APRIL 29 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmen state-controlled media has declined to broadcast news about the turmoil in Ukraine, the eurasianet.org website reported. Turkmenistan is one of the most repressive regimes in the world. The authorities want to avoid arousing anti-government sentiment in Turkmenistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 182, published on April 30 2014)
APRIL 28 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan signed agreements with their Iranian counterparts that will extend rail cooperation between the countries, media reported. Central Asian countries have been signing deals with Iran to extend a trade route to the Persian Gulf.
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(News report from Issue No. 182, published on April 30 2014)
APRIL 22 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Turkmen government has ordered another batch of Boeing passenger planes, media reported. Turkmenistan Airlines is modernising and, according to earlier reports, bought three long-range Boeing 777-200. The latest order is for three more Boeing 737-800.
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(News report from Issue No. 181, published on April 23 2014)
APRIL 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said that he wanted to develop the energy reserves in Turkmenistan’s sector of the Caspian Sea. Under Mr Berdymukhamedov’s 7-year presidency Turkmenistan has propelled itself into becoming one of the biggest energy suppliers in the region.
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(News report from Issue No. 180, published on April 16 2014)
APRIL 14 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — On a trip to Ashgabat, government officials from Oman said they wanted to develop the previously muted concept of setting up an energy transit corridor. States in the Persian Gulf have been trying to formalise the concept of an energy corridor with Central Asia for some years.
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(News report from Issue No. 180, published on April 16 2014)
APRIL 12 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — It appears that Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov is in a rush to start on the so-called TAPI pipeline that planners hope will carry gas from Turkmenistan across Afghanistan to south Asia.
The pugnacious Mr Berdymukhamedov said that work should begin on the pipeline in 2015, an ambitious timeframe in anybody’s books.
TAPI has been talked about for a few years. The US and others see the pipeline as a way of locking in Afghanistan, and to a lesser extent Pakistan, into the global energy network.
Once the notoriously restless and fractious Afghanistan is a stakeholder in this system, the thinking goes, stability will be more appealing.
And Turkmenistan is the perfect gas supplier. Stable and with ample supplies, Turkmenistan is keen to exploit its reserves and increase its client list, as Mr Berdymukhamedov’s haste betrays.
The problem is that although Turkmenistan may be ready to begin this ambitious 1,735km project, Afghanistan and Pakistan are far less ready.
Afghanistan is currently midway through a complex presidential election and is facing the prospect of a security vacuum once NATO forces withdraw this year.
The $8b project has enough support from international donors and from Western nations to push it forward. Turkmenistan, which is looking to boost its client base, needs to be patient.
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(News report from Issue No. 180, published on April 16 2014)
APRIL 8 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan flew to Ashgabat for talks with his Turkmen counterpart Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov. At the end of their meeting, they agreed to deepen bilateral relations. This is important for Armenia which needs to build more allies and for Turkmenistan for building its international profile.
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(News report from Issue No. 179, published on April 9 2014)
APRIL 7 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan’s economy has grown 10% over the past year, media quoted the Turkmen government as saying. Turkmen government statistics can be inflated but, even so, the apparent jump in the size of the economy shows the scale of Turkmenistan’s economic growth.
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(News report from Issue No. 179, published on April 9 2014)
APRIL 7 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Police in the Philippines detained Daniele Bosio, the Italian ambassador to Turkmenistan, for suspected child abuse, media reported. Mr Bosio was at a water slide park with three boys when he was detained. The Italian foreign ministry confirmed Mr Bosio’s detention and said he had been on a personal holiday in the Philippines.
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(News report from Issue No. 179, published on April 9 2014)
APRIL 7 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — More statistics from Turkmenistan’s state statistics figures underline just how quickly the economy is growing.
Turkmenistan’s economy is apparently growing at 10% per year. This is an energy-powered growth and as well as showing overall economic growth in Turkmenistan, the state’s statistics committee also said that gas production had increased by 6.9% in the 12 months to the end of March.
Most of Turkmenistan’s gas production is now flowing to China although it has other clients, including the Middle East and Russia.
One area of real growth is electricity production. Turkmenistan has increased electricity production by over 16% in the past 12 months, the statistics agency said.
This is not only for domestic consumption, although increased electricity use is an indicator of general economic growth, but also for export. Turkmenistan is ideally situated to supply its more troubled neighbours with electricity. These clients, current and future, include Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 179, published on April 9 2014)