Energy and Economy 

Azerbaijan to Send Fuel to Armenia 

According to a statement released by Georgia’s Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, on December 5, the Georgian government received a request to carry out a one-time transit shipment of fuel from Azerbaijan to Armenia through the territory of Georgia. “By decision of Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, Georgian Railways was immediately instructed to carry out this rail transit transport completely free of charge, on a one-time basis. The official parties were notified of this decision," the statement said. Additionally, the statement read that that Georgia has been and remains a strategic and reliable partner for both Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Source: Trend News Agency

Kazakhstan to Divert Crude Oil to the BTC Pipeline after Attack on CPC Terminal

In the month of December, Kazakhstan will reportedly look to ship more of its crude through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Pipeline. This comes after Ukraine struck a terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which handles roughly 80 percent of Kazakhstan’s oil shipments. As a result of damage to the CPC terminal, Kazakhstan’s oil and gas production dropped by 6 percent over the first two days of December. Reuters reported that full export production will likely resume after December 11, when all damages are likely repaired. 

Source: Reuters, Reuters

Uzbekistan to Reduce Bureaucracy and Replace with AI Trained Citizens

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced Uzbekistan’s plans to reduce bureaucracy by 2030 and launch a nationwide program to train millions of citizens how to use artificial intelligence. In his speech, Mirziyoyev stressed the end goal of Uzbekistan being a “zero-bureaucracy” state. To achieve this, the President provided five tasks: (1) Expand public services to 1,500 and eventually make 95 percent of them electronic. (2) Transition to a completely paperless government. (3) Increase proactive and integrated services in order to provide citizens with services without them needing to submit applications. (4) Fully digitalize public services. (5) Reduce service time by 50 percent.

Source: Euronews

Uzbekistan’s Green Economy Reform to Receive $500 million from AIIB

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Government of Uzbekistan signed a $500 million financing agreement to support Uzbekistan’s Green and Resilient Markey Economy Program. In particular, the program focuses on transitioning Uzbekistan to a greener, more resilient, and market-oriented economy. The AIIB stated that the funding will assist the Uzbek government in strengthening policy necessary “for low-carbon development, improved public-sector efficiency, and greater resilience to climate-related risks.”

Source: The Times of Central Asia

Turkmenistan Passes Cryptocurrency Mining and Exchanges Regulation

President Serdar Berdymukhamedov signed legislation that legalizes and regulates digital assets like licenses for cryptocurrency exchange and crypto mining companies. The new law also regulates the creation, storage, placement, use, and circulation of digital assets in Turkmenistan, as well as defines their legal and economic status

Source: Reuters

Politics and Security 

CITES Conference of the Parties (CoP) Held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan

The 20^th CoP for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) kicked off on November 24, bringing together high-level officials, researchers, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from its 184 member countries. This year, the parties reassessed current limits on the trade of wildlife derivatives from a number of threatened species, including manta rays, okapi, rhinoceros, and saiga. The parties approved the Kazakh government’s proposal to allow for saiga horn exports exclusively from the country’s population, which exceeds 4 million. Over the next three years, the amendment allows up to 10,000 kilograms of horns to be exported annually, which roughly translates to at least 25,000 male saiga a year. 

Sources: CITES, Wildlife Conservation Society

Kyrgyzstan Holds Parliamentary Elections

After a vote in September to hold parliamentary elections a year ahead of schedule, Kyrgyzstan held its snap elections on November 30. Preliminary data shows that 37% of eligible voters participated, and most seats will go to allies of President Sadyr Japarov. The results may reinforce earlier predictions that the election was rescheduled to consolidate power under Japarov ahead of next year’s presidential vote. President Japarov has emphasized that this election was transparent and that future elections will continue this trend, in contrast to the rigged elections held under his predecessors.

Source: Reuters, Caspian Post

Five Chinese Nationals Killed on the Tajik-Afghan Border over the Past Week

Three Chinese citizens working at a gold-extraction facility in southern Tajikistan were killed in a cross-border attack launched from Afghanistan on November 27. The attackers used drones and firearms to strike the facility, owned by Chinese private LLC Shohin SM. Officials in Dushanbe also reported a separate attack on November 30, in which two more Chinese nationals were killed, prompting the Chinese embassy in Tajikistan to urge its citizens to avoid working along the border. The Tajik government condemned security failures in Afghanistan, while Kabul expressed its full commitment to cooperating with Dushanbe on investigating the attacks and resolving security threats. 

Source: AP, Reuters, Global Times, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan

Dushanbe Refutes Reports of Potential Russian-Tajikistani Joint Patrol Talks 

Tajikistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Shohin Samadi, denied the existence of ongoing talks between Dushanbe and Moscow regarding Russia possibly assisting Tajikistan to guard the latter’s 1,344-kilometer border with Afghanistan following a deadly border clash days prior. This statement directly contradicts a recent Reuters article that had reported upon anonymous Tajikistani security sources’ claims that such talks were underway via the Collective Security Treaty Organization. 

Source: Reuters, RFE/RL 

Armenia Signs Strategic Partnership Agenda with EU

The latest agenda builds off the pretenses of the 2017 EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) but aims to give particular focus towards governance reforms and connectivity projects along the Middle Corridor. The document was signed on December 2, when Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan greeted EU officials in Yerevan. After the meeting, High Representative Kaja Kallas announced the allocation of 15 million euros in funding towards security and resilience efforts in Armenia, such as demining and responses to foreign intervention.

Sources: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, EU Neighbors East