Eurasia News Digest(1-15 May, 2024)

Russia & Central Asia

Uzbekistan to Work with Hungary on Nuclear Projects

Hungary will train nuclear engineers from Uzbekistan to work in Uzbek power plants, the country’s trade minister Peter Szijjarto announced during his recent visit to Tashkent. “Since we have several decades of experience in the field of nuclear power, we have already started training future Uzbek nuclear power specialists in Hungary,” Sijjarto wrote on social media. He noted that if a contract with Rosatom is signed for the construction of a nuclear power plant on the territory of Uzbekistan, it will use the Hungarian technology of cooling on the basis of a “dry” cooling tower. A similar method is already used by the Hungarian company Eniox, which is ready to provide financing to Hungary’s Eximbank Hungary in the amount of 130 million euros when participating in the Uzbek nuclear project. Click here to read... [2]

Turkish Company to Manufacture Irrigation Equipment in Kyrgyzstan

This summer, a Turkish company will begin construction on a plant for the manufacture of equipment for drip and sprinkler irrigation in Kyrgyzstan. The memorandum on the project was signed on May 13 by Kyrgyzstan’s Minister of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry Bakyt Torobaev and the head of the company Akplas Plastik San. Ve Tic. A.S. To instigate the first stage of the build, the Turkish company will invest $10 million and the factory should be completed and fully operational within eight months. Reiterating the need for a more efficient use of water, in the light of climate change, Minister Torobaev stated that the new irrigation systems are to be installed in regions throughout Kyrgyzstan. Click here to read... [3]

Afghanistan, Turkmenistan Forge $200 Million Trade Agreements to Strengthen Economic Ties

The Afghan and Turkmen companies have signed 10 contracts and two memorandums of understanding within the framework of plans to expand trade and economic ties. The agreements, worth over $200 million, pertain to the construction sector and include the supply of rebar, paints, marble, and food materials, according to Business Turkmenistan. The contracts were signed during the trip of the Turkmen business delegation led by the Chairman of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan, Nokerguly Ataguliev, to western Herat province, in the presence of Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce of Afghanistan, on May 7. Click here to read... [4]

Tajikistan and U.S. sign cooperation agreement to combat terrorism

The Prosecutor General's Office of Tajikistan and the U.S. State Department have signed a Memorandum of Intent for Cooperation on the implementation of the Personal Information Comparison and Evaluation System (PISCES). The department's press service announced the signing of the document on May 8, following a meeting between Yusuf Rahmon, the Prosecutor General of Tajikistan, and Manuel Micaller, the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic. The PISCES system, designed to regulate the movement of terrorists, enables extensive technological surveillance to track the movements of individuals involved in terrorist activities. It serves as a crucial tool in assisting law enforcement agencies in the capture and detention of suspected terrorists. The signing of the memorandum underscores the commitment of both Tajikistan and the United States to collaborate closely in addressing the global threat posed by terrorism. Click here to read... [5]

Tajikistan To Reconnect to Central Asia’s Unified Energy System

Tajikistan will soon connect itself to Central Asia’s unified energy system. The unified system for energy distribution was created in 1960, when the systems of Uzbekistan, southern Kyrgyzstan, northern Tajikistan and southern Kazakhstan’s Shymkent junction were connected to work in parallel through 110- and 220-kV power lines. This system operated in isolation from the Soviet Union’s general scheme. In 2003 Turkmenistan left the energy system, having decided that it was able to provide itself with electricity on its own. And in early November 2009, the entire southern part of the Tajik energy system was automatically de-energized due to a spontaneous shutdown of units at the Nurek HPP. Tajikistan and the south of Uzbekistan remained without electricity for a day. After that Uzbekistan announced its withdrawal from the energy “ring”. Click here to read... [6]

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan press ahead with ambitious electricity export plan

Economic integration efforts among Central Asian-Caspian Basin states are gaining momentum. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are developing a green energy plan to link their power grids with an eye towards exporting electricity to the European Union. The energy ministers of the three countries announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding in early May to explore their joint electricity export potential by harnessing mainly wind and solar power. Kazakhstan is also aiming to boost its hydropower generating capacity. In outlining cooperation plans, the tripartite memo envisions the laying of a “high-voltage cable” on the Caspian Sea’s seabed. Technical specifications for such a transmission line have already been developed, according to Kazakh Energy Minister Almassadam Satkaliyev. Click here to read... [7]

Iran and the South Caucasus

Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway Expansion Completed, Boosting Cargo Volume to 5 Million Tons

The modernized and expanded Georgian segment of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway is set to recommence freight operations. Rovshan Rustamov, Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways (ADY), has announced that cargo operations on the BTK railway will resume on May 20, representing a significant milestone following extensive repair, restoration, reconstruction, and expansion efforts along the 184-kilometer Georgian segment of the railway. “Following the expansion, the annual handling capacity of the BTK has increased from 1 million tons to 5 million tons,” Rustamov has said in an interview with Azertag state news agency. “The main purpose of modernizing this railway line is to increase the competitiveness of the Middle Corridor and turn the BTK into one of the main transportation arteries of the region,” he added. Click here to read... [8]

'Differences' Remain as Azerbaijan, and Armenia Conclude Peace Talks in Kazakhstan

Armenia and Azerbaijan negotiators continue to disagree on key provisions of a bilateral peace treaty, officials in Yerevan and Baku said on May 11 after the foreign ministers of the two nations ended two days of fresh negotiations in Kazakhstan. The Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers were meeting in the Kazakh city, Almaty, in talks aimed at reaching a lasting peace treaty between the longtime South Caucasus rivals. “The parties agreed to continue negotiations on open issues where there are still differences,” both ministries said in nearly identical statements. The statements did not specify the differences. Nor did they indicate whether Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov, had made any progress toward a peace deal. Click here to read... [9]

Power struggle or protest against border demarcation with Azerbaijan? Rally in Yerevan

On May 9th, participants of the “Tavush for the Homeland” movement, who began their march from the northern border of Armenia in protest against the demarcation of the border with Azerbaijan, reached Yerevan. A rally was announced in advance at the main square of Yerevan, and thousands of people gathered here at the appointed hour. However, during the rally, another demand was voiced. The movement demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. He was given an hour to resign. However, no reaction was received from the government building, located on the same square where the rally was held. Click here to read... [10]

Russia to withdraw troops from Armenia’s border

Hundreds of Russian soldiers will stand down from their positions along Armenia’s borders, the Kremlin confirmed, marking a significant rift between the two former allies. Hayk Konjoryan, the parliamentary leader of Armenia’s governing Civil Contract party, wrote Thursday that “an agreement had been reached” to withdraw Russian border guards from the regions of Tavush, Syunik, Vyats Dzor, Gegharkunik and Ararat, which sit along the tense frontier with neighbouring Azerbaijan. The announcement comes one day after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss “the most important bilateral issues and regional issues.” Click here to read... [11]

Georgia: As protests rock Tbilisi, prime minister claims silent majority backs ‘foreign agents’ bill

A showdown in Georgia between authorities and a mass protest movement, fuelled by the government’s determination to push through legislation that could limit the ability of independent watchdogs to scrutinize officials’ actions, is entering a critical phase. Critics of the bill mounted one of the largest public protests seen in decades in Tbilisi, while university students across the country said they would boycott classes starting May 13. The government, meanwhile, is vowing to press ahead with the legislation, and punish those who try to stand in their way. Click here to read... [12]