Eurasia News Digest (16-31 May, 2024)

Russia & Central Asia

Kazakhstan, Türkiye Seek to Enhance Strategic Partnership

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Chair of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye Numan Kurtulmuş discussed strengthening the expanded strategic partnership during a May 20 meeting, reported the Akorda press service. Numan Kurtulmuş and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The President expressed great appreciation for the possibilities of parliamentary diplomacy and noted the significance of Kurtulmuş’s visit. “Today’s meeting is taking place on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Friendship and Cooperation Agreement and has a symbolic significance. Recently, I had a telephone conversation with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. We maintain constant contact. The dialogue between our countries is developing very fruitfully. Türkiye is Kazakhstan’s one of the five largest trading partners and 10 major investors,” he said. Last year, bilateral trade reached $6 billion. However, according to Tokayev, mutual trade turnover can reach $10 billion in the future. Click here to read... [2]

Russia will build Central Asia’s first nuclear power plant in an agreement with Uzbekistan

Russia and Uzbekistan signed an accord on May 28 for Moscow to build a small nuclear power plant in the Central Asian country, as Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in the Uzbek capital with Uzbekistan leader Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Mirziyoyev hailed the project as “vital” in remarks after the talks, noting that Uzbekistan has “its own large reserves of uranium.” Putin, in turn, vowed to “do everything in order to work effectively on Uzbekistan’s (nuclear energy) market.” If the agreement is implemented, the plant would become the first in Central Asia, further increasing Russia’s influence in the region. The talks between Putin and Mirziyoyev took place in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, where the Russian leader traveled in his third foreign trip since being inaugurated for a fifth presidential term earlier this month. Click here to read... [3]

Kazakhstan to Increase Output of Petrochemical Products by 75% This Year

Kazakhstan plans to increase the production of petrochemical products by 75% by the end of this year, Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev said at a May 28 government meeting. According to Satkaliyev, the ministry is taking several measures to increase the workload of existing enterprises. This will ensure the production of 628,300 tons of petrochemical products by the end of the year, or an increase of 75% compared to the same period last year (358,700 tons). From January to April, 213,100 tons of petrochemical products were produced, which is twice as much as was produced during the same period last year. By 2029, it is planned to implement five large projects worth nearly $14.3 billion. Implementing these projects will ensure an annual economic growth of 1.5% and create around 20,000 jobs, including 17,000 jobs at the construction stage and 3,000 jobs at the operation stage. Click here to read... [4]

Kazakhstan, Malaysia Sign Agreements Worth More Than $350 Million

Kazakh and Malaysian businesses signed agreements and memorandums totaling over $350 million at a May 17 investment roundtable chaired by Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, as reported by the Prime Minister’s press service. Participants agreed to collaborate on attracting investments in Islamic finance and trade development, as well as in the food industry, mining, gold processing, and the joint production of transformer and automobile oil. Bektenov highlighted the goal of unlocking the existing potential of both economies and exceeding the pre-pandemic mutual trade level of $650 million. Last year, bilateral trade turnover increased from $150 million to approximately $245 million. Click here to read... [5]

Fragility Returns to Kyrgyzstan as Mob Violence Targets South Asian Students

As a swelling crowd moved around him, blocking an important road and refusing to disperse, Bishkek police chief Azamat Toktonaliev looked completely bewildered. "He doesn't know what to do. The people are not listening," said a reporter from the private website Kaktus Media in footage filmed on the night of May 17. Toktonaliev's visible alarm captured the extent to which authorities in Kyrgyzstan were caught off guard by shocking and apparently spontaneous unrest targeting South Asian students and migrants. Parts of the capital dissolved into chaos that night after footage of a brawl between foreigners and local Kyrgyz from earlier in the week circulated widely online. While the crowd that blocked the road -- peaking at more than 1,000 people -- did not disperse until dawn on May 18, multiple dormitories housing students from South Asia were attacked by groups of Kyrgyz, resulting in at least 29 injuries and reportedly leaving several foreigners hospitalized. Click here to read... [6]

Ten Years of the EAEU: Trade Wars Rumble on Against Backdrop of GDP Growth

The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) recently celebrated its first significant anniversary. According to the numbers, the years of integration have positively impacted the member states’ economies; however, there are serious trade wars in the bloc, and some entrepreneurs fear the collapse of entire industries. The agreement on creating the EAEU was concluded on May 29, 2014, in Astana by the presidents of Kazakhstan, Russia, and Belarus. Later, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan joined the union, whilst Moldova, Uzbekistan, and Cuba hold observer state status. The member states initially emphasized the strictly economic nature of the union, and continuously refused to politicize it. For Kazakhstan, membership in the EAEU is advantageous, because it simplifies exporting raw materials to foreign markets. In addition, the union has unified customs regulations and duty-free trade. According to official sources, the GDP growth rate of all EAEU countries in 2023 amounted to 3.8%, which is higher than global GDP growth. In Armenia, growth is 8.7%, in Kyrgyzstan 6.2%, in Kazakhstan 5.1%, in Belarus 3.9%, and in Russia 3.6%. Mutual trade between member states has almost doubled since the union’s inception, with foreign trade increasing by 60%. Kazakhstan has increased trade turnover with EAEU countries 1.7 times, and foreign exports have doubled. According to the Bureau of National Statistics of Kazakhstan, foreign trade turnover for January-March 2024 increased to $31.2 billion, of which the share of trade with EAEU countries amounted to 19.6%, reaching $6.1 billion. Russia’s share in the volume of Kazakhstan’s external trade turnover (within the EAEU) exceeds 90%. Click here to read... [7]

Iran and South Caucasus

As Land in Northern Armenia Ceded to Azerbaijan, Protests Spread in Yerevan

Protests were seen throughout Yerevan on May 27 as demonstrators blocked traffic as part of a planned civil disobedience campaign aimed at putting pressure on Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. More than 270 people have been detained at demonstrations across the Armenian capital. The Yerevan protests were called by the Tavush for The Homeland movement, which opposes recent border demarcations in Armenia’s northern Tavush region that follow a series of military defeats to Azerbaijan under Pashinian. The recent delimitation of the border in the north of Armenia saw Azerbaijan regain jurisdiction over four villages that had been under Yerevan’s control since the first Armenian-Azerbaijani war in the early 1990s. Local residents say in some cases border markers were emplaced after dark. Click here to read... [8]

Georgian Parliament Votes to Override Presidential Veto Of 'Foreign Agent' Law

Georgian lawmakers approved an override of President Salome Zurabishvili's veto of the so-called "foreign agent" law, angering protesters gathered outside parliament and jeopardizing the country's drive toward the European Union. The ruling Georgian Dream party, as expected, pushed through the override on May 28. Its alliance with the Democratic Georgia party holds 84 of the chamber's 150 seats. A simple majority of 76 votes was needed to cancel Zurabishvili's veto. Lawmakers then voted 84-4 to pass the bill. Most opposition deputies had walked out of the chamber ahead of the vote. The approval came despite last-minute appeals from the European Union and several member states to Georgian lawmakers not to override the veto of a law frequently referred to as the "Russian law" because of its resemblance to legislation introduced by the Kremlin to silence opposition and free speech. Click here to read... [9]

The Controversial Chinese Firms That Will Build Georgia's Black Sea Megaproject

As global attention focused on the Georgian parliament’s attempts to pass a controversial “foreign agent” law, the government made another move that could strain ties with the West when it announced that a Chinese consortium would build a strategic port on Georgia’s Black Sea coast. “The decision to make this announcement the day after the 'foreign agent' vote doesn’t look to be an accident,” Tinatin Khidasheli, the Georgian defense minister from 2015-16, told RFE/RL. “It’s been an open secret that the government has wanted to award this to the Chinese, but this choice of companies is very concerning, and the timing sends something of a message.” The move came one day after the ruling Georgian Dream party’s May 28 override of a presidential veto that blocked the "foreign agent" bill. Click here to read... [10]

"Appointing the archbishop as Armenia's prime minister is the wrong path" – Opinion

The movement “Tavush for the Homeland” has announced its candidate for the position of prime minister of Armenia, archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan. The head of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church announced at a rally that he decided to “freeze” his spiritual service. The press service of the Catholicos reported that while Galstanyan will retain his episcopal rank, his “church and administrative service” will be suspended, meaning he will not lead the diocese. The movement, which demands an end to border demarcation and the resignation of the current prime minister, had not named its candidate for the head of state until May 26. The Archbishop mentioned that “beloved and unloved names” were being discussed, emphasizing that he himself had no intention of becoming prime minister. Click here to read... [11]