plenty of grumbling too about foul play and vote stuffing.
Nazira, 24, an independent observer said: “Some political parties’ representatives were standing at the polling station entrance, talking to voters and offering them up to 3,000 som ($30) for their vote.”
This is the third referendum in Central Asia this year.
Tajiks voted to extend the length of presidential terms and in Turkmenistan they scrapped a limit on the number of terms a president can remain in power. Across the Caspian Sea, in Azerbaijan a referendum was used to lengthen a presidential term.
In an election run alongside the referendum, people in Bishkek voted to retain the Social Democrats as their city government, although with a reduced number of seats.
The Social Democrats, the party of President Atambayev, won 13 seats in the Bishkek city election, just ahead of Ata Jurt with 12 seats. The other 20 seats were split between Onuguu-Progress, Mekenim Kyrgyzstan and Kyrgyzstan parties.
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(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)
DEC. 14 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Electricity production in Kyrgyzstan was 2.5% higher in the first 10 months of the year compared to 2015, media quoted the statistics committee as saying. This is important for Kyrgyzstan because electricity, generated by its extensive hydropower system, is its main export. It is investing in the so-called CASA-1000 project to send electricity to Pakistan via Afghanistan.
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