Latest Central Asia News
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Ukraine looks to Turkmenistan
By Roman Muzalevsky On February 12, Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych paid a three-day visit to gas-rich Turkmenistan to sign a memorandum of understanding on energy cooperation and reiterate Kiev's interest in resuming direct imports of the Central Asian country's natural gas, which were suspended in 2006. The visit revealed Kiev and Ashgabat's strong desire to reduce ...
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Xi may hold key to Moscow gas goals
By Sergie Blagov Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich traveled to China on February 25 to attend a first meeting of the bilateral intergovernmental commission on energy cooperation. The commission was formed in December 2012 to replace the bilateral Russia-China energy dialogue. Dvorkovich held talks with his Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier Wang Qishan, to discuss ties in the ...
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Kazakhstan-Korea trade changes shape
By Richard Weitz Kazakhstan has become South Korea's (also known as the Republic of Korea - ROK) main economic partner in Central Asia, and powerful complementarities exist between Astana's desire for foreign capital and technologies, especially in order to develop its infrastructure and new high-technology sectors, and Seoul's need for natural resources, particularly energy ...
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Russias cash flight to gather momentum
By Pavel K Baev Last week marked the anniversary of the shocking performance staged by the Pussy Riot punk rock group in the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow. And this year saw a spectacular increase in the density of "patriotic" political noise silencing common sense in debates over such matters as separation of church and state, homosexual "propaganda" or the ...
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Nazarbayev brings in new blood
By Georgiy Voloshin Just two weeks into 2013, Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced the reorganization of the country's government. On January 16, he ordered the establishment of a new ministry in charge of regional development whose head, Bakhytzhan Sagintayev, had previously led the day-to-day activities of the ruling Nur Otan party in the capacity of its ...
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Kyrgyzstan seeks to double its GDP
reforms and intends to spend US$13 billion to double gross domestic product (GDP) in five years, drawing on aid and investment to fund projects in agriculture, mining, transport, power and other sectors. Doubling the GDP will require an annual growth rate of at least 7%. Kyrgyzstan's GDP growth is projected at 8.5% in 2013, up to 7.5% in 2014, and up to 3.5% in 2015; inflation is ...
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Tajikistan regions still at war
By Shavkat Kasymov Fifteen years have passed since a peace agreement which ended a five-year long civil war in Tajikistan. Fought between regional groups and the national government of president Rahmon Nabiyev, the conflict killed between 50,000 and 100,000 and displaced more than a million. Presidential elections scheduled for the fall offer an opportunity to reflect on the disastrous ...
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Kazakhstan seeks wider horizons
By Sergei Gretsky Kazakhstan is well known for the successful transformation of its economy following independence more than 20 years ago, and the leadership has consistently set ambitious goals to solidify the gains and diversify the economy to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The year 2012 ended on a high note - the 2012-2013 Global Competitiveness Report by the World Economic ...
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After Gazprom snub Greece to sell gas company to Azerbaijan
Privatization Having failed to woo Gazprom, Greece is to sell a 66 percent share in DESFA, a fully owned subsidiary of state-run natural gas company DEPA, for EUR400 million to Azeri state-owned SOCAR. Greece will receive approximately EUR188m from the sale, which it will use to pay off its massive debts. "The privatization agency is very pleased, it's basically a done ...
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Ukraine seeks tradedeals to east and west
By Oleg Varfolomeyev Ukraine has been moving closer to both an association and free-trade deal with the European Union, as well as observer status in the Russian-led Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Neither of the two statuses promises full integration. Because of this, Kiev believes they are not mutually exclusive. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara has said Ukraine ...
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Joint statement on Karabakh reflects Azerbaijans position - MFA
In a joint statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the presidents of the U.S., Russia and France reflects the position of Azerbaijan, said in a briefing on Wednesday, the spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Elman Abdullayev. On 18 June as part of the G8 summit, the presidents of the U.S., Russia and France issued a joint statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. ...
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EM ASIA FX-Short-covering supports Asia FX before Fed outcome
* Stop-loss dollar selling lifts baht * Taiwan dollar up on NDFs, rebound in won * Philippine peso, ringgit down; downside limited (Adds text, updates prices) By Jongwoo Cheon SINGAPORE, June 19 (Reuters) - Most emerging Asian currencies turned higher on Wednesday as investors covered short positions after recent declines were considered excessive, and ahead of ...
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Asia stocks mixed ahead of Fed decision Nikkei ends up 1.8
Investing.com - Asian stock markets were mixed on Wednesday, as investors looked ahead to the outcome of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting later in the day. Shares in Japan outperformed the region as traders continued to eye movements in the yen and in the Japanese government bond market. During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.7%, Australia's ...
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Kyrgyzstan’s parliament to consider renunciation of airbase treaty
BISHKEK, June 19 (Itar-Tass) - Parliament in Kyrgyzstan is due to consider a bill on renouncing an agreement with the U.S. on deployment of an airbase of the international antiterrorist coalition at Manas airport of the Kyrgyzstani capital Bishkek, the parliamentary press service told Itar-Tass. According to its spokesman, the bill has received endorsement of all the factions represented in ...
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Tethys Petroleum Limited Kazakhstan Forward Work Programme
TPL.TO )( ), the oil and gas exploration and production company focused on Central Asia, today announced its work programme in Kazakhstan for the second half of 2013. Forward Work ...
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EU stint on precise terminology on Azerbaijans territorial integrity
EU institutions stint on precise terminology in respect to Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, Elman Abdullayev says. The official position of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on the adoption of the recent resolution by the European parliament provoked an angry reaction of not the European parliamentarians, as might be expected, but among a number of opposition media in Azerbaijan. The ...
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There is a good exchange of views between Germany and Azerbaijan
Between the government and the society of the Federal Republic of Germany and Azerbaijan, there is a good exchange of views, values, and interests in mutual cooperation. This was stated by Foreign Minister of Germany Guido Westerwelle on 18 June during an international media forum. He also noted that Germany's foreign policy takes into account the interests of both countries, including ...
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Asia markets mostly down as investors await Fed meetings results
SEOUL, South Korea - Asian markets opened mostly lower Wednesday as investors waited for an update on the U.S. economy from the Federal Reserve and for some clarity from the Fed about its future course. The results of a two-day Fed policy meeting will likely ripple through stock markets once investors learn whether there will be changes in the U.S. central bank's strategy for shoring up ...
Afghanistan Feature
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Why should American troops remain in Afghanistan?
Afghanistan is widely regarded, even by its own people, as a puppet state, and has little hope of breaking away from US influence in the foreseeable future, there is wide-spread resentment toward foreign troops, and increasingly loud calls in the states for a withdrawal of troops. But, like or not, these two countries have been tied together irrevocably, even before the war on terror.
Since the invasion of Afghanistan by allied forces in 2001, the country’s destiny has in many ways not been its own. Read more
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