DEC. 3 (The Bulletin) — French nuclear company Orano signed a deal with the Uzbek government to set up a joint-venture called Nurlikum Mining. Nurlikum, which is 51% owned by Orano and 49% owned by the Uzbek government, will mine for uranium in the Djengeldi area in the province of Kyzylkum.
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— This story was first published in issue 431 of the weekly Bulletin on Dec. 9 2019
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Other than spreading Russian influence, the CSTO is a military alliance lacking a clear mission. Opportunities to impose itself and carve out an identity have been missed, writes James Kilner.
NOV. 29 (The Bulletin) — For a military organisation that can pull together regular summits which include Russian President Vladimir Putin, the CSTO is oddly anaemic. On Nov. 28, the heads of states of the six members of the CSTO met in Bishkek for a summit that was only vaguely relevant.
This is a military organisation led by Russia which has dodged intervention on its doorstep and inside its borders. It currently doesn’t even have a permanent Secretary-General to lead it.
The CSTO, or to give it its full name the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, emerged from the ashes of the Soviet Union as something of a Warsaw Pact light, very light. It was supposed to impose a military pact over the rump of the Soviet Union that wasn’t looking West and to NATO. But its origins and ambitions have always been confused.
A CIS military grouping was formed after the Tashkent Pact of 1992, with Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Georgia as members. When it came to be renewed in 1999, though, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan declined. This meant that when the CSTO was finally created in 2002 there were also only six members and it was dominated by Russia.
Recent inaction by the CSTO has also undermined its cause. The CSTO stood by in 2010 when fighting between ethnic Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks in Osh, southern Kyrgyzstan, killed several hundred people and forced thousands of ethnic Uzbek to flee. Often too, as in Ukraine and Georgia, Russia is a belligerent, or backs a belligerent, in a conflict, forcing CSTO peacekeeping missions off the table.
Even when there is cooperation within the CSTO, it is couched as bilateral. Armenia has sent 100 deminers and doctors to support Russian rebuilding in Syria but other countries declined and the deal is considered to be between Russia and Armenia directly.
Of course, it doesn’t help that since the start of this year, the CSTO has been without a Secretary-General. Yuri Khachaturov, the Armenian former CSTO Secretary-General, is currently standing trial for “subverting the constitution” in Yerevan in 2008 when police killed at least 14 protesters. Members of the CSTO haven’t been able to agree on a replacement.
The CSTO holds value to Russia for helping it to spread political influence and to sell its military products, but as a militarily operational group it is largely irrelevant.
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— This story was first published in issue 430 of the weekly Bulletin.
NOV. 27 (The Bulletin) — Russian oil producer Tatneft will partner Uzbekneftegas, the Uzbek state oil and gas company, to produce oil from three fields in the east of the country. The fields, Andijan, Palvantash and West Palvantash, all hold what are called “hard-to-recover” reserves.
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— This story was first published in issue 430 of the weekly Bulletin.
NOV. 27 (The Bulletin) — Wyndam Hotels, one of the world’s biggest hotel franchises, plans to open new sites in Georgia, Uzbekistan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan over the next couple of years, media reported. In total, Wyndam wants to add 35 hotels with 5,700 bedrooms to its portfolio with Georgia being the focus of this growth. It said that it will build seven new hotels with 1,300 bedrooms in Georgia.
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— This story was first published in issue 430 of the weekly Bulletin.
NOV. 27 (The Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s government is considering introducing a law that would force cement producers to measure and monitor their air pollution. The move is an indication that governments in the region may start to take more seriously the issue of worsening air quality. Other the past few years, Central Asia’s cities have become choked with car exhaust fumes and factory smog. Feeding demand from a booming construction industry, Uzbekistan’s cement sector is one of its fastest-growing industries.
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— This story was first published in issue 430 of the weekly Bulletin.
NOV. 26 (The Bulletin) — Uzbek Central Bank chief Mamarizo Nurmuratov said that he may start cutting interest rates from next year as it focuses its attention on trying to beat inflation. Uzbekistan last changed its key interest rate in 2018 when it moved it to 16% from 14%. This month the Central Bank has been handed more power and told to focus on dampening inflation which it expects to hit 13% next year.
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— This story was first published in issue 430 of the weekly Bulletin.
NOV. 3 (The Bulletin) — Iran wants Kyrgyz and Uzbek companies to transport goods across its territory to the Persian Gulf, Iranian First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri told reporters after meeting with Uzbek PM Abdulla Aripov on the sidelines at a meeting for heads of governments of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Tashkent. Increasingly isolated, Iran has been trying to woo Central Asian countries by offering them access to global markets via the Persian Gulf.
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— This story was first published in issue 428 of the weekly Bulletin.
NOV. 8 (The Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s military test fired a Chinese FD-2000 missile system that media said was based on Russia’s S-300 surface-to-air system. The missile test shows how China is making in-roads into every aspect of Central Asia’s government, economy and military. Previously, former Soviet states almost exclusively bought military kit from Russia.
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— This story was first published in issue 428 of the weekly Bulletin
Aug. 5 (The Bulletin) — Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev ordered the closure of a notorious prison in an isolated part of the Karakalpakstan region which had become synonymous with torture under his predecessor, Islam Karimov. The jail, which was freezing in winter and boiling in summer, had earned the nickname ‘The House of Horror’. Pres. Mirziyoyev has been trying to improve Uzbekistan’s reputation since he took over from Karimov in 2016.
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— This story was first published in issue 418 of the weekly Bulletin
TASHKENT/July 18 (The Bulletin) — Swiss food and drinks producer Nestle sold its dairy and bottled-water business in Namangan, east Uzbekistan to France’s Lactlis for an undisclosed amount.
The deal finalises Nestle’s exit from Uzbekistan, in 2017 it sold its drinking water production site in Tashkent, although Lactlis will continue to use Nestle’s Nesquick, Nido and Nestle Pure Life brands in Uzbekistan under a licensing agreement.
Martial Rolland, the market head for Nestle’s businesses in Russia and Eurasia, said: “We continue to be committed to supply consumers with high-quality products and further grow our brands in Uzbekistan. Lactalis is one of the worldwide leaders in dairy and we are pleased to have found a strong partner for our dairy and water brands in Uzbekistan.”
In its press release, Nestle said that it would continue to sell its various other products directly in Uzbekistan.
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— This story was first published in issue 417 of the weekly Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin