31.03.2015–06.04.2015• No: 14

KAZAKHSTAN – – – – INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT AND TRANSIT CORRIDOR A signing ceremony of an International After the short period of time, the delega- proceeded the implementation of the Agreement on Establishing a new inter- tions of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran project. national transport and transit corridor Uz- and Oman met on 10th November, 2010 The first session of Coordination Council bekistan – Turkmenistan – Iran – Oman in Tehran (Iran) and discussed the prob- Meeting of the participants of “ – was held in Ashgabat on 25th of lems of co-investing the project, de- Agreement” was held in Tehran on 15th April, 2011. This agreement is known as creasing the transportation and transit of February, 2015. At the session repre- “Ashgabat Agreement”. costs, cooperating in the trade and sentatives of “Ashgabat Agreement” The legal document will allow the mem- transit developments between the coun- member countries approved accession ber-countries to create the shortest trade tries. of to the Agreement on an route between Central Asian countries At this meeting the participants created International transport and transit corri- and Persian Gulf’s and Oman’s sea the working group of Agreement on pre- dor Uzbekistan – Turkmenistan – Iran – ports. According to the project, after paring transit, custom, transport and in- Oman. Kazakhstan will join the agree- building the links connecting railways of vestment. At this meeting the ministers ment as a new member after passing all Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan with of member countries decided to meet to legal processes. southern ports of Iran, participants of the sign the Agreement of an International Since the project was put into operation, agreement will be able to establish an transport and transit corridor in Ashgabat the member countries could see some optimal transport route to the Persian in March, 2011 as well. Thus the partici- positive results. The volume of railway and Oman gulfs’ ports in short-term per- pants signed “Ashgabat Agreement” on transportation between Ashgabat Agree- spective. 25th of April, 2011 in Ashgabat. ment members in 2014 increased by The first part of this transport and transit After signing the Agreement, the project 10% or 2,3 million tonnes of goods com- corridor will pass through the railway has been ratified in the member coun- paring to 2013 and reached 25 million lines in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and tries. Iranian government approved the tonnes of cargos. At the same time, Iran. The second part will pass through “Ashgabat Agreement” “with the view to among the total amount of transported shipping routes, which connect Bender- expanding trade with countries in the re- cargo about 41% of good were from Ka- Abbas port of Iran and Chahbahar port gion” on 12th of May, 2011; Turkmeni- zakhstan. It is expected that the volume of the Sultanate of Oman. According to stan ratified the project in May, 2011; Uz- of transported goods between Kazakh- the experts, implementation of this inter- bekistan approved the project on 13th of stan and Ashgabat Agreement member national project will both give a powerful June 2011. countries can reach up to 40 million impetus to the economic development Foreign ministers of Uzbekistan, Turk- tonnes per year by 2020. and increase the volume of transited menistan, Iran and Oman signed the The Ashgabat Agreement has an inter- goods. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) national and regional significance as it is The idea to establish a new international for the Establishment of the transport expecting to promote and enhance inter- transport and transit corridor Uzbekistan corridor Uzbekistan – Turkmenistan – national trade for the members of Agree- – Turkmenistan – Iran – Oman – Qatar Iran – Oman – Qatar on 6th of August, ment. The transit corridor running and other Arab states of the Persian Gulf 2011, in Muscat, Oman. However, in through Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Ka- was initiated by President of Uzbekistan 2013 Qatar withdrew the project and the zakhstan and Iran, which would connect Islam Karimov at the official meeting held MoU automatically transformed into with Persian Gulf and Sea in Ashgabat on 19th of October, 2010. quadruple agreement. Due to Qatar’s of Oman, is one of the potential prospect President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly withdrawal, it became impossible to put for trade, economics, investment and Berdimuhamedov approved this idea the project into force in 2013 as it was transit cooperation as well as for regional and charged Foreign Affairs and planned. Therefore, Uzbekistan, Turk- development, welfare and stability. The Transport Ministers of government to do menistan, Iran and Oman had to recon- establishment of this corridor is expected researches on the political and technical sider the Agreement making some cor- to connect Eastern, Western, Central aspects of the project. rections and only after that the parties and Southern Asia together. Politics, Foreign Affairs and Security of the OSCE chairperson-in-office Kyrgyzstan applied to join the Asian and head of the UN Regional Centre Infrastructure Investment Bank

In accordance with the results of the for Preventive Diplomacy for Central (AIIB). The AIIB, an international fi- last indirect election of the Majlisi Asia. nancial institution with an initial capital Milli members, which took place on The commander of Russia’s 201st of around $50 billion aiming to pro- March 27, the President Tajikistan military base in Tajikistan, Major- vide support to infrastructure projects Emomali Rahmon appointed six General Yevgeny Tubol stated that in Asia, would be established by the members of the Upper House of Par- the number of Russian troops de- end of this year. liament. ployed the 201st base would be in- In the framework of the Kazakh-Hun- Australia’s expanded sanctions creased 1.5-fold during the next five garian Business Forum, which was against Russia, first announced on years - from 5900 up to 9000. held in Astana, Hungarian Minister of September 1, 2014, came into effect Residents in the self-proclaimed Lu- Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade on April, 2015. The sanctions include gansk People's Republic handed Péter Szijjártó announced that Ka- restrictions on export and import of over 50,000 units of weapons to local zakhstan and Hungary would create arms and related materiel, export to authorities and an equal number of a joint Financial Fund with $40 million Russia of certain items for use in pe- ammo over the past week. in capital. troleum exploration and production. The World Bank’s Board of Executive Economy, Finance and Energy The newly established Constitutional Directors has approved financing the Commission of Ukraine was gathered Kazakhstan and China signed 33 co- Third Village Investment Project in for its first session. The Commission operation deals worth $23.6 billion the Republic of Kyrgyzstan in the would work out the amendments to during Kazakhstan Prime Minister amount of $12 million and the Skills the country's Constitution taking into Karim Massimov's visit to China. The and Jobs Project in Kazakhstan in the account the challenges and needs agreements covered cooperation in amount of $100 million loan. the society was facing. steel, nonferrous metals, sheet glass, Society and Culture Russia started its presidency in the oil refining, hydropower and automo- The representatives of the diaspora BRICS group. According the Finance bile production. organizations of and Tur- Minister, Anton Siluanov, the main According to the US Energy Infor- key in held a protest in Brus- tasks of Russia’s presidency would mation Administration, OPEC mem- sels, Belgium, timed to coincide with be implementation of large projects, bers, excluding Iran, earned about March 31 - Day of Genocide of Azer- in particular, the establishment and $730 billion in net oil export revenues baijanis. the commencement of operations of in 2014, which represents an 11% de- the New Development Bank. cline from the $824 billion earned in Iran's Deputy Sports Minister Abdolhamid Ahmadi has announced After tough negotiations in Lausanne 2013. This was the lowest earnings a plan to soften the ban on women members of the P5+1 Group and Iran for the group since 2010. visiting men's sports events. The ban has reached consensus on the con- The fifth installment of Iran’s frozen would be lifted only for indoor sporting text of the framework agreement, assets worth $490 million has been events and still some matches and which ruled that Iran would reduce its settled. This makes a total sum of stadiums would remain off-limits for uranium enrichment capacity in ex- $2.45 billion released during the ne- women. change for phased sanctions relief. gotiations between Iran and the P5+1 The ongoing floods in central China Azerbaijan and have signed Group. have already affected about 240,000 a protocol on bilateral military cooper- Russia has submitted its new climate people, also damaging crops and ation. The meeting of the Azerbaijani- action plan to the UN Framework halting traffic. More than 12,000 peo- Pakistani Working Group took place Convention on Climate Change. Rus- ple have been evacuated from the at the training center of the Azerbai- sia would reduce greenhouse gas China’s Hunan Province. jani armed forces. emissions by 25-30% by 2030 com- The Large Hadron Collider has re- The Working Group on pared to the level of 25 years ago. started, with protons circling the ma- under the Collective Security Treaty Georgia increased import of oil prod- chine's 27km tunnel for the first time Organization (CSTO) Council of the ucts from Azerbaijan by 20%. Geor- since 2013. Foreign Ministers held a meeting in gia imported 35320 metric tons of oil Dushanbe. The Foreign Ministers of and petroleum products worth $17.05 the CSTO met in a narrow and ex- million from Azerbaijan in January- tended formats with the participation February 2015.

Prepared by Lidiya Parkhomchik, Hayal Ayca Simsek, ZhuldyzZhuldyz Kanapıyanova, KanatMeiramgul Makhanov Issayeva