Sixteen contenders for Kazakh presidency so far including three women; Kazakh industrialization not to damage environment; Small Chinese firms buying up Kazakh, Caspian assets; Russia, Kyrgyzstan create joint venture to provide fuel to Manas; Kyrgyzstan
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    • With the joining of a third woman on February 18 in the race for Kazakhstan’s presidency the total of registered candidates has reached to 16 so far to challenge incumbent President Nursultan Nazarbayev in the upcoming April 3 presidential elections. The campaign begins from February 21 and would end on April 1.1

    Reports noted that Kazakhstan has implemented a five-year plan ending in 2014—the ‘Program for Accelerated Industrial Initiative Development’ to expand non-oil industries with the aim to diversify the economy. Environment Minister Nurgali Ashim assured that this will not have adverse impact on the environment. In this regard a bill has been introduced to impose “tight restrictions on the operation of enterprises related to waste, emissions to air and water, the Kyoto Protocol, disposal and flaring of gas”, he added.2

    According to reports, privately-owned Chinese oil firm MIE Holdings purchased a small Kazakh miner Tuesday, bolstering a trend that has seen hundreds of small-and medium-sized Chinese miners buying holdings in the highly competitive Caspian region. Until recently, Chinese investment into the republic’s oil and gas sector had been undertaken by the state-owned energy giants, but following recent encouragement from the government in Beijing, hundreds of smaller private oil and gas companies entered Kazakhstan’s market, some by purchasing local energy firms.3

    Kyrgyzstan and Russia signed agreements to create a joint venture company which will provide fuel to the U.S.-run Manas Transit Center. The joint venture agreed upon by Kyrgyzstan and Russia was created by Kyrgyzstan's state-controlled Manas fuel supply company and a division of Russia's Gazprom, Gazpromneft-Aero-Kyrgyzstan. The remaining 50 percent will be provided by Mina Corp to the air base to transport goods and military into Afghanistan.4

    Kyrgyzstan will be the host country when Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) executives meet in June to discuss the organization’s new rapid reaction security force. CSTO Secretary-General Nikolai Bordyuzha who is on a three-day visit to Kyrgyzstan, made the announcement as he met with top-ranking members of Kyrgyzstan's government.5

    Tajik and Russian border officials are negotiating a new joint agreement on controlling the porous border Tajikistan shares with Afghanistan to renew the expired five-year Tajik-Afghan border protection agreement. Moscow has several times expressed concern about the rise of drug smuggling from Afghanistan across Tajikistan’s poorly-protected border that could spread into Central Asia and on to Russia. Russian border officers left Tajikistan in 2005, ending a police presence of more than 100 years. Units of Russia’s Federal Security Service have since taken a border advisory role.6

    Reports noted that Qatari Minister of State for International Cooperation Khalid Bin Mohammad Al-Attiyah expresses the kingdom’s eagerness to help construct the international railway corridor— Central Asia’s proposed North-South railway link to the Persian Gulf— during a meeting with Turkmen leader this week. The 620-mile railway line will initially be used by Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to transport goods across Iranian territory to Persian Gulf ports and out to world markets. But project partners say the route will become a major international transportation corridor connecting China with Europe. Apart from this Qatar is willing to invest in a wide range of economic projects in Turkmenistan’s transportation, energy and telecommunications sectors as well as in other economic areas.7

    Meanwhile, India has rejected Turkmenistan's idea to link the price of natural gas transported by the pipeline to oil or naphtha. The discussions of the 10th Technical Working Group (TWG) for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline are underway in the Turkmenistan capital of Ashgabat.8

    In another development in the region, Uzbekistan and India plan to step up their business cooperation in the wake of the signing an agreement last week between each country’s major business associations. The Uzbek Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) met with the Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) during the Indian association's visit to Uzbekistan. Businesses in both countries, as per the signed agreement between the organizations, will enhance their cooperation in the fields of processing, engineering and export-import. Other sectors which could see increased cooperation include agriculture equipment, the construction of roads and the development of modern laboratories.9

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