Caucasus press review (July 27- August 2)

The number of residents of Ingushetia involved int small and medium-sized business has doubled in the last 6 years. According to the newspaper ‘Ingushetia’, this was announced by the head of the republic Yunus-bek Yevkurov. “In 2009 every 40-50th resident of the republic was involved in small and medium-sized business; but this year we have reached a level when every 15-20th resident of the region is involved in small business,” he said. According to him, due to this, the growth of the livestock number surpassed 6%. About 80% of construction materials are being produced in Ingushetia. Many goods which used to be imported by the republic are now being produced on the spot. Moreover, local businessmen are selling their products outside the region.

Yevkurov notes that development of an attractive legislative base for investors, including foreign ones, plays a big role in the successes. Speaking about investment projects, he primarily touches on a project which costs 400 million rubles and is implemented together with Korean businessmen – an assembly line for Daewoo buses. He says that the first buses constructed in Ingushetia will be presented at the international innovation forum in Sochi this autumn. By the end of 2016, a halal turkey meat factory with a capacity of 10 thousand tons annually should start working. “It is a joint project with Israeli businessmen. The project costs 2.6 billion rubles and is supported by the Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs.” Yevkurov also stresses that one of key investment projects in the region is development of intensive gardening, which is realized by the Bratsevskoye Company.

***

Exports of Georgian wine to China are growing. Sputnik-Georgia cites the National Statistics Service, which says that in the first 6 months of 2015, exports reached almost $3 million, which is by $600 thousand more than in January-June 2014. China is the fifth-largest export market for Georgian wine. 759,969 bottles were exported to China in the first half of 2015.

The periodical states that recently one of major importing companies of Georgian wine, Xinjiang Beifangjianda Trade Co. Ltd, has opened three facilities for promotion of Georgian wine in Xinjiang – the Exhibition Hall of Georgian Wine Culture in the Kazakh-Chinese international trade center in the city of Horgos; the Georgian Wine Saloon on the central square of Horgos; and the Georgian Wine Club in Inin. The first facility covers 400 square meters; there are historical and cultural samples of Georgian wine, materials for presentation and testing, which enable the Chinese to learn more about Georgia and its wine. Along with exhibitions, other facilities give an opportunity to learn not only about Georgian wine, but also its honey, tea, mineral water, churchkhela and jams.

***

Abkhazian MPs have adopted an act on establishing the Commission for Studying Economic Effectiveness and Environmental Security of Oil Exploration and Production in the Country. MPs recommended the government to freeze licenses which were given to companies for geological studying, exploration, and oil production till the end of the Commission’s work, according to Sputnik-Abkhazia.

The Rosneft company obtained the right to explore and develop oil and gas fields on the sea shelf of Abkhazia in May 2009. The Russian company should have provided exploration and estimation of the oil fields on the Gudaut part of the shelf in the Black Sea. According to preliminary estimations, resources on the area included more than 250 million tons of fuel. In May 2014 another Russian company, NNK, obtained a license from the Abkhazian government on providing a complex of activities on environmental monitoring, exploration, and studying of wellsites which were dug in the Soviet period in Abkhazia, and their secure maintenance, providing seismologicall work and preparation for digging the first well.

The article says that previously the political parties, social organizations and movements of Abkhazia addressed all citizens of the republic to support the draft On a Moratorium on Development (Production) of Oil and Gas on the territory of Abkhazia; which would be considered by the People’s Assembly of the republic. The address stated that along with an obvious threat to the unique ecosystem of the region, production of oil would bring both economic and social risks for the country. It was stressed that oil production would prevent the development of tourism in the country.

The People’s Assembly decided to establish the Commission and freeze licenses till the end of the Commission’s work at a session which took place on July 30th. President Raul Khadjimba also supported the idea.

***

The Baku newspaper ‘Caspian’ reported that the presentation of the Internet-portalvoiceofkarabakh.com took place on Tuesday at the press center of the agency. It is devoted to the history of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It contains materials in Azerbaijani, Russian and English on various issues and the history of the conflict. There are materials on crimes of Armenian terrorists during the Karabakh war in the Khodjavend Region, the genocide of the Azerbaijani population of the village of Garadagly, sources and reasons for the Sumghait events, as well as historical certificates, maps, and information on the region. The portal was created by the Center of the Caucasus History within the project which was financed by the Council of State Support for NGOs under the President of Azerbaijan. A pamphlet “A Short History and Reasons for the Karabakh Conflict” was also presented in the English and Russian languages.

Speaking at the presentation, the head of the Center for Caucasus History, historian Rizvan Huseinov, said that the Center was studying materials from various sources, including historic documents and correspondences, due to the liquidation of blank pages in history. According to him, when the USSR existed, history was interpreted according to interests of the Soviet state, and it didn’t reflect the national interests of Azerbaijan. “To study the real history of our country, our Center is working with documents from archives in Turkey, Russia and other states,” Huseinov said. He said that experts, Orientalists, and archeologists from many countries had expressed their desire to cooperate with the Center for Caucasus History. At the moment the Center is working on a monograph based on materials from more than 300 sources. Three books will be published in the autumn.

***

The newspaper ‘North Ossetia’ reports on a children’s special IT camp which is being organized in the Ursdon Recreation House for the second time. The schedule of the IT camp attracts school students who like software engineering and computer designing. They will participate in competitions, create their own projects, and participate in workshops by experienced tutors. The IT -camp Alania has united several dozen children, enabling them to combine active recreation and education. A child has an opportunity to try this or that job and gain basic skills on the job. This year students suggested creating their own website and its design. At the end of the camp a professional jury will choose the best website, which will become a base for the Internet platform of the Ursdon Recreation House, the article says.