Tag Archives: Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan hints at move towards real elections

JULY 9 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov invited exiled opposition groups to return to the country for a presidential election scheduled for next year. Since becoming president in 2006, Mr Berdymukhamedov has said he wants to open up the authoritarian state although opposition groups said they doubted his invitation was genuine.

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(News report from Issue No. 48, published on July 12 2011)

UN says cooperation can stop water war in Central Asia

JULY 11 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Central Asian countries need to improve cooperation along the Amu Darya, the region’s longest river, to avoid future conflicts over water supply, the United Nations Environmental Programme said in a new report. Overuse and climate change have diminished the river which mainly irrigates Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.

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(News report from Issue No. 48, published on July 12 2011)

Explosion at arms depot kills dozens in Turkmenistan

JULY 8 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – An arms depot exploded in a town near Ashgabat killing dozens of people, Turkmen human rights groups quoted eye witnesses as saying. The government at first said fireworks had triggered the explosions in the town of Abadan and that casualties were light. Later it admitted that an arms dump had exploded.

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(News report from Issue No. 48, published on July 12 2011)

Kazakhstan hosts SCO summit

JUNE 15 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan hosted the 10th annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a Central Asian security organisation lead by Russia and China. Heads of states and senior officials from India, Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan joined leaders from the SCO member states for the meeting.

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(News report from Issue No. 45, published on June 21 2011)

Turkmenistan’s GDP growth soars

JUNE 4 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen state media quoted President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov saying Turkmenistan’s economy grew by 14.5% between January and May compared to the same period in 2010, Reuters reported. Turkmenistan holds the world’s fourth largest gas reserves. It has sought out more customers this year.

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(News report from Issue No. 43, published on June 6 2011)

Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan rank low for freedom

JUNE 1 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – In its annual index on civil and political liberties around the world, the US-based human rights group Freedom House ranked Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in the bottom eight. Separately, a UN investigation said reports of torture in Turkmenistan were “numerous”.

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(News report from Issue No. 43, published on June 6 2011)

Turkmenistan boasts world’s second-largest gas field

MAY 25 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – The South Yoloten gas field in Turkmenistan is the second-largest in the world, the state media’s website said. Chinese firms are developing the field and plan to start pumping gas to China in 2013.

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(News report from Issue No. 42, published on May 30 2011)

Uzbekistan and India sign deals

MAY 18 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – On a trip to New Delhi, Uzbek President Islam Karimov signed 34 deals with Indian PM Manmohan Singh on trade, communications, security and energy, media reported. India has heavily increased its presence in Central Asia this year, securing energy deals with Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

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(News report from Issue No. 41, published on May 24 2011)

Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan strengthen relations with the West

MAY 16 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – In a sign of Kyrgyzstan’s growing strategic importance and Turkmenistan’s increasing openness and clout as a global gas supplier, Britain said it will open an embassy in Bishkek by 2015 (May 10) and the US appointed a new ambassador to Ashgabat (May 16).

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(News report from Issue No. 40, published on May 17 2011)

Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan sign cooperation agreements

MAY 5 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbek President Islam Karimov visited Ashgabat for the second time in seven months to sign agreements with Turkmen leader Kurbanguly Berdimukhamedov. Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, both major gas producers, have increasingly worked together to open new markets and leverage more economic power.

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(News report from Issue No. 39, published on May 9 2011)