Tag Archives: Turkmenistan

Turkmen president’s son takes another key role

MARCH 21 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Serdar Berdymukhamedov, the only son of Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, has been appointed chairman of parliament’s legal affairs committee, an influential position. Pres. Berdymukhamedov started to promote his son last year, sparking claims that he was grooming him to be his heir. Mr Berdymukhamedov junior was first promoted to a senior position within the foreign ministry and was then, a short time later, made an MP.

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(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)

Fertiliser plant to open in Turkmenistan

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MARCH 22 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan will finally start operations at the Garlyk Mining and Processing plant in its north-eastern Lebap province, Turkmen media reported by quoting senior officials at Belgorkhimprom, the Belarusian constructor who has been building the site since 2009. Garlyk is a major potassium salt field and the plant is designed to produce fertilisers. Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has said that he wants to diversify the country’s economy away from gas exports.

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(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)

IMF says needs to develop private sector in Turkmenistan

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MARCH 21 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The IMF concluded a working visit to Turkmenistan by calling on the government to do more to develop the private sector. It also said that Turkmenistan needed to reduce the size of its external debt and that the economy was still struggling to deal with the fall in gas prices. Accurate economic data on Turkmenistan is tough to source but anecdotal evidence suggests the economy is struggling.

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(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)

Berdymuhamedov wants Turkmen horse placed on UNESCO List

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MARCH 11 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, a man renowned for his vast array of talents including being a champion jockey, ordered his government to try to have the country’s famous Akhal-Teke horse placed onto the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Over the past few years, government’s in the region have been using the UNESCO World Heritage List as a sort of brand identifier to promote

themselves. Azerbaijan has registered itself as the birthplace of polo, Armenia has claimed lavash bread as its creation and Kyrgyzstan has uploaded the epic Manas poem to the list.

The Akhal-Teke horse is the national symbol of Turkmenistan. It is one of the most expensive horses to buy and is famed around the world for its good looks, endurance, intelligence and speed.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Turkmen president travels to Qatar looking for investors

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MARCH 15 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov travelled to Qatar to try to charm its leaders into investing in Turkmenistan. The Turkmen economy is under pressure from sustained low oil and gas prices. In particular Qatar’s state news agency said that Mr Berdymukhamedov was looking for investment in the so-called TAPI gas pipeline that will run from gas fields in Turkmenistan across Afghanistan to Pakistan and India, and also for investment in gas processing plants.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Turkmenistan Airline changes corporate structure

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MARCH 11 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan’s official press service said that the corporate structure of Turkmenistan Airlines had been changed to a open joint-stock company. Under the new structure, the government will own a 70% stake in the company, the aviation department within the ministry of transport will own 27% and Turkmenistan Airline will own 3%. It’s unclear why the corporate structure has been changed.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Fourth Turkmen pipeline to China is ‘cancelled’

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MARCH 6 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a major blow to Turkmenistan’s ambitions to cements itself as the region’s top gas exporter, Uzbekistan and China cancelled planned work on a fourth pipeline that was to pump gas to Chinese consumers.

The so-called Line D was quietly dropped at the beginning of the month, media reported quoting a RIA-Novosti article. In the article, RIA-Novosti quoted unnamed officials as saying a drop in demand for gas in China meant that there was no need to build an expensive fourth pipeline from Turkmenistan.

A JV between China’s CNPC and Uzbekneftegas had been created in 2014 to build the 200km section of the pipeline through Uzbekistan. Work had been due to start in H1 2016 but had been pushed back.

For Turkmenistan, the cancelling of Line D, which hasn’t been officially confirmed by Ashgabat or Beijing, is bad news. It’s economy is reliant on gas exports, and with prices low, it is floundering.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Uzbekistan’s Mirziyoyev chooses Turkmenistan for first foreign trip

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MARCH 6/7 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev travelled to Turkmenistan, his first overseas trip as Uzbekistan’s leader, opening a new railway bridge and pledging to boost cooperation in the energy sector.

By visiting Ashgabat ahead of other potential first stops as president, Mr Mirziyoyev sends a strong signal that he wants to improve relations with Turkmenistan which had been functional rather than particularly friendly under his predecessor, Islam Karimov.

And the good vibes and determination to get on and improve bilateral relations appeared to be mutual. Both Mr Mirziyoyev and Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov smiled broadly during the opening of a new railway bridge crossing the arid landscape around the Amu-Darya river near the border town of Turkmenabat.

It will replace a bridge built in 1901. They also unveiled a new bust of Karimov, who died in September.

In a statement, the Uzbek government said: “The President of our country underlined that these bridges symbolise the friendship of our peoples and have a geo-strategic significance not only for Turkmenistan, but also for the whole region.”

It’s in the interests of both Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan to promote trade with their southern neighbours. They want to develop a route south to the Gulf states to send gas, wheat and cotton.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Turkmen authorities release RFE/RL reporter

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FEB. 22 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said that its journalist Khudayberdy Allashov and his mother, Kurbantach Arazmedova, had been released from prison and given a three-year suspended sentence for carrying chewing tobacco. Human rights activists cheered their release from prison, as they feared that a custodial sentence was likely. Under the terms of his release, though, Allashov is banned from using communication equipment, making it impossible for him to return to work as a journalist.

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(News report from Issue No. 318, published on Feb.24 2017)

Turkmen president releases his next book

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FEB. 21 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov released yet another new book, this time focused on the prowess of Turkmenistan’s military. Mr Berymukhamedov is given to showcasing his various skills which include authoring several books, writing poetry, teaching weighlifting techniques to his ministers and horse riding. Official news channels said that the book contained 13 chapters showcasing the Turkmen army as “a powerful defensive weapon”.

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(News report from Issue No. 318, published on Feb.24 2017)