Kazakhstan
Dark clouds on Uzbek horizons
01.12.2011. Category:Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov is one of only two leaders of a Soviet successor state who was in place at the time of Mikhail Gorbachev's last speech as president of Soviet Union, just short of 20 years. Nursultan Nazarbaev in Kazakhstan is the other.
Since then, however, and in contrast to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan has retained many features from its Soviet heritage, most notably centralized state administration of the economy and a dependence on cotton monoculture. Uzbekistan is the world's fourth-largest cotton producer. Although it has nearly twice the population of Kazakhstan (28 million versus 16 million), its gross domestic product (GDP) is less than one-third of the latter's ($37 billion versus $130 billion in 2010 at the official exchange rate). More ...
Since then, however, and in contrast to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan has retained many features from its Soviet heritage, most notably centralized state administration of the economy and a dependence on cotton monoculture. Uzbekistan is the world's fourth-largest cotton producer. Although it has nearly twice the population of Kazakhstan (28 million versus 16 million), its gross domestic product (GDP) is less than one-third of the latter's ($37 billion versus $130 billion in 2010 at the official exchange rate). More ...
Ousted leader leaves Kyrgyzstan
15.04.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
Deposed Kyrgyzstan President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has left the country on a plane for Kazakhstan.
His departure comes in the wake of a 7 April uprising that killed scores of people and forced him to flee the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek.
He had been living in his home region of Jalalabad in the south of the country, trying to muster support.
Shots were fired earlier in the day at a rally in the south, where Mr Bakiyev had been addressing supporters.
Mr Bakiyev was said to have left the country for talks with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, according to Russian news agencies.
His motorcade was seen arriving at the airport in Jalalabad, before a plane departed on Thursday, AP news agency said.
BBC
His departure comes in the wake of a 7 April uprising that killed scores of people and forced him to flee the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek.
He had been living in his home region of Jalalabad in the south of the country, trying to muster support.
Shots were fired earlier in the day at a rally in the south, where Mr Bakiyev had been addressing supporters.
Mr Bakiyev was said to have left the country for talks with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, according to Russian news agencies.
His motorcade was seen arriving at the airport in Jalalabad, before a plane departed on Thursday, AP news agency said.
BBC
Richard Holbrooke: US has no plans to deploy military base in Uzbekistan
24.02.2010. Category:Uzbekistan
The government of the United States has no plans to open a military base in Uzbekistan, Richard Holbrooke, a U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan said on Sunday in Astana. Mr. Holbrooke is taking a tour around Central Asian republics. Before coming to Kazakhstan he already visited Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan while after meetings in Astana he will give a visit to Caucasus and, specifically, Georgia.
© Carson.Wiens
More ...US exploring new routes to Afghanistan
02.02.2010. Category:Central Asia
The United States is exploring the idea of expanding the Northern Distribution Network (NDN), a supply line for US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, by adding a Chinese branch. Sources familiar with the NDN tell EurasiaNet that US officials are also considering the possibility of seeking a sea-and-land route utilizing ports in the Russian Far East.More ...
Social problems brew as labour migrants return home
13.03.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
A serious social problem is brewing in Uzbekistan, where hundreds of thousands of labor migrants are estimated to be returning home due to the lack of employment prospects in Russia and Kazakhstan.
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The struggle for a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia
13.01.2009. Category:Central Asia
When Kazakhstan's Parliament ratified a treaty establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia earlier this month, the effort to ban nuclear weapons from the region took its final step. Throughout the Cold War, Central Asia had been the epicenter of the Soviet nuclear testing program--with the Soviet military conducting 456 nuclear tests in Kazakhstan alone. Appropriately then, the treaty was signed by representatives from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan in September 2006 at Semipalatinsk, the main Soviet test site in Kazakhstan.More ...
Nabucco Pipeline's competitors (in German)
09.01.2009. Category:Central Asia
Der russisch-ukrainische Gasstreit hat die Diskussion über Alternativen für Europas Gasversorgung neu in Gang gebracht. Nicht nur die europäischen Abnehmerländer stehen vor der Frage, wie sie eine Diversifizierung ihrer Versorgung erreichen können. Auch Russland sucht neue Exportrouten, um von Transitländern wie der Ukraine unabhängiger zu werden. Die Strategen des Staatsmonopolisten Gazprom versuchen das auf zwei Wegen: Nord Stream, die geplante Ostsee-Pipeline, soll Erdgas vom russischen Wyborg durch die Ostsee direkt ins deutsche Lubmin bei Greifswald führen. Das Projekt, an dem auch die deutschen Unternehmen BASF/Wintershall und Eon sowie die niederländische Gasunie beteiligt sind, stößt jedoch auf Widerstände bei den baltischen und skandinavischen Anrainern, die mit den Genehmigungen zögern.More ...