By Vestnik Kavkaza
The ‘Republic of Abkhazia’ newspaper reports on a visit to the republic by a delegation of the Orel Region, headed by the governor, the head of the government of the region, Vadim Potomsky. In the Cabinet Council of the RA, a ceremony of signing the protocol of working negotiations took place. The sides noted that the document was a kind of instrument for implementation of topical documents – the Treaty on Cooperation and Strategic Partnership between the RA and the RF on November 24th 2014, and the Treaty on Cooperation between Abkhazia and the Orel Region on September 5th 2003. According to the newspaper, the latest treaty requires exports of agricultural vehicles and equipment to the republic, development of cooperative supplies between the economic subjects, and exports of pharmaceutical products.
The Prime Minister of Abkhazia, Artur Mikvabia, noted that the prospect of cooperation between Abkhazia and the Orel Region was broad and multi-faceted. According to him, the automobile industry is developed in the Orel Region. “If we established a small industry which supplied components to the region, it would enable us to create new jobs,” Mikvabia said. He also believes that common ground could be found in such spheres as agriculture and tourism.
***
As was reported earlier, during his visit to Washington President of Armenia Serge Sargsyan signed the Treaty on Trade and Investments with the American side. The author of an article published in the ‘New Time’ newspaper refers to experts, and notes that the treaty means that Yerevan continues its course of foreign political maneuvering between Russia and the West.
The article says that the signed treaty requires the establishment of favorable conditions for investments and an increase of trade turnover between Armenia and the US. It is planned to establish the Armenian-American Council for Investments, which will organize meetings between businessmen of the two countries annually. The US has previously signed such treaties with Georgia and Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the author points out that the trade and economic turnover between the US and Armenia is small even for Yerevan – $221 million in 2014; this is smaller than the turnovers with the basic partners of Armenia – Russia and the EU. Thus, the majority of politicians and analysts consider signing of the treaty between Armenia and the US in the context of the current regional geopolitics, factoring out purely trade and economic issues. According to them, it creates conditions for intensification of American companies in Armenia, and as a result it may lead to a growth in US power in the region.
Speaking about the benefits from the treaty for Armenia, the author of the article cites the head of the American Chamber of Commerce, Tigran Djabashian. He thinks that it could be a serious impetus for intensification of American IT companies in Armenia, as intellectual property created by American companies in Armenia will be protected by US laws. American national institutions will use their resources to encourage investment projects in Armenia. The document also requires an extension of the functions of such American economic actors in Armenia as OPIC and the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
***
In Georgia, about 100 HES (hydroelectric stations) are planned to be built in the near future. However, the country doesn’t intend to reject electric power imports from Azerbaijan. According to Georgia-Online, this was stated by the Deputy Energy Minister, Mariam Valishvili.
According to her, hydropower engineering won’t enable Georgia to cover the whole demand for electric power, as its major volumes are produced in summer, while the main consumption takes place in winter. So balanced cooperation with neighbors is necessary in the sphere of electric power supplies.
At the same time, during months when Georgia’s electric power production exceeds its consumption (late April – late July), the country will export it. This season they plan to export 400-500 million kW; one third of it will be exported to Russia, the rest – to Turkey.
Valishvili also touched on opportunities for Georgia to provide transit of electric power. The electric power system of Georgia is connected with the energy systems of Azerbaijan and Russia; existing electric power lines will enable transit to be provided from Azerbaijan and Russia to Turkey. According to her, the transit from Russia is already being provided. Azerbaijan hasn’t exported electric power through Georgia yet, but according to the Deputy Minister, Georgia is ready to provide all the necessary infrastructure for the Azerbaijani side.
***
The Chechen newspaper ‘Vesti Respubliki’ reports on successful cooperation between Chechenavto and AvtoVAZ. The agreement on contract assembly between the enterprises was signed in the beginning of the year. It requires that AvtoVAZ is obliged to provide Chechnya with components and to sell finished products. Chechenavto is obliged to provide high-quality and well-timed assembly.
According to the Deputy Director General of the Argun Auto Company, Sultan Ilyasov, previously they couldn’t use all industrial capacities due to a lack of capital and low demand; but now it is possible. “We get paid directly for work done,” Ilyasov explains. “The volumes of production are defined for the whole year. The average volume of production since April is no less than 500-600 cars monthly. Production profitability is more than 6% under such volumes.”
“Today the technical capacities of the assembly line enable us to produce up to 20 thousand cars. This contributed to solving the most important problem for the republic – the creation of jobs. We extended the staff to 180 people; the average salary is 15 thousand rubles,” Ilyasov continues. “In the near future the enterprise will send 30 people to study in the corporative university of AvtoVAZ.”
***
‘Dagestanskaya Pravda’ reports that residents of Derbent are proud of not only the fact that their city is the most ancient city in Russia, but also that the most ancient Christian cathedral in Russia and the most ancient mosque in the Caucasus are situated there. Ahead of the 2000th anniversary of Derbent, the number of guests coming to the ancient city from Russian regions, official delegations, including religious activists, is growing all the time. They are especially interested in the cruciform church with a domed roof. “I know very well,” the author of the article writes, “that Russian guests are always surprised when they hear that contemporary Dagestanis are successors of those who used to be involved in the spiritual values which are now followed by Russian Orthodox people.”
Professor Alexander Kudryavtsev, who has been studying Derbent for many years, has no doubts that the building is a Christian church which was built in the 5-7th centuries, rather than a water storage, as other sources state. According to the data, in this period Derbent was one of the largest Christian centers of the East Caucasus, where Albanian Christian princes and religious activists came. They needed ‘God’s house’ for providing religious ceremonies. At that period of time such cathedrals with a domed roof were widely spread in Transcaucasia. According to Kudryavtsev, when the Arabs occupied Derbent in the 8th century, the cathedral was abandoned; and in the 17-18th centuries, it was used as a reservoir for storing water.
