South Korea to loan Uzbekistan US $595 million for medical upgrades; Turkmenistan-Belarusian trade expected to be around $400M in 2012; Kazakhstan rises 21 slots in global competitiveness survey; Turkmenistan holds naval exercises in Caspian; Tajikistan i
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    • According to reports, the South Korean government has provisionally agreed to extend loans totalling $595 million to Uzbekistan for high-tech upgrades of its media outlets and medical facilities among other initiative.1

    In another development, trade between Turkmenistan and Belarus is expected to reach $400 million by the end of this year. Turkmenistan’s exports to Belarus include cotton yarn, fabric, fleece, as well as bed sheets and tablecloths while it imports tractors, road machinery, construction machinery, and medications. 2

    Reports noted that Kazakhstan rose 21 places to 51st in the Global Competitiveness Report, an annual index compiled by the Switzerland-based World Economic Forum (WEF) which measures how well countries are able to provide prosperity to its citizens. Tajikistan is ranked at 100th, Kyrgyzstan at 127th. Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were not considered in the survey. 3

    According to reports, Turkmenistan has begun naval drills in the Caspian Sea near the port city of Turkmenbashi, and this move can be seen as a warning to other nations not to interfere in the country’s attempts to sell Caspian gas to other states. Russia has openly opposed Turkmenistan’s intent to provide gas for Europe, arguing that because the Caspian Sea has yet to be delineated, Turkmenistan cannot export the gas without the express consent of all five littoral states: Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Russia. 4

    In other developments, reports noted that Tajikistan is not yet economically prepared to join the customs union shared by Kazakhstan, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Tajikistan has trouble containing inflation and maintaining food price levels which its residents can afford. The country is the poorest to have emerged from the Soviet Union and is particularly vulnerable to steep price increases in food commodities. 5

    As part of Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s state visit to Kazakhstan, the two sides have discussed trade and the rising threat of terrorism as a result of the impending NATO troops withdrawal in Afghanistan. Talks between the two leaders also included water, electricity, transport and border issues. 6

    Pakistan has agreed to pay the freight costs of delivering 30,000 tons of sugar to Tajikistan. The question of which side should pay the transportation costs of the sugar had kept the deal on hold for around two weeks. Pakistan had earlier agreed to sell the sugar to Tajikistan at a $20 per ton discount below the international rate of $248 per ton. 7

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