Publications

Russia-Armenia Trade and Investment Summary for 2023. Armenia has therefore been a natural candidate and enthusiastic member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) as the less than three million-strong nation gains access to a market more than 50 times its size. The EAEU contains both Armenia and Russia and Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, giving Armenian traders a unique reach into both European and Central Asia. Italy is set to sign a new contract to sell four gas turbines to Azerbaijan. The deal will involve Italy's Ansaldo Energia, a service provider for the power generation industry, and Azerenerji, the country's largest electrical power producer. Italy is working to double to 20 billion cubic meters the capacity of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which brings Azeri gas to Apulia in the southeast of the country.

Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power has signed four agreements to develop renewable energy in Azerbaijan. Following on from recent collaborative efforts between the two parties for the SR1.1 billion (293 million USD) 240 MW wind power plant project, ACWA Power's new memorandum of understanding with Azerbaijan's Ministry of Energy entails the development of a battery energy storage system, together with implementation agreements for 1 GW and 1.5 GW of onshore and offshore wind, respectively.

In Georgia available 1.37 Bln USD in infrastructure projects for 2023. The plan includes 53 measures with a projected budget of approximately 368 Mln USD. Exxon warns of Russia's risks to its 2.5 USD billion Kazakhstan income. Kazakhstan shares a 7,644 km border with Russia. Its oil exports travel mainly through a Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) line through Russia and land at a Russian Black Sea export terminal.

Kazakhstan attracted 14.2 Bln USD in sovereign financing operations to invest in development projects through 271 transactions since 2008, the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD). All funds were allocated by 16 international financial organizations and development agencies, including the World Bank, Eurasian Development Bank, EFSD, European Investment Bank, International Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, as well as Japan International Cooperation Agency, Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Annual inflation in Kyrgyzstan amounted to 14.7 percent in December from 15 percent in November 2022. According to the EDB, the slowdown in the inflation growth rate was induced by decreased pressure from the global food market in Kyrgyzstan. A decrease in the growth rate of service prices also slowed inflation.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) takes part in Golovnaya Hydropower Plant Rehabilitation Project in Tajikistan, ADB says. The ADB has allocated $136 million in the frame of the project. The total cost of the project amounted to $170 million. Azerbaijan, Turkiye, and Turkmenistan agree on Trade & Economic Cooperation Deal. This deal contains science, education, culture, energy, trade, customs, and transportation provisions. All the nations involved are vital members of the INSTC network, with Turkiye and Azerbaijan to the West coast of the Caspian Sea with links through to Europe and Turkmenistan on the East with links through to Central Asia. Energy cooperation will essentially involve gas from Turkmenistan being processed and sold to Azerbaijan and Turkiye, probably as part of the new Russia-Turkiye Gas Hub plan. Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan establish a joint investment fund worth 500 Mln USD. The countries plan to increase the trade turnover to 1 Bln USD and create new joint ventures.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is helping to improve irrigation efficiency in the Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan, the most densely populated part of Central Asia. The EBRD funds will finance necessary engineering works in three Uzbek oblasts heavily reliant on freshwater withdrawals from the Syr Darya river, which is fed mainly by glacial melts affected by global warming. An EBRD sovereign loan of up to US$ 199.96 million to the Republic of Uzbekistan will help modernize 118 obsolete pumping stations built in the Soviet era across the Uzbek part of the Fergana Valley. It will be used to acquire and install modern, energy-efficient pumping units and to refurbish associated infrastructure.