Russia-China - China and Russia are interested in the stability in the Middle East and North Africa. This was stated by Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev on the 6 th round of Russian-Chinese consultations on strategic security issues, which were held in the Diaoyutai government residence in Beijing. Chinese State Counciler Dai Bingguo said that China is disturbed about the events that have taken place in North Africa and the Middle East. "We hope the situation in Syria can get stable as soon as possible. Military actions are not our favorable options," said Patrushev.
CIS - Eight CIS member states signed a free-trade agreement October 18. They included Russia, Armenia, Moldova, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Belarus. The pact, which takes effect in January, will strengthen bonds within the CIS and replaces a 1994 treaty that some CIS members never ratified, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said. Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan did not sign but said they would consider doing so before the end of 2011.
Kazakhstan Religion Law - Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev October 17 defended the country’s new religion law in a meeting with the public and representatives of ethno-cultural centres. “We’re not randomly demanding that religious movements register,” he said. “This is not a violation of their rights. We have to know who’s coming here, with what purpose in mind, and what books are being brought into the country.” Nazarbayev signed the bill October 13. It requires religious movements to register with the government and steps up monitoring of their activities.
Kazakhstan Rare Earth Metals Exports - With worldwide demand surging, Kazakhstan plans to increase its annual production of rare earth metals (REMs) to 1,500 tonnes in 2012. The country has been the world leader in uranium production since 2009, and is now looking to gain market share after China’s reduction in REM exports. “Kazakhstan plans to produce concentrates of 15 types of (REMs),” said Sergei Dar, strategic-development director at the state nuclear holding company Kazatomprom. “The source for our rare metals and (REMs) will be REM mineral deposits as well as uranium tailings; that is, what remains after extraction of uranium minerals from ore,” Dar said. “China, as the top REM producer, is reducing its exports according to plan. In this environment, the average REM price over the past half year has risen by $10,000 per tonne,” said Amaniyaz Yerzhanov, chairman of the Industry and New Technologies Ministry’s Industry Committee. “Kazakhstan, with its rich deposits, has good odds of gaining a niche in the global market and taking advantage of the ‘resource war’ we are seeing today.”
Kazakhtan Emigration - Almost 30% of the people of Kazakhstan have expressed a desire to leave the country. The greatest number of people willing to leave the country are in the western (21.7%) and northern (27.4%) regions. A major ethnic groups - Russian (43.6%). 19.7% intend to emigrate due to "material-economic reasons." 15.6% worries about the absence of prospects. Other 13% put the state language policy at the heart of the problems. 44.3% want to emigrate to Russia. To western Europe, including Scandinavia - 11.5%. And 9% to the US.
Kazakhstan-Russia - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov, and noted that the bilateral trade between the two countries has been increasingly occupied by high technology. Putin also thanked Kazakhstna's leadership for their support of the Russo-Kazakh common efforts in the implementation of the integration process.
Turkmenistan-Russia - Turkmenistan October 19 rejected Russian criticism of negotiations to deliver Turkmen gas directly to EU members, AFP reported. Turkmenistan has a “sovereign right” to build a pipeline on the Caspian Sea bed without “special permission,” the country’s foreign ministry said, rejecting Russian criticism. The Kremlin has called the idea environmentally unsound and premature barring a resolution of Caspian territorial disputes.
Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Russia - According to Uzbek expert Sergey Yezhkov, Presidents of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan Islam Karimov and Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov are thinking about creating an alliance that would be based on the availability of natural resources, particularly hydrocarbons. He recalled that October 18 a telephone conversation took place between Berdymukhammedov and Karimov. Attention was drawn to the date of the conversation, which coincides with the Turkmen Foreign Ministry statement, which accused Russia's reaction to Turkmenistan's independent choice of partners for gas transportation. It also coincides with Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan's refusal to sign the St. Petersburg Free Trade Agreement between CIS countries, initiated by the Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin. The expert also points out that the conversation between the two presidents was held on the eve of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's arrival in Tashkent, and that Uzbekistan is likely to wait for her statements implying qualitatively new level of the US-Uzbek relations.
The Customs Union - Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan have agreed on the join of Kyrgyzstan to the Customs Union. This was announced on October 19th at a meeting of the EurAsEC Interstate Council by the Organization's Secretary General Tair Mansurov.
At the same time, heads of Government of the Customs Union discussed in St. Petersburg a draft declaration on the formation of the Eurasian Economic Union. It is expected that the presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan will sign a document which will form the basis for a new stage of integration of the three countries in December 2011. In early October, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin wrote an article for the newspaper "Izvestia", which stated that the customs union and single economic space of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan could become the basis for the formation of the future Eurasian Economic Union. On the basis of this formation, as suggested by Russian Prime Minister, may later be established Eurasian Union, whose members Putin sees the CIS countries.
Articles referred to in this post:
"Китай и Россия заинтересованы в стабильности на Ближнем Востоке и в Северной Африке - Патрушев" (China and Russia are interested in the stability in the Middle East and North Africa - Patrushev)
"Казахи, кыргызы, таджики подписали соглашение о торговле" (Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tajiks sign CIS free-trade pact)
"Назарбаев защищает закон о религии" (Nazarbayev defends new religion law)
"Казахстан активизируется на рынке редкоземельных металлов" (Kazakhstan steps up activity in rare-metals market)
"Треть населения Казахстана готова эмигрировать в Россию или Европу" (One-third of the population of Kazakhstan is ready to emigrate to Russia or Europe)
"Путин: Товарооборот России и Казахстана стал высокотехнологичным"
(Putin: Trade of Russia and Kazakhstan became a high-tech)
"Туркмены отрицают Российскую критику газопровода" (Turkmens reject Russian criticism of EU pipeline talks)
"Туркмения обвиняет Россию в попытках помешать строительству газопровода (Turkmenistan accused Russia of trying to prevent the construction of the pipeline)
"МИД Туркменистана назвал позицию России по Транскаспийскому газопроводу непродуктивной" (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan called Russia's position on Trans-Caspian gas pipeline unproductive)
"Эксперты: Узбекистан и Туркмения создают альянс против России" (Experts: Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan create an alliance against Russia)
"Россия, Белоруссия и Казахстан приняли решение о присоединении Киргизии к Таможенному союзу" (Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan have agreed on accession of Kyrgyzstan to the Customs Union)
"Россия даст старт созданию Евразийского экономического союза" (Russia will start building the Eurasian Economic Union)
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