Caucasus domestic and foreign political events in local press
Armenian ex-President Robert Kocharyan, commenting on the economic situation, admitted that there were no reasons for optimistic evaluations of the condition and prospects of the economy, the Golos Armenii newspaper reports. Moreover, there were new global threats that were yet to be appraised. It is unclear what will happen to Armenia's commercial relations with Iran and Georgia when it joins the EaEU and the technological functioning of the common customs space in the context of sanctions between Russia and the West.
According to the ex-president, revival of the economy should start with economic growth and employment, creation of a fair competitive atmosphere for small and medium-sized business, not just filling the budget at any cost. It cannot be achieved without de-monopolizing the economy and stepping on the appetites of functionaries and their relatives. The personal interests of functionaries should either be secondary or, even better, forgotten, Kocharyan assures.
Speaking of the prospects of Armenia entering the Russian agricultural market in the light of Russia’s ban on Western products, Armenia needs to produce competitive products in terms of quality and price. It is hard for Armenia to evaluate the volume of investments that agriculture needs or the number of foreign players willing to enter the Russian market. According to Kocharyan, it would be a big mistake to think that Armenia will win from the sanctions, because they are double-edged.
Commenting on strengthening of bilateral ties, considering that over 2 million Armenians live in Russia and about 3 million in Armenia itself, Kocharyan said that it was a powerful potential that had not been realized for investment in the Armenian economy. The ex-president reiterated that the country needs to create new jobs, produce goods to sell in Russia. In general, the investment climate in Armenia should be attractive to motivate the diaspora for such progress. Otherwise, a strong diaspora would lack proper infrastructure for a new wave of migration, insists the ex-president.
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On August 26, South Ossetia marked the sixth anniversary of being recognized as an independent state by Russia and the fifth anniversary of launching the Dzuarikau-Tskhinvali pipeline (175km), the highest gas pipeline in the world.
According to the Yuzhnaya Ossetiya paper, the new pipeline increased the volumes of gas supplies from Russia and made South Ossetia independent of Georgian energy.
South Ossetian Prime Minister Domenti Kilumbegov said that the unique pipeline improved the standards of living and had great value for development of the country’s economy. “We have felt the warmth of the Russian soul through the pipeline. Today, we see new horizons of our cooperation that will bring full gasification of our republic, which will provide a new stimulus for the development of the economy of our country,” said the prime minister.
Alexey Zavgorodnev, a Gazprom official, the director General of Gazprom Transgaz – Stavropol (the company that ordered construction of the Dzuarikau-Tskhinvali pipeline), explained that the construction was carried out in complicated conditions of highlands. The Kudari Gorge (3,148m) was passed. 15 tunnels with a total length of 1,848m and 29 passes through water streams were made.
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$20 million of transit a year and full power supply for construction and functioning of the Anklia Port will be achieved after signing of a deal between the Armenian government and Georgia’s Anklia IEP Holding. According to the Svobodnaya Gruziya paper, a new plant with an output of 540MW (two energy blocks, 270MW each) will be built on the territory of the former thermal power plant at Armenia’s Vanadzor (former Kirovokan). The company plans to invest about $600 million in the project. The Armenian government will grant land, necessary permits, tax reliefs, guarantee 1 billion cubic meters of cheap gas annually, build power lines and allow unhampered exports.
Anklia Energy will be founded to construct and exploit the gas power plant. The company will be free from taxes for the first 5 years. Almost all of the 4 billion kWh a year produced by the plant will be exported.
Electricity produced in Vanadzor will be used for realization of projects of the international consortium of Anaklia IEP Holding that was formed in Georgia by British Eco Power, China Power and Citik Group (Hong Kong). The Anaklia Port will be a priority. 400MW of electricity will be needed for realization of the projects. The Georgian energy system cannot produce such power, so a gas plant will be built on the basis of the thermal power plant. Specialists say that the power plant will be launched in about 18 months, construction of hydro plans would take 8 years.
In addition to the Anaklia Port, the consortium plans construction of hydro plants, enterprises to process iron, copper and aluminum from concentrates extracted in Armenia and Kazakhstan. The consortium will create 30,000 workplaces and become the largest taxpayer of Georgia.
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The Severnaya Ossetiya paper reports that North Ossetian Prime Minister Sergey Takoyev received ICE Head Frank Bak-David (France). The company has been providing services in engineering, development of concepts of using hydro-mineral resources and research since 1987.
The businessman said that he wanted to attract investors to the republic. In his words, it is rich in good-quality water, enough to supply the entire North Caucasus. He noted that the company had over 2,000 clients.
The company will cooperate with North Ossetian hydro geologists. They will compose a list of water resources. French specialists will start studies on October 1, 2014. An engineer will collect all the information about the water. A catalogue of water with all health benefits will be made for investors. The North Ossetian Cabinet will provide all the necessary assistance for realization of the project.
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The Ekho newspaper has described the scout movement in Azerbaijan. Ilyas Ismailly, the president of the Association of Scouts of Azerbaijan (ACA), said that the organization had 1,600 members and offices in 10 regions of the country. The scout movement in Azerbaijan started in 1997. The main goal of the Association is to develop youth and children by informal education in the open air. Children stay in the sphere of interests corresponding to the outlook of their parents, together with people of their age and adults. Many scouts become leaders capable of consolidating groups. Ismailly noted five basic subjects for development in the organization: intellect, physical fitness, psychological condition, social and spiritual state. The Ministry for Youth and Sports supports the scout movement. Meetings are organized with active youth of the region in districts to attract new activists. Volunteers may undergo leadership training and form groups of 24 people and 4 leaders. The groups need to present their plans at the National Committee of Scouts of Azerbaijan. Membership in the scout movement of Azerbaijan costs a symbolic price of 2 manats in Baku and one manat in other parts of the country. Scouts have two hours of lessons a week after school.
The Wonderland-2014 international scout camp was organized in the Lerik District in July. 200 children and teenagers from 20 countries of the world, including CIS countries, Europe, Asia and Africa, participated in the camp. The program lasted 8 days in a forest. Attendees participated in lessons of sports orientation, alpinism, archery, social events, competitions, contests, excursions around Lerik and Lankoran. The Evening of Peoples of the World let everyone describe the culture and traditions of their country, national clothes and cuisine.
Every child aged 6 may join the scouts. The Association welcomes adult volunteers offering professional skills in many sectors.
Caucasus domestic and foreign political events in local pressArmenian ex-President Robert Kocharyan, commenting on the economic situation, admitted that there were no reasons for optimistic evaluations of the condition and prospects of the economy, the Golos Armenii newspaper reports. Moreover, there were new global threats that were yet to be appraised. It is unclear what will happen to Armenia's commercial relations with Iran and Georgia when it joins the EaEU and the technological functioning of the common customs space in the context of sanctions between Russia and the West.According to the ex-president, revival of the economy should start with economic growth and employment, creation of a fair competitive atmosphere for small and medium-sized business, not just filling the budget at any cost. It cannot be achieved without de-monopolizing the economy and stepping on the appetites of functionaries and their relatives. The personal interests of functionaries should either be secondary or, even better, forgotten, Kocharyan assures.Speaking of the prospects of Armenia entering the Russian agricultural market in the light of Russia’s ban on Western products, Armenia needs to produce competitive products in terms of quality and price. It is hard for Armenia to evaluate the volume of investments that agriculture needs or the number of foreign players willing to enter the Russian market. According to Kocharyan, it would be a big mistake to think that Armenia will win from the sanctions, because they are double-edged.Commenting on strengthening of bilateral ties, considering that over 2 million Armenians live in Russia and about 3 million in Armenia itself, Kocharyan said that it was a powerful potential that had not been realized for investment in the Armenian economy. The ex-president reiterated that the country needs to create new jobs, produce goods to sell in Russia. In general, the investment climate in Armenia should be attractive to motivate the diaspora for such progress. Otherwise, a strong diaspora would lack proper infrastructure for a new wave of migration, insists the ex-president.* * *On August 26, South Ossetia marked the sixth anniversary of being recognized as an independent state by Russia and the fifth anniversary of launching the Dzuarikau-Tskhinvali pipeline (175km), the highest gas pipeline in the world.According to the Yuzhnaya Ossetiya paper, the new pipeline increased the volumes of gas supplies from Russia and made South Ossetia independent of Georgian energy.South Ossetian Prime Minister Domenti Kilumbegov said that the unique pipeline improved the standards of living and had great value for development of the country’s economy. “We have felt the warmth of the Russian soul through the pipeline. Today, we see new horizons of our cooperation that will bring full gasification of our republic, which will provide a new stimulus for the development of the economy of our country,” said the prime minister.Alexey Zavgorodnev, a Gazprom official, the director General of Gazprom Transgaz – Stavropol (the company that ordered construction of the Dzuarikau-Tskhinvali pipeline), explained that the construction was carried out in complicated conditions of highlands. The Kudari Gorge (3,148m) was passed. 15 tunnels with a total length of 1,848m and 29 passes through water streams were made.* * *$20 million of transit a year and full power supply for construction and functioning of the Anklia Port will be achieved after signing of a deal between the Armenian government and Georgia’s Anklia IEP Holding. According to the Svobodnaya Gruziya paper, a new plant with an output of 540MW (two energy blocks, 270MW each) will be built on the territory of the former thermal power plant at Armenia’s Vanadzor (former Kirovokan). The company plans to invest about $600 million in the project. The Armenian government will grant land, necessary permits, tax reliefs, guarantee 1 billion cubic meters of cheap gas annually, build power lines and allow unhampered exports.Anklia Energy will be founded to construct and exploit the gas power plant. The company will be free from taxes for the first 5 years. Almost all of the 4 billion kWh a year produced by the plant will be exported.Electricity produced in Vanadzor will be used for realization of projects of the international consortium of Anaklia IEP Holding that was formed in Georgia by British Eco Power, China Power and Citik Group (Hong Kong). The Anaklia Port will be a priority. 400MW of electricity will be needed for realization of the projects. The Georgian energy system cannot produce such power, so a gas plant will be built on the basis of the thermal power plant. Specialists say that the power plant will be launched in about 18 months, construction of hydro plans would take 8 years.In addition to the Anaklia Port, the consortium plans construction of hydro plants, enterprises to process iron, copper and aluminum from concentrates extracted in Armenia and Kazakhstan. The consortium will create 30,000 workplaces and become the largest taxpayer of Georgia.* * *The Severnaya Ossetiya paper reports that North Ossetian Prime Minister Sergey Takoyev received ICE Head Frank Bak-David (France). The company has been providing services in engineering, development of concepts of using hydro-mineral resources and research since 1987.The businessman said that he wanted to attract investors to the republic. In his words, it is rich in good-quality water, enough to supply the entire North Caucasus. He noted that the company had over 2,000 clients.The company will cooperate with North Ossetian hydro geologists. They will compose a list of water resources. French specialists will start studies on October 1, 2014. An engineer will collect all the information about the water. A catalogue of water with all health benefits will be made for investors. The North Ossetian Cabinet will provide all the necessary assistance for realization of the project.* * *The Ekho newspaper has described the scout movement in Azerbaijan. Ilyas Ismailly, the president of the Association of Scouts of Azerbaijan (ACA), said that the organization had 1,600 members and offices in 10 regions of the country. The scout movement in Azerbaijan started in 1997. The main goal of the Association is to develop youth and children by informal education in the open air. Children stay in the sphere of interests corresponding to the outlook of their parents, together with people of their age and adults. Many scouts become leaders capable of consolidating groups. Ismailly noted five basic subjects for development in the organization: intellect, physical fitness, psychological condition, social and spiritual state. The Ministry for Youth and Sports supports the scout movement. Meetings are organized with active youth of the region in districts to attract new activists. Volunteers may undergo leadership training and form groups of 24 people and 4 leaders. The groups need to present their plans at the National Committee of Scouts of Azerbaijan. Membership in the scout movement of Azerbaijan costs a symbolic price of 2 manats in Baku and one manat in other parts of the country. Scouts have two hours of lessons a week after school.The Wonderland-2014 international scout camp was organized in the Lerik District in July. 200 children and teenagers from 20 countries of the world, including CIS countries, Europe, Asia and Africa, participated in the camp. The program lasted 8 days in a forest. Attendees participated in lessons of sports orientation, alpinism, archery, social events, competitions, contests, excursions around Lerik and Lankoran. The Evening of Peoples of the World let everyone describe the culture and traditions of their country, national clothes and cuisine.Every child aged 6 may join the scouts. The Association welcomes adult volunteers offering professional skills in many secto
