Field Reports

On February 23, Tajikistan’s Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT) announced that a group of Iranian companies had agreed to build an industrial town in the country. According to the ministry, the massive project will entail the construction of about 50 industrial enterprises including aluminum, cotton, and fruit processing plants, in Rudaki district near the Tajik capital Dushanbe. Experts suggest that the remaining enterprises might include plants producing construction materials, solar panels, power transformers, electricity usage meters, and light bulbs. The authorities expect that Tajikistan’s first industrial town will increase the country’s exports, while also reducing imports and creating about 20,000 new jobs.

On March 2, President Nazarbayev addressed members of the diplomatic corps at an annual gathering used to unveil Kazakhstan’s foreign policy priorities for each coming year. In a long speech delivered before the country’s political establishment and foreign ambassadors, Nazarbayev shared his strategic vision about the future of the Central Asian region and the role of Kazakhstan in international affairs.

The greeting speech of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan at the 9th Congress of Yerkrapah, the Union of the Karabakh war volunteers, demonstrated that this organization is a strong political force in Armenia and that the President will rely on its support in his pre-election strategy and his reform attempts.

Georgia lifted visa requirements for citizens of the Russian Federation on February 29; one day after Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili announced the initiative in his annual state of the nation address in the Georgian Parliament. Whereas the abolishment of the visa regime was the most striking point of president’s speech, a notable part was also dedicated to a development plan envisaging improvements in social and security policies.

The National Security Ministry stated on Azerbaijan's state channel AzTV that it had arrested an unspecified number of people suspected of preparing terror attacks against foreign citizens. The group was set up by Hamid, a member of the Iranian military group Sepah, also known as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Hadji Abbas, the head of “Moqavemat” (translated as Resistance), the military branch of Hezbollah. Members of the terrorist group were gathering intelligence and had acquired a large number of weapons and explosives, the ministry said. It gave no further details.

On February 7 and 8, President Nazarbayev paid an official visit to Germany. After a round of meetings with German acting and retired politicians who have played an important role in establishing the bilateral relationship between the two countries, the parties proceeded to signing more than 50 agreements in various fields. The Kazakh and German governments agreed on terms of cooperation in the area of industrial development, whereas a special accord was reached between the two Ministries of industry on the promotion of energy efficiency and wider usage of renewable energies.

Georgian tycoon and opposition politician Bidzina Ivanishvili introduced the mainstay of his planned political party to the public on February 15. The “initiative group” of his intended political party Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia involves public celebrities with different professional backgrounds. The team will be composed of lawyers, sportsmen, human rights defenders, a teacher, a writer, an actress, and a diplomat.

Recent visits of Russian high-ranking officials to Armenia aimed to demonstrate that Russia will in the near future retain its role as Armenia’s leading partner in all sectors including trade and energy. A group of Russian top officials visited Armenia in February, including Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov and Vladimir Yakunin, Chairman of the state-owned Russian Railways company. All meetings focused on the tightening bilateral economic links between the two countries. In particular, a new head of the South Caucasus Railways company, a subsidiary of the Russian Railways which runs Armenia’s railroads, was presented in Yerevan on February 15.

Tbilisi hails U.S. President Barack Obama’s position on enhanced security cooperation with Georgia, while Moscow expresses principal objections to a new stage of the U.S.-Georgia partnership.

Immediately after the early parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan brought into being a three-party system, the country’s law enforcement authorities proceeded to arresting several opposition leaders. On January 23, Vladimir Kozlov, the leader of the unregistered political party Alga, and Igor Vinyavsky, the editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper Vzlyad, were detained by officials of the National Security Committee.