Latest Articles about Central Asia
TURKMENISTAN-CHINA GAS AGREEMENTS: STILL A VERY LONG SHOT
On July 17 in Beijing, the Turkmen and Chinese governments signed grandiose-looking agreements on gas field development in Turkmenistan and gas sales to China. Presidents Hu Jintao and Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov -- on his first visit to China since becoming president in February -- witnessed the... MORE
KYRGYZ DEPUTY SPEAKER BLASTS INEXPERIENCED DIPLOMATIC CORPS
On July 9 the Shanghai Cooperation Organization council of foreign ministers met in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to finalize the agenda for the forthcoming SCO summit in August. Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ednan Karabayev commented afterward that the summit will focus on developing the work of the SCO-Afghanistan... MORE
PRO-PRESIDENTIAL PARTY DOMINATES ELECTION CAMPAIGN IN KAZAKHSTAN
The party-list segment of Kazakhstan’s parliamentary elections, set for August 18, will be an uphill battle for opposition political forces in Kazakhstan. For all their irreconcilable differences and divergent policies, the assorted opposition contenders all must face the formidable, pro-presidential Nur Otan People’s Democratic Party.... MORE
KAZAKH-KYRGYZ ECONOMIC RELATIONS RECEIVE NEW BOOST
On July 11 Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov and Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev signed an agreement to establish a common investment fund that should increase economic assistance to Kyrgyzstan and boost relations between both countries. According to the agreement, Kazakhstan will invest $100 million,... MORE
SPY CATCHING KYRGYZ STYLE
Accusations of espionage against Dzhyparkul Arykova, a consultant to the Kyrgyz parliamentary press service arrested on June 19, has thrown the national intelligence community into crisis. In recent days the authorities have tried to distance themselves from media reports that the case centers on Arykova’s... MORE
KULOV CONTINUES TO ADVOCATE RUSSIAN-KYRGYZ CONFEDERATION
On July 2 opposition leader and former prime minister Felix Kulov asked the Kyrgyz the Central Election Commission to organize a national referendum on the issue of a Kyrgyz- Russian confederation. This initiative comes a month after Kulov announced his proposal to create a new... MORE
CHINA ASSERTS COUNTER TERRORIST CREDENTIALS IN CENTRAL ASIA
Diplomatic contacts between Bishkek and Beijing are intensifying ahead of the August summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Bishkek. Last week SCO defense minister conferred in Bishkek. Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi will pay an official visit to Kyrgyzstan on July 7-8, meeting... MORE
NAZARBAYEV DISSOLVES MAJILIS, CALLS SNAP ELECTION
On June 20, speaking to parliamentary faction of his Nur Otan party, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said he had decided to dissolve the lower chamber of parliament, the Majilis. In an unprecedented move, one day before that decision, 61 members of the Majilis had petitioned... MORE
SCO’S INTERNATIONAL IMPORTANCE SURGES AS IRAN, TURKMENISTAN WISH TO JOIN
On Monday, June 25 Iran, Mongolia, and Turkmenistan confirmed their participation at the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit scheduled for August 16 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The presidents of all three countries – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Nambaryn Enkhbayar, and Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov – will attend as distinguished... MORE
DESPITE CORRUPTION CONCERNS, KYRGYZSTAN’S ENERGY SECTOR WILL BE PRIVATIZED
On June 19 the Kyrgyz parliament voted to privatize the 1,900 MW Kambarata-1 and 240 MW Kambarata-2 hydropower plants on the Naryn River. The two plants have annual generation capacities of 5,100 million kWh and 1,100 million kWh, respectively. The country’s largest Thermal Power Plant-1... MORE