16 May 2024
Central Asia, Turkmenistan, Turkmenistan International Affairs, International Affairs, Turkmenistan Business & Economy, Business & Economy

Turkmen Gas To Be Supplied To Turkey Via Azerbaijan And Georgia

An agreement has been reached on the transportation of natural gas from Turkmenistan to Turkey via Azerbaijan and Georgia. This deal was announced by Turkey’s minister of energy and natural resources Alparslan Bayraktar.

Chronicles of Turkmenistan report that Bayraktar met with Azerbaijani economy minister Mikail Jabbarov in Istanbul on May 14, after which the parties signed an agreement on increasing the capacity of several gas pipelines.

Turkey’s energy ministry said the deal would ensure that additional gas volumes from Azerbaijan and the Caspian region would be delivered to Turkey and Europe by 2030, although the exact volumes have yet to be announced.

Bayraktar did not explain how the gas would be delivered from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan. There is currently no progress in the construction of a trans-Caspian gas pipeline, which would allow direct deliveries of raw materials. It is most probably a swap scheme of supplies through Iran — this is how Turkmenistan exported gas to Azerbaijan from 2022 to 2024. However, in January 2024, exports were suspended because Ashgabat and Baku failed to agree on the volume and price of gas. Since then, neither side has reported resumption of supplies. Some experts believe that Azerbaijan re-exported Turkmen gas to Europe, mixing it with its own, and the reason for the cessation of purchases was the decline in gas prices on the European market, which made its resale unprofitable for Baku.

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Times of Central Asia

16 May 2024
Central Asia, International Affairs, Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyzstan International Affairs, Business & Economy, Kyrgyzstan Business & Economy

Kyrgyzstan To Receive Customs Duties In The Eurasian Economic Union in Russian Rubles

Kyrgyz MPs have ratified a bill that will allow customs duties between certain member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) to be paid in rubles.

The new law allows funds to be transferred in rubles between Russia, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan, at the exchange rate of the national banks of the sending countries.

“Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan between themselves will make transfers of mutual obligations on distributed import customs duties, as before, in U.S. dollars,” the Kyrgyz parliament emphasized.

During the transition period, interest for late transfer of import duties will not be accrued.

EEU member countries distribute revenues from import duties according to the size of their own economies. Kyrgyzstan’s share is 2%.

 

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Times of Central Asia

15 May 2024

Image: iStock

Central Asia, International Affairs, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan International Affairs, Kazakhstan Business & Economy

Kazakhstan Becomes First CIS country to Join ICAO Program on Environmentally-Friendly Aviation Fuel

Kazakhstan has become the first CIS nation to sign an agreement with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and join the program in the field of environmentally-friendly aviation fuel (ACT-SAF).

“ICAO has set a goal of achieving net zero emissions from international flights by 2050. To achieve this goal, during the visit to Kazakhstan of the Regional Director of the European/North Atlantic Bureau of ICAO, Nicolas Rallo, an agreement was signed between Kazakhstan and ICAO on the accession of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Program for Capacity Building Support and Training in the Field of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (ACT-SAF),” reported the press service of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

According to this document, ICAO will assist Kazakhstan in developing and participating in ACT-SAF program activities, including the exchange of best practices and relevant information, participation in training seminars and workshops, technical assistance in issues related to SAF in national action plans, and the implementation of specific projects on SAF.

As previously reported, the use of SAF reduces CO2 emissions by 80% compared to the use of conventional fuel. However, in 2024, the availability of clean jet fuel is expected to account for no more than 1% of total global demand.

As a transit state between Europe and Asia, Kazakhstan could play a greater role in expanding the use of SAF in international flights. As a raw materials base for SAF production, bio-ethanol, municipal solid waste, and in the future, blast furnace and coke gases are being considered in Kazakhstan.

The project for the creation of the Regional Hub of Clean Aviation Fuel (SAF) in Almaty will be presented by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on June 21 in Astana during the forum, Central Asia – Silk Road in the Sky, by ISF, an international consulting company which won the EBRD tender to become the project consultant.

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Times of Central Asia

15 May 2024

Kazakhstan - Vietnam economic cooperation

Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan International Affairs, Kazakhstan Business & Economy

Kazakhstan and Vietnam Look to Expand Economic Cooperation

Potential areas for increasing trade between Kazakhstan and Vietnam were discussed on May 15 by the Minister of Industry and Construction of Kazakhstan, Kanat Sharlapaev and the Minister of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, Nguyen Hong Dien.

The parties noted that trade turnover between the two countries amounted to US $979 million in 2023, including $958 million in the trade of industrial products. From January-March 2024, bilateral trade reached $229 million.

The Vietnamese side expressed interest in developing mineral deposits in Kazakhstan, as well as engaging in cooperation in the chemical industry.

In turn, the Kazakh minister echoed the high potential for industrial cooperation between the two countries.

Other sectors earmarked for cooperative development included the production of equipment for light industry, mechanical engineering, energy, agriculture, and food production.

 

 

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Times of Central Asia

15 May 2024

Photo: Uzbekistan Ministry of Transport

Central Asia, Home, Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan Home, Uzbekistan Life & Culture

Uzbekistan to Launch New International Bus Routes

Uzbekistan’s Transport Ministry has announced plans to launch ten new international bus routes during this year.

The new routes will connect Samarkand and Bukhara with Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek; Bukhara with Kazakhstan’s capital Astana; Samarkand, Bukhara and Shakhrisabz with Turkestan in Kazakhstan; Samarkand and Bukhara with in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe, and Tashkent with Ufa and Krasnodar in Russia.

Uzbekistan currently runs 196 buses operated by 32 domestic and foreign companies,on 37 routes to Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

From January-April 2024, 173 thousand passengers travelled on international bus routes, 15% more than during the same period in 2023.

 

 

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Times of Central Asia

15 May 2024

EuroChem & CNCEC sign contract for fertilizer plant

Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan International Affairs, Kazakhstan Business & Economy, Kazakhstan Home

Major Mineral Fertilizer Production Plant Planned for Kazakhstan

EuroChem, a global fertilizer leader and China National Chemical Engineering Co. (CNCEC), a global provider of industrial engineering technologies are to collaborate on the design, construction, and commission of a large-scale chemical complex to produce mineral fertilizers in Zhanatas located in Kazakhstan’s Zhambyl region.

The agreement was officially signed on 14 May in Astana.

Scheduled to open in 2027, the construction of  the chemical complex is part of the Integrated Kazakhstan Industrialization Roadmap and represents the third and final stage of a project in which EuroChem has invested over US$1 billion.

EuroChem Group President Oleg Shiryaev said that once in operation, the plant will have an annual output of over one million tons of mineral fertilizers, in high demand by Kazakhstan, other Central Asian countries, China, Russia and Europe.

According to a report by the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and Construction, the new enterprise will create 2,400 new jobs.

During the signing of the agreement, Minister of Industry and Construction of Kazakhstan Kanat Sharlapaev, welcomed the input of  world leaders in mineral fertilizer production as an important step in developing the country’s chemical industry and emphasized: “To be truly food secure, fertilizers are a must. This is therefore a landmark project for us. Its joint implementation with EuroChem and Chinese partners is a great example of large Eurasian cooperation at its best and a significant event for regional food security.”

 

 

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