The European Commission has apparently informed the Kyrgyz government that the country has received “GSP+” status, which means that Kyrgyzstan will now be able to export goods to the EU without paying customs duties on exported goods, in a move that could boost the country’s exports to the West. In Kazakhstan, a new steel factory is set to be built and President Nazarbayev has announced his government’s plans to meet the internal market’s demand for domestic oil products by 2018. Meanwhile, Iran’s trade ties continue to boom as two German chemical companies are ready to spend between €4 billion and €8 billion on developing petrochemical projects in the country, whilst Iran considers spending its recently unfrozen $100 billion on investments and projects abroad in order to avoid raising inflation rates.

Experts of Kalikova & Associates law firm prepared the review of the latest news in the sphere of electricity.

Prepared by experts of Kalikova & Associates law firm

Experts of Colibri law firm prepared the review of the latest news in the Legislation & Regulation of Kyrgyzstan’s Energy and Subsoil Sector

Prepared by expert of Colibri Law Firm

Author: Zhanyl Abdrakhmanova, partner of Colibri Law Firm

This edition contains the latest news in mining sphere of Kyrgyzstan. Prepared by specialists of Kalikova & Associates law firm.

Kazakhstan’s senate has approved the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank agreement that defines the country’s $729.3 million share in the bank’s capital, as many anticipate the AIIB becoming a rival to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank within the region. In Uzbekistan, $843.8 million from its Fund for Reconstruction and Development is set to be allocated to the implementation of 27 projects included in the 2016 state investment programme, and the country is also set to use over $4 billion in foreign investments in 2016, with the lion’s share of these funds allocated to the fuel and energy sector. Meanwhile in Iran, electricity generation projects worth $30 billion are due to the opened up to foreign investors.

Developments in Iran are moving faster than expected, with the Iranian administration preparing to join the WTO as Iran’s minister of industry, mines and trade meets with his foreign counterparts to garner support for the country’s potential membership bid. This comes as both John Kerry and Senator Ben Cardin are positive about Iran’s compliance with the international agreement signed earlier this year, with the latter stating that some sanctions may be lifted as early as January. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan is due to fill its 2016 budget gap with $2 billion in loans from the ADB and World Bank, and Uzbekistan announces a tender for the construction of the Turakurgan thermal power station in the country’s Namangan region.

In all developed countries, the war for talent is growing incredibly fast. Economic and political events in the early nineties had serious implications for emigration of highly skilled specialists (“HSS”). To date, there exist a global labor market and a growing number of jobs requiring special skills and expertise. Many countries compete to attract highly skilled scientific, technical and managerial personnel by undertaking regulatory measures to stimulate recruitment of such personnel.

China is proposing a direct high-speed rail link to Iran, which could also take goods to the Turkish border and through to Europe via Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. In other transport news, the ADB has allocated $220 million to Uzbekistan for the construction of the national highway, whilst also suspending its financial support for the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan railway due to security instability. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan plans to attract $2 billion in funds from the World Bank for boosting agricultural development, according to the chairman of KazAgro.

After numerous delays, the ground breaking of the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India gas pipeline will finally be held in Turkmenistan on Sunday. Meanwhile, Iran is considering Kazakhstan as its destination for enriched uranium under the conditions of the recent Iran deal, and Tajikistan has developed a project aimed at constructing a power transmission line from Tajikistan to China, through which it could supply up to 6 billion kWh of electricity per year to the energy-hungry powerhouse.