Open Central Asia magazine - SPRING (#15)

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ISSN 2053-1036

oca spring 2014

The ‘Silk Roads’ Reborn Personalities in UK-Uzbek relations: Mr. Elyor Ganiev Don’t give up your dreams - Literary Contest Winner - Abdulla Isa Dancing on Ice: Kazakh Sochi Success A z e r b a i j a n * K a z a k h s t a n * K y r g y z s t a n * Ta j i k i s t a n * Tu r k m e n i s t a n * U z b e k i s t a n

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Hertfordshire Press and Dr. Kairat Zakiryanov presents latest publication “THE TURKIC SAGA OF GENGHIS KHAN AND THE KZ FACTOR” An in-depth study of Genghis Khan from a Kazakh perspective, The Turkic Saga of Genghis Khan presupposes that the great Mongol leader and his tribal setting had more in common with the ancestors of the Kazakhs than with the people who today identify as Mongols. This idea is growing in currency in both western and eastern scholarship and is challenging both old Western assumptions and the long-obsolete Soviet perspective. This is an academic work that draws on many Central Asian and Russian sources and often has a Eurasianist bias – while also paying attention to new accounts by Western authors such as Jack Weatherford and John Man. It bears the mark of an independent, unorthodox and passionate scholar.

The book begins with a summary of the impact of the Eurasian nomads on world history and a sketch of how the dynamics of the steppe cultures interacted and came to rule, in many cases, the sedentary cultures that they conquered, creating characteristic two-tiered societies (Zakiryanov’s ‘KZ factor’). It then quickly goes on to examine the genealogy of Genghis Khan, the ethnicity of the various tribes close to him and the language they would have spoken. Drawing also on historical currents in China and Russia, and illustrated by the author’s own present-day travels in Mongolia and throughout the Turkic world, Zakiryanov examines the origins and relationships of both the Kazakhs and the Mongols with each other and their neighbours.

Available on pre-orders by e-mail: publisher@ocamagazine.com

contents

ISSN 2053-1036

4

President Nazarbaev announces the nation’s development strategy for the next half-century

8

A License to Print Money - Kazakh Tenge Award

9

ICAA-2013. Third International Chinghiz Aitmatov Awards Ceremony

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Central Asia and the New Trans-Eurasian Connectivity: The ‘Silk Roads’ Reborn

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Kazakhstan – Horsemeat and Two Veg

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Travels in Kyrgyzstan

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High Altitude Sailing ‘Roof of the World’ Regatta - September 2014, Lake Karakul (3960m altitude), Tajikistan.

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Education, Authority and Initiative Project Education and Youth Initiatives of The Fund Forum

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Personalities in UK-Uzbek relations: Mr. Elyor Ganiev

Contact Information

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Azerbaijan Heralds New Energy Route to Europe

Uzbekistan 100100, Tashkent, P.O. Box 3999 (+998 90) 930 87 04,

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‘Don’t give up your dreams’ Literary Contest Winner - Abdulla Isa

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Latest events from The European Azerbaijan Society

Kyrgyzstan Bishkek, Suite 343/2. 40, Manas str. (+996) 312 474 175, (+996) 555 20 68 45,

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Baku International Humanitarian Forum

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Removing the Soviet Shroud Revealing the emerging talent of Central Asian female authors

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Dancing on Ice: Kazakh Sochi Success. Interview Feature with Denis Ten, Olympic Bronze medallist 2014

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Book review

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CATBIG events

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News& events

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Spring 2014 (#15) 4 editions per year Cover Felicity Timcke Editorial Office Silk Road Media Suite 125 43 Bedford Street Covent Garden London WC2E 9HA Publisher Marat Akhmedjanov Editor in Chief Nick Rowan Design Aleksandra Vlasova Advertising Sales-CA Shamil Akhmedjanov Circulation & Subscription Giljamal Pirenova Admin. & Subscription-UK Alexandra Rey Email: publisher@ocamagazine.com www.centralasia.travel www.ocamagazine.com

Texts & Photos: Nick Rowan, Embassy of Kazakhstan, Embassy of Tajikistan, Embassy of Azerbaijan, Aitmatov Academy, Dr Shirin Akiner, Kochi Okada, Nigel Piters, Neil Watson, Paul Wilson, Guljamal Pirenova, Robert Chenciner, Kanat Ibraev, Orkhan Ismayilov, Yasmin Masood, Tony Nelson OCA archive

Kazakhstan 35, Zverev str., Almaty (+7) 702 598 49 68, 701 614 97 69

Disclaimer The information contained in this publication is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by Open Central Asia and while we endeavour to ensure the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability or suitability of the information, products, services, or related graphics represented for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

All authors provide their own material and any opinions contained within are solely those of the authors and do not neccessarily represent the views or opinions of Open Central Asia. We publish these views as part of our provision of a forum for discussion and readers should be aware that the views may contrast each other in the pursuit of this aim. In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of material contained within this publication.

Separate gratitude for cooperation and support to Embassy of Azerbaijan to the UK. Embassy of Kazakhstan to the UK. Embassy of Tajikistan to the UK. Embassy of Kyrgyzstan to the UK.

question that Kazakhstan has the resources for a successful bid. The main competitor to a Central Asian Olympic Games appears to be Beijing, keen to build on the 2008 Summer Olympics. We find out later this summer on the IOC Executive Committee decision on candidate cities and on 31st July 2015, which city will ultimately be chosen as host.

a warm

welcome

Let the games begin!

A postcard I received as the Sochi winter Olympics were about to begin commented on the fact that whilst this is a catchphrase often used at sporting events or even in films about the ancient Roman Colosseum games, no-one seems able to quote its origin.

Those of us in the UK will recognise Sherlock Holmes’ catchphrase of excitement as he would get a new case of, “The game’s afoot!”, but that was about as close as the author of the postcard could get. Those of us in the UK, will have no doubt been fixated with the latest instalment of the great detective as his character modernises.

As I began to write this column, we were amidst the winter Olympic games being held in the Russian city of Sochi. Now over, we can reflect on the efforts of Russia to present its own modern image and dispel the Western media’s perceptions of a backward and still Sovietised Russia – although the fact that one of the Olympic rings didn’t light up during the opening ceremony will have done little to help. Apparently Russian television broadcast a rehearsal version to its viewers to hide this minor imperfection. Meanwhile, British commentators were delighting the home crowd with the fact that Britain won gold medals in a strange sport, called the “Skeleton”, apparently invented by the Brits almost a hundred years ago and about the only winter sport we actually seem to excel in. That and the Scottish-invented sport of curling of course! This is as opposed to the previously notorious and embarrassing exploits of British ski jumper, Eddie the Eagle. For Central Asia, representation at the games is on the up. Azerbaijan entered 4 athletes, Uzbekistan 3, Tajikistan 1, Kyrgyzstan 1 and Kazkahstan a whopping 52, underlining its ambition to host the 2022 Olympics in Almaty city. Although Kazakhstan won the region’s only medal, a bronze in figure skating, we are pleased to have an exclusive interview with its proud winner, Denis Ten. How realistic is it that a Central Asian country might host the 2022 games? Almaty, as the largest city and the financial centre of Kazakhstan, is certainly well suited. With ski slopes nearby and having hosted the 2011 Asian Winter Games alongside Astana, preparation to host such an event has certainly been there. Further, with 2017 bringing the challenges of hosting EXPO-2017 and the 2017 Winter Universiade, things seem to be lining up well. A new army of winter sports fans is also likely to follow and there is little

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All of this enthusiasm in hosting international events is part of the growing emergence of Central Asian infrastructure and communication networks as our feature article, by Dr Shirin Akiner, explores.

The “New Silk Road” may be an over-used moniker by marketing agencies, but 2014 is shaping up nicely to be a transformative year for many projects in the region as the world appears to be shrugging off the financial downturn and looking forwards once more. Whilst the outcome and solutions are by no means “elementary, my dear Watson”, with many physical and non-physical hurdles to overcome, optimism is on the up.

As always, my thanks continue to go to the fantastic team who support the magazine and to our sponsors and contributors without whom we could not exist. I was particularly honoured last December to receive the 2013 International Chingiz Aitmatov Award for “The Best Publishing and Presentation of Central Asian Culture” on behalf of everyone at Open Central Asia magazine at the annual awards ceremony held by the Aitmatov Academy in London.

We are delighted by the recognition and the beautiful Oscar-like glass statuette is in pride of place in the editorial office.

If you have a topic or article that you would like to contribute for one of our future issues, please do get in touch.

In the meantime, may I wish you a very happy Navruz!

Yours, Nick Rowan Editor-in-Chief

5

President Nazarbaev

announces the nation’s development strategy for the next half-century In his latest Address to the Nation in January 2014, the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbaev defined the nation’s grand strategy of joining the top 30 developed countries of the world by 2050.

Called “Kazakhstan – 2050” this strategy implies maintaining the independence, prosperity and development of Kazakhstan and making it one of the world’s most comfortable places to live.

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President Nazarbaev proposed his government to implement the strategy via five-year plans - the remaining time until 2050 will be divided accordingly. The goal of joining the top 30 developed countries of the world is believed to be accomplished in two stages.

The first stage will occur before 2030, during which the nation will prioritise “a modernization breakthrough” leading to a strong manufacturing industry.

The second stage will cover period between 2030 and 2050 where the nation will have to establish platform of the knowledge-based economy.

Addressing the nation, President Nazarbaev mentioned seven core areas that need to be prioritised. The significance of innovative approaches in implementing all of the below was mentioned.

• • • • • • •

adjusting and strengthening the trend of innovative industrialization implementing strategies to modernise agriculture increasing capacity of science in Kazakhstan developing infrastructure triads developing small and medium businesses unleashing the potential of citizens improving public institutions

In line with Kazakhstan’s broader agenda to diversify its economy and possibly trying to avoid Kazakhstan falling under the so-called “resource curse”, the President stressed the importance of creating new industries in the country as the first utmost task to pursue.

While mentioning the need to keep Kazakhstan’s traditional hydrocarbons export on the rise, the President also urged to develop the rare minerals production which could fuel the creation of the knowledgebased economic industries.

The President emphasized the need to establish “the industries of mobile and multimedia technology, nanotechnology and space technology, robotics, genetic engineering, and future energy exploration” within a decade.

Preserving and developing agriculture Kazakhstan’s traditional industry, is the second vital priority area for the country.

According to the President, Kazakhstan’s aim is to become “the major regional exporter of meat, dairy and farming products”. For this purpose, the President stressed the importance of an effective land use and creation of better conditions for the farmers. Conditions such as better pricing mechanisms and elimination of intermediaries blocking farmers from direct access to funds were listed. The President also called upon wise use of water and called upon the transition to the “green” economy by 2030”.

Thirdly, the strategy also prioritises the scientific research. The President called upon improving the “legislation on venture financing, intellectual property protection, research and innovation support, as well as commercialization of research”.

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7 The need to increase activity in technology parks, mainly in large urban agglomerations was specified. The President quoted intellectual innovation clusters in Astana and Almaty as examples.

Speaking of a triad “agglomerations, transportation and energy”, the President quoted the need to further develop contemporary urban centres in Astana, Almaty, Shymkent and Aktobe and establish effective transportation links across the country. Highways, rail networks and transport corridors are expected to connect the country’s vast territory and provide better access to world sea ports.

Simultaneously, the development of infrastructure is seen hand in hand with the imperative of a wise energy use.

President Nazarbaev mentioned the necessity to research and implement clean energy use, and promote energy saving in industry and households. Alternative sources of energy are also to be considered in the upcoming years, with a possible use of affordable nuclear power.

Fifth, the President’s speech elaborated on the imperative of developing small and medium businesses and increasing their numbers. He quoted Kazakhstan’s more than 800,000 small-

to-medium-size enterprises employing 2.4 million of people, and stressed the need to reinforce this trend further. Calling upon small and medium business to develop around new innovative companies, the President charged the Government to combine the next five-year industrialization plan with the “Business road map 2020” – a national program aimed at stimulation of business in the country.

Effective social policy is one of the major criteria applied distinguishing developed countries from others, and Kazakhstan aims at improving its standards in this field.

The following priorities were listed such as high quality education system (both in primary and secondary schools and universities), primary care services via national health insurance system, cultural development, higher salaries for civil servants, and integration of disabled people in business.

Last but not least, the President emphasized the need to improve public institutions and improve interaction between state, business and society. He called upon increasing effectiveness of public bodies and swift procedures in dealing with cases. Demanding a high professionalism from law enforcement bodies, the President underlined that the equality before law “should become the real basis of the law and

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8 order”. He called upon the judicial system to be “transparent and accessible in practice”. The Head of State also stressed the importance of fighting the evil of corruption, and called upon implementing a new anti-corruption strategy.

The achievement of goals mentioned above will require efforts from all Kazakhstan’s population, the government’s commitment as well as cooperation with foreign partners. It will not be an easy task, as the challenges of economic, social and political development are real and will not be resolved overnight. Concluding his speech, President Nazarbaev called upon the public to actively participate in the achievement of the goals but he addressed young people in particular: “This strategy is for you. You, who will participate in its implementation, and you will reap the benefits of its success”.

to either start own businesses or work for others. It is true that young generations are challenged in many new ways too. Yet, Kazakhstan’s many positive accomplishments reached in the last decades of independence play in their favour. At present the country has one of the most open economies in the postSoviet space. It has favourable investment conditions, its economic and industrial growth are on the rise, and there’s a vast potential for building of a modern thriving society. It is therefore hoped that “The Kazakhstan – 2050” strategy could indeed become an era-defining speech for the youth and the whole nation.

While the implementation of the necessary government plans will be the responsibility of the officials, it is in fact the younger generations whose commitment to the idea could define the ability of Kazakhstan to join the club of the top 30.

Today, young Kazakhs have better opportunities than their parents who grew under the Soviet rule. The country’s capitalism oriented society provides them with opportunities

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Text: by Yasmin Masood

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A License to Print Money - Kazakh Tenge Award

10 Have you ever thought just who gets to design and print the currency we use every day? On 3 December the National Bank of Kazakhstan and De La Rue hosted an evening reception and exhibition at the Design Museum in London in order to receive and celebrate the award of the International Bank Note Society (IBNS) Banknote of the Year award. The award was given by the society in recognition of the latest 5000 Tenge banknote, which was noted for its modern design, aesthetics and state of the art security features. The IBNS was founded in 1961 and it operates as a non-profit educational organization.

Its objectives are to promote, stimulate, and advance the study and knowledge of worldwide banknotes and paper currencies along educational, scientific and historical lines. Currently the IBNS has over 2,000 members in more than 90 countries.

De La Rue has been a trusted partner of governments, central banks, issuing authorities and commercial organisations around the world for many years.

In recent years, the Group has been involved in both the design and production of over 150 national currencies. De La Rue also produces a wide range of security documents including passports, driving licences, authentication labels and tax stamps. In addition, the Group manufactures sophisticated, high speed cash sorting and inspection equipment.

The banknote was designed by the National Bank’s chief designer, Mendybay Alin, in close collaboration with the De La Rue design team.

This team has won many design awards in recent years, and this represents their third in collaboration with Mendybay Alin. In recognition of this fact, there

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was an exhibition of the work of Mendybay Alin: a selection of his banknote work, his award-winning illustrations for children’s books and some of his vibrant oil paintings were on display.

Anyone interested in finding out more about any of Mr Alin’s work can get in contact via e-mail: sanjar.alin@gmail.com

ICAA-2013.

Third International Chinghiz Aitmatov Awards Ceremony

11 On Thursday, 12 December 2013, the Aitmatov Academy held its third annual awards ceremony at Rossotrudnichestvo, London. It was attended by over a hundred people, including an international collection of academics, artists, diplomats and representatives from international development funds. The Aitmatov Academy was set up by Rahima Aduvalieva, a one-time colleague of the famous Soviet and Kirghiz writer Chinghiz Aitmatov during his relocation to Europe after the fall of the USSR in 1991. The Aitmatov Academy seeks to popularize the writer’s works in English and support new artists from Central Asia. th

The award winners were selected by an international jury and included Nick Rowan, Editor-in-Chief of Open Central Asia magazine for the best publishing and presentation of Central Asian culture in Open Central Asia magazine in the UK. In his acceptance speech, Nick

dedicated the award to the team at the magazine and said he hoped to continue the co-operation with the Academy to bring the culture of Central Asia and its famous writers to European audiences.

Other distinguished winners included Bolot Shamsiev of Kyrgyzstan for the long and loving friendship and professional cooperation with Chingiz Aitmatov, especially for writing screenplays and for the production of movies based upon his novels, The White Steamship, Cranes Fly Early, Ascent of Mount Fuji and Love & Echo. In his acceptance speech Bolot spoke warmly of his relationship and friendship.

Dr Shirin Akiner, of SOAS, was also given an award for her promotion as well as her extensive contribution to the understanding of Central Asian countries and their cultures throughout the UK at universities and in the

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media. The American University of Open Central Asia was recognised for 20 years of unflinching hard work and effort dedicated to the all round education of the new generation of youth in Kyrgyzstan while the late Nemat Kelimbetov, from Kazakhstan, was awarded a Life Achievement Award.

Kelimbetov was an outstanding philologist, writer, translator and scientist. He was a member of the Academy of Humanitarian Sciences of Kazakhstan and he was also the winner of the Franz Kafka Prize. His personal attitude and guiding life principle formed a central debate in his works. They were based upon important yet simple principles: to be honest to yourself, to respect elderly people, to avoid jealousy, not take hypocrites seriously, and to believe in your dreams and, importantly, to strive to make them possible.

Central Asia and the New Trans-Eurasian Connectivity:

The ‘Silk Roads’ Reborn 12

The ‘Silk Roads’ Reborn The last decades of the 20th century were a time of rapid and dramatic change. The sudden collapse of the Soviet Union and the almost equally unexpected rise of China as an economic powerhouse created a new strategic landscape. Long-standing partnerships and alliances disintegrated almost overnight. This was disorienting, and in some cases caused real anxiety and distress. However, it also opened the way for innovative approaches, innovative thinking, channels and mechanisms for interaction and cooperation that would accelerate economic development, and widen the sphere of international relations. It was against this background of flux that an idea from the distant past began to resonate with present concerns. Within the central Eurasian region – the Black Sea, the Caspian basin and Central Asia – as well as in the encircling outer rim

of countries in the Far East, South Asia, Middle East and Europe, there was a wave of enthusiasm for a revival of the ancient ‘Silk Roads’.

The idea was first articulated by the UNESCO project ‘Integral Study of the Silk Roads: Routes of Dialogue’ (19881997). It was later adopted as a label for diplomatic initiatives and soon there was a veritable explosion of ‘Silk Road’ ventures by international organisations.

The use (and over-use) of the term might have robbed it of content, reducing it to a mere marketing tag. Yet beneath the romantic allure there was, and still is, a serious rationale. The ‘Silk Roads’ offers an alternative geographic configuration, countering the conventional geopolitical divisions of the modern world with an older set of linkages.

The mesh of trade routes that for centuries crisscrossed the Eurasian continent yielded commercial benefits,

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but they also fostered a lively crosscultural fertilization. These exchanges – the dialogue between different peoples – had stimulated economic growth, encouraged technical and artistic innovation and provided a channel for diplomatic exchanges. Today, the idea of a re-vitalised ‘Silk Roads’ is seductive, suggesting that ‘all’ that is needed is to reconnect distant parts of the world is merely to retrace old pathways. This is a based on a fundamental misconception of the nature of the ancient trade routes.

Unlike today’s transport corridors, these routes functioned with a minimum of infrastructure. Thus, merchants and caravans were swiftly able to change course in response to local conditions – to avoid trouble spots (obstructions such as storms, bandits or epidemics), or to hasten to destinations where markets were reportedly flush with the proceeds of rich harvests or recent cargoes of exotic wares. These shifts in itinerary were sometimes brief, but in other

cases they became entrenched and superseded previous routes. We live in very different times. In our world, trade, and the transport that makes it possible, is underpinned by sophisticated technology and a monumental network of infrastructure. This in turn is the product of long-term planning and investment. In these conditions, to envisage a literal re-creation of the past is indeed a fantasy. However, the concept of the ‘Silk Roads’ does have relevance as a metaphor for a new phase of trans-Eurasian connectivity –a twenty-first century web of multilayered connections and intersections.

It is not ‘the property’ of any particular state, ideological bloc or organization.

Equally, it cannot be constrained to operate within tightly defined economic-geographic boundaries.

Locating Central Asia The area encompassed by the Silk Roads was constantly changing, but there is general agreement that a nodal stretch of this network passed across ‘Central Asia’. But where is Central Asia? There is no generally accepted definition of this term. Many have tried to define and broaden the definition but since the collapse of the Soviet Union, five states (and only these five) adopted the term ‘the Central Asia states’ as their collective designation – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. As a senior Kazakh diplomat once described it, ‘we are like the five fingers of a single hand, different but inextricably and organically bound together’.

The five states together cover some 4 million square kilometres, with a total population of around 60 million. The terrain includes undulating steppe in the northern and central sections, semidesert and desert areas further south.

The eastern and south-eastern borders are rimmed by a formidable rampart of high mountains; in the west, the land

slopes downwards to the flatlands of the Aral-Caspian Depression, parts of which lie well below sea level. The region, landlocked in all directions, has an extreme continental climate.

frontiers. The myriad of previously internal administrative borders had suddenly become international and the integrated economic system swiftly crumbled.

Inherited Legacies

The pre-Soviet legacy is less specific, more a matter of perception, memory and identity. A core element of the modern Central Asian self-image is a connection to the culture of the ‘Silk Roads’. Plentiful evidence of such links is found in archaeological remains, as well as in the living art and architecture, languages and religious practices, of the region. It is also to be found in the geography of the ancient trade routes that, in the distant past, snaked across the desert and the steppe, following

The Central Asian states inherited a double legacy: from the Soviet period as well as from the pre-Soviet period. The Soviet legacy included human capital in the form of substantial numbers of highly educated professionals (male and female), with theoretical knowledge as well as practical skills and experience. It also included extensive infrastructural development.

Transport was a priority sector and as a result, extensive road, rail, air and pipeline networks were created within and across all the Soviet republics.

These systems were an essential feature of the integrated Soviet economy, enabling people and goods to move easily and cheaply within its borders.

The disadvantage to the newly independent states, however, was that these networks had been designed to serve intra-Union needs and in many ways were ill suited to the requirements of independent states, who now needed to facilitate the movement of materials and people across wider international

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13

the valleys and the mountain passes.

Often, these very same routes are still in use. Two thousand years ago, for example, the ‘Dzhungarian Gate’, which lies astride the Ala-Tau Pass from Lake Alakol in Kazakhstan to Lake Ebinur (Aibi) in western China, was the chief land bridge between East Asia and Central Asia – between the ‘Orient’ and the ‘Occident’.

Export Pipelines

14

One of the early priorities of the Central Asian countries after independence was to develop foreign economic relations – something which, during the Soviet era, had been, impossible. Specifically, the Central Asian states sought to attract foreign investment and to gain access to foreign markets. For the international community, it was the Caspian basin’s huge oil and gas reserves that were of most immediate interest, predominantly located in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. However, a serious problem in this sector was the lack of an adequate export infrastructure. In the past, petroleum and gas pipelines from the region were linked to the internal Soviet network. This situation was highly unsatisfactory not only for the newly independent states but also for foreign investors, who wanted to export hydrocarbons from the Caspian without the risk of Russian interference.

Consequently, the diversification of export routes, and in particular the construction of new pipelines, was an urgent necessity.

Kazakhstan, which possesses some of the largest hydrocarbon deposits in the world, soon became a major recipient of foreign investment in this sector thanks to its significant hydrocarbon reserves, notably from the Tengiz and Kashagan fields and the Kazakh courtship of the Chinese. Oil export, previously through Russia, is now transported by tanker across the Caspian and by rail towards China. By contrast, Turkmenistan,

although like Kazakhstan is blessed with huge mineral wealth, adopted a cautious (verging on the dilatory) approach to foreign investment. It too has sought to diversify its export options. In the gas sector, existing Soviet-era infrastructure continues to be used after a 1,400-km gas pipeline to Europe via Iran and Turkey had to be shelved owing to US objections to the involvement of Iran. In 2006, the Presidents of Turkmenistan and China concluded an agreement on the supply of Turkmen gas to China, via Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, allowing the first gas via this route to reach China in January 2010. Future hope revolves around the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-PakistanIndia (TAPI) pipeline whose four partner states signed a framework agreement in December 2010. However, the geopolitical landscape remains a significant challenge to its materialization in the immediate future.

From time to time, both Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan have expressed interest in the construction of underwater pipelines to Baku. However, the unstable hydrogeology of the seabed is thought by some to pose an unacceptable risk to the Caspian Sea’s vulnerable ecosystem. The issue is still a matter of debate.

National Transport Policies The construction of new road and rail networks is also a priority for the Central Asian states. However, this is an extraordinarily complex undertaking.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Central Asian states were confronted simultaneously with the need to rehabilitate and expand their domestic transport networks, and also to identify appropriate foreign trading partners. The challenge was to find the optimum balance between the demands of national interest, regional cooperation and global integration – and to do this in a time of global

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flux. To varying degrees in all these states internal and external transport networks are being developed.

Central Asia’s rich architectural heritage, vibrant local cultures and magnificent landscapes are important tourist attractions.

Consequently, national transport strategies in the region are not only oriented towards trade, but also to facilitating international tourism, which generates a substantial income to state budgets. This is another area that is being developed with the support of UN organizations as well as commercial travel agencies.

Transport Corridors and Geo-Political Ambitions Cross-cutting the broad-based transport corridors that have been proposed by international organizations, there are also schemes that have been promoted by powerful political actors. Most of these projects purport to be ‘recreating the ancient Silk Roads’, though the historical association is little more than a hook for the geo-political aspirations of the sponsors. The first example of this approach was the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA) program. Inaugurated by the European Union and partner states in Central Asia and the Caucasus in May 1993, it aimed to create a transport network that stretched from Europe to the borders of China – but circumvented Iran and Russia. It was a formidable undertaking, encompassing the development of physical infrastructure as well as regulatory and organizational policies. There were numerous high-level meetings and impressive declarations, yet results on the ground in Central Asia were for the most part modest. The emphasis to date has been mainly on the European and Caucasus sectors of the corridor.

Another scheme for transport corridors which has political undertones is

promoted by the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC). This body, part of a process of economic integration within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), was established in 2000 by Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. In 2010, a trilateral Customs Union was formed between Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia; this was transformed into the Single Economic Space in 2012, with the aim of facilitating the free movement of goods, services, people and capital.

The next stage, planned for 2015, is to be the creation of Eurasian Economic Union between these countries.

A third blueprint for regional corridors was advanced by the United States.

This version of the ‘New Silk Road’ aimed to strengthen ties between Central and South Asia and to create a civilian, commercial trade network that would continue to function after the withdrawal of Western troops from Afghanistan. However, this would require massive financial and technical assistance for an indefinite period, and also the means to guarantee security for transit traffic. At present this is

scarcely feasible, but nevertheless, some useful construction projects are being implemented in and around Afghanistan. This in turn is helping to improve regional connectivity.

Yet another contender for the title of the ‘New Silk Road’ is the ‘NEW’ (i.e.

Northern East-West) Eurasian Land Bridge. The purpose of this Chinesebacked project is to create a second overland transport link between the Chinese and Russian ports on the Pacific seaboard, and the European ports on the Atlantic seaboard. The first Eurasian Land Bridge was the TransSiberian Railway. Built in 1916, this line, together with its numerous branches (including the Turkestan-Siberian line, completed in 1930), has spanned the northern tier of the Eurasian landmass for almost a century. It is still one of the key east-west corridors. However, in the 21st century, the increased volume of east-west/west-east trade requires additional transit facilities.

The projected ‘NEW Eurasian Land Bridge’ will eventually form the basis of a much larger network that will also extend southwards through Iran to the

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Persian Gulf and thence to India and other parts of South Asia.

Two more ‘Silk Road-type’ projects have been proposed, one by India, the other by Pakistan. As with the other schemes discussed above, they have been presented as ‘neutral’ economic ventures to aid the recovery and development of the Central Asian states. There is certainly the potential for mutually beneficial cooperation in these enterprises. However, they also reflect the quest by both countries to secure their own ‘strategic depth’ and at the same time, to deny that ‘depth’ to the other – and, by extension, to the other’s allies.

Emerging Networks: Prospects The transport schemes that have been proposed for and by the Central Asian states over the past couple of decades fall into three broad categories: the national strategies; the blueprints mapped out by international organizations; and the schemes sponsored by geo-political actors. Descriptions of these projects

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convey the impression of a tangle of overlapping, competing networks that might at best result in duplication, at worst in gridlock. The reality, however, is very different. With the partial exception of China, no single sponsor has the means to implement in full their concept of a new ‘Silk Roads’.

Instead, smaller, geographically limited, projects have been undertaken. The outcome, whether intended or not, has been to promote complementarity rather than competition. These are not as yet ‘international corridors’, but the process of developing such corridors is clearly underway.

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There are four land interfaces between Central Asia and the adjacent regions. In the north, Kazakhstan gives access to Russia; in the east, China can be reached through Kazakhstan, and also (though with some difficulty, owing to the terrain) Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan; in the south east, Afghanistan is linked to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan; in the south west, Turkmenistan gives unique access to Iran and beyond that to the Persian Gulf. In the west, the Caspian Sea offers shipping channels to connect the east coast states of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to the other littoral states – Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran; these in turn give Central Asia access to Europe, the Black Sea and the Middle East. Kazakhstan has the greatest number of options, with over a dozen land entry points to Russia, and four to China (two of which are being developed into major hubs). Turkmenistan is the gateway to the south and here, too, the transport strategy is focused on developing regional hubs. The other states have fewer opportunities to develop direct links to the wider region, largely owing to the constraints of geography. Consequently, they are dependent on bilateral and trilateral projects within the Central Asian space

to provide connections to international routes.

The new networks – which would have been unimaginable only a few years before – offer huge opportunities for expanding regional and international trade. It is no surprise, though, that they are very far from perfect. There are obvious problems of geography, such as extreme weather conditions, daunting mountain passes and long, empty stretches of desert. These are immutable factors. However, there are also a large number of man-made obstacles that severely hinder trade and transport.

They fall into two categories: physical and non-physical problems. Issues in the first category are largely caused

confrontations and disputes between travellers and officials. The catalogue of problems includes complex, badly coordinated, trade policies; difficulties in obtaining visas for commercial drivers; and excessive requirements for documentation, coupled with long delays in processing the paperwork.

These problems are sometimes compounded by political tensions between neighbouring states, notably Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, which can result in the disruption of crossborder traffic for indefinite periods.

Consequently, these overland transport routes via Central Asia have to date proved to be considerably less profitable, and therefore less competitive, than might have been expected.

None of these problems are inherently intractable. Measures such as the simplification of procedures, the harmonization of customs policies, regulations and tariffs, and the increased use of sealed containers would undoubtedly reduce transit times and remove some of the most vexing obstacles.

From Periphery to Pivot: Reality or Dream? by shortcomings in the equipment and infrastructure inherited from the Soviet era, exacerbated by under-investment and neglect in the 1990s, and further strained by the unexpected increase in traffic.

The physical impediments that hinder the development of transport corridors have been recognised by the state authorities and some attempt is being made to address them. Considerably less attention has been paid to nonphysical hurdles, though these are at least as much of an obstruction – and doubly frustrating because of the ‘human factor’ involved in acrimonious

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The Central Asian states gained their independence at a time when profound changes were taking place in the global landscape. The two factors that have impacted most directly on their development are firstly, the transfer of economic power from the West to the East, most dramatically illustrated by the rise of China but replicated, albeit on as smaller scale, in South and South East Asia. This has presented the Central Asian states with extraordinary opportunities to diversify and expand economic relationships, quite literally in all directions. The second factor is that major advances have been made in transport technology as a result of

which, for the first time in some five centuries, land routes are gaining a competitive advantage in comparison with maritime routes. Overland transit times are shorter and often more secure (for example, free of the threat of piracy), thus potentially more cost effective. It is not an ‘either/or’ choice, in which one form of transport will prevail, but rather that land routes are an important addition to the range of options available to trading partners.

Consequently, the region’s landlocked geography, which was initially perceived as a drawback – in the 1990s, it was often described as ‘isolated’ – is increasingly becoming an advantage.

In turn, the widening network of road

and rail connections that is fanning out across Eurasia is accelerating the re-integration of Central Asia into the global economy.

The creation of region-wide transport networks is not a smooth, linear process. As discussed above, there are innumerable physical and non-physical hurdles to be overcome before the projected routes function effectively. It is never easy to devise strategies that create an optimal balance between the benefits of greater connectivity and the disadvantages of over-cautious restrictions. The problem is especially

acute in a region that is as complex as Central Asia, where there is already a high incidence of such threats to security as drug trafficking, terrorism and religious extremism. This is not to excuse the difficulties and inadequacies that so often plague cross-border movements in Central Asia. They should certainly be addressed as soon as possible. Yet the delay between the vision and the implementation of trans-regional transport corridors does have the advantage of allowing time for the adjustment of the security arrangements.

Many of the issues cannot be resolved by external intervention, but only by

a process of dialogue and confidence building between the protagonists themselves. The Central Asian states have shown clearly that they do not intend to remain on the periphery of larger, more ‘important’ states.

They have established a degree of independence that would have seemed impossible twenty years ago. They have not yet become regional transport hubs, but they have established their potential to become important intersections at the heart of emerging global trade networks. The next hurdle is to consolidate that advantage economically and politically.

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Dr Shirin Akiner has long first-hand experience of Central Asia and has written and lectured widely on the region. She is a published author and academic who has presented papers at international conferences and highlevel seminars to leading think tanks, government bodies, international organisations and universities, in some 20 countries. In 2006 she was awarded the Sir Percy Sykes Memorial Medal by the Royal Society for Asian Affairs for her contribution to Asian studies.

In 2008 she was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of Ancien Association of NATO Defence College. In 2013 she received the International Chingiz Aitmatov Award for her ‘promotion as well as extensive contribution to the understanding of Central Asian countries and their cultures ’. . Since 2010 she has been Special Advisor to UK Parliamentary Groups on Central Asian States. Dr Akiner has held research and teaching posts at a number of leading universities and since 2008 has been a Senior Fellow of the Cambridge Central Asia Forum, University of Cambridge, and Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

This article is a shortened version of extracts from the author’s research paper published under the same title in the journal of the Center for Strategic Studies (SAM), Baku, special issue on Interregional Cooperation in Eurasia, vol.

9-10, September 2013, pp. 11-50.

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Kazakhstan –

Horsemeat and Two Veg Text: Robert Chenciner with Kanat Ibrayev

1818 Perhaps that’s going a little too far, if taken literally, but there’s undeniably a very close alliance between man and beast in this vast tract of Central Asia.

The present Republic of Kazakhstan was created in 1991 on the dissolution of the USSR and is about the size of Western Europe, with a population of some 15 million people. In the southwest of the country laps the shores of the northeast end of the Caspian Sea; to the east is the Tarim Basin, and the Altai Mountains are to the north.

It’s a region traditionally inhabited by nomad herders, but it is now rare to see the traditional gher (felt round-tent) settlements, as most of the nomads were settled under Soviet rule. There is still reputedly some transhumance between summer and winter pastures for some herders, however.

If we take a long stride from nomad life into the present day, we see the survival

of horsemeat as a luxurious food in the Republic of Kazakhstan. In September 2004 I found myself there as an OSCE election observer when, as my official work excluded celebratory drinking, I grasped the opportunity to pursue a sober study of this neglected subject. I visited two yamarka (outdoor markets) – one in Almaty, the former capital and largest conurbation; the other 500km north in Stepnogorsk (Russian for ‘town on the Steppes’), a former closed Soviet town with notable levels of uranium, rare metals and gold.

Kumis (fermented mare’s milk) is perhaps the best-known horse product from the Steppes of Central Asia. In a restaurant in Astana I drank repeatedly from a palm-sized bowl of kumis.

Once the sickly smell was put aside by application of my mystic sensory controls it tasted better and better, with a tang vaguely reminiscent of some highland malts.

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Not satisfied without sight of meat on the hoof, I diverted our driver 10 km into the Steppe at Karabulak early on our return route from Stepnogorsk to Astana, the new capital that boasts unique Stalinist Post-Modernist architecture. The vast and endless Steppe has some forestation of small birch trees near the road and then opens out to rolling pasture and scrub. In the small area that I observed it was not the virgin desolate place of my imagination, but criss-crossed with a bewildering number of tracks and spattered with lakes of unknown radioactivity, linking the odd railway wagon shelter and a variety of bits of concrete, spun off from the ruins of kolkhoz State farms. Soviet civilization had left its mark and passed by.

We befriended Bukpeshev Sahintay Olzhabayuli, the horse-rearer in the village of Karabulak, where he looked after the co-operative’s 700 head of

horses. The bad news was that a rustler had stolen 50 the previous night, which doubtless accounted for not a horse to be seen when we drove half an hour into the Steppe. His son-in-law uttered that timeless apology in broken Russian as we gazed sharp-eyed about the distant horizons, making horse noises; ‘The horses were here two days ago’.

There was also no glimpse of the two teams of horse-ranchers, each with three men, who alternated three days and nights on and off. I gave up and returned. Of course, no sooner had we returned to the asphalt when we saw another herd of horses, about 200 strong, by the road. Recalling the Horse Whisperer movie, I leapt out, making horse small talk. I was allowed near but they were reluctant to stay for a closeup photograph.

At the two markets, I met, questioned in Russian, and photographed my informants; all female horse butchers, sausage makers and vendors, and their array of products. In Stepnogorsk I was assisted by Kanat Ibrayev, a local postgraduate who had been our official OSCE interpreter. He was one of 12 Kazakhs who had spent a year in an American University, and now works in planning in the Department of Transport in Astana.

So, what does it taste like?

The extremely lean cuts are rich dark and deep-red meat, slightly sweet, redolent of venison but much more tender. Because the horses are Steppe reared, in what must be an original source of the term ‘free range’, there is little fat. In the great intestinal sausage (below), where two thin strips of meat and fat, cut from the edge of the length of the rib cage, are stuffed with crushed garlic salt and pepper – there the fat tastes like the richest butter. My Caucasian Russian friend, who had survived his Soviet Military service there, thanks to the horsemeat, dared me to ask “Is the large intestine preferable to the small intestine for sausage making”; “Of course (stupid question)” was the Almaty woman sausage-maker’s tart reply.

I was hoping that the Kazakh language had a hundred words for horse as the Inuit, Sami and Nenets all reputedly have for snow, but there are far fewer. Breeding, eating, racing, riding and working horses are all distinct animals. For example a breeding horse is not for eating, and, conversely, a horse destined for the dining table, will not be used for breeding.

Stepnogorsk market words for both breeding and eating horses are: Meren: A gelding.

Zhabakhý (PRON: zhuh-BA-khuh): Up to one-year-old of both sexes Tay: One- and two-year-olds of both sexes.

Kuman: A three-year-old male.

Bital: A three-year-old female.

Biye: A three- to four-year-old male and female.

At the rear of the hectare-size market, arranged in rows of wooden stalls, was the covered, refrigerated meat section. Through plastic cold doors there were about 40 stalls in a clean and chilly room. Only one sold horsemeat (and beef). The others sold beef, chicken, and mutton. In Astana market we were told that there are two separate rooms for storing meat; one for horse, beef, mutton and chicken, the other for pork and pork products.

We were helped by a partner of the horse stall, Ainagul Sadvakasova, whose daughter Aigul was studying foreign languages. In English she recommended The Aelita Café,

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round the corner, for the best horse dishes in Stepnogorsk. Unfortunately it was closed.

On their display table, amongst other meats, were four raw cuts arranged in a square – çürek (heart), baür (liver), kharim (stomach), and öpke (lungs). They also had Khazi (the main rib) and the mane, a beehive-shaped cross-section of meat and fat, both special delicacies.

For the most respected guests there is an oval fillet from the chops, called omirtkIa. The oblong rump is called kesekyet, which means ‘meat to be divided’, and is used in bestirmek, the delicious preserved meat which is served sliced cold.

appropriate animal. I was reminded that Mareshchal Kutusov, after the battle of Borodino, repeatedly intoned that Napoleon’s army would be eating horseflesh in Russia before the winter of 1812 was out. He used the words “loshadinoye miase”, meaning beast-ofburden, as opposed to konili, meaning noble steed.

To crosscheck and add to what we saw and heard, I had the bible of Kazakhstan cooking – The National

There was various sausages, ready for cooking, called shruzikI and kIarta (the small intestine, stuffed with chopped offal). And, of course, the great intestinal sausage (5-6cm diameter), where two thin strips of meat and fat are cut from the edge of the length of the rib cage and stuffed with crushed garlic salt and pepper. A 60cm length is then tied off, cooked, and eaten cold. When I commented that not all parts of horse were on display, they looked me in the eye and told me “we eat all of the horse!”

Yesil (Green) Bazaar, Almaty. The horsemeat was sold under a sign saying “Konili”, a separate part of the meat section of the market, which was as clean and spotless as Stepnogorsk.

Each meat section displayed a small, tin flag, featuring a silhouette of the

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Cooking of Kazakhs, (Natsional’naya Kukhnya Kazakhov, a generous gift from Mary Springer who was then head of public affairs for Mobil (now Exxon) in Kazakhstan. Inside the book I found a contemporary photograph of a mountain summer encampment of two ghers with about eight horses. The photograph, I learned, had been slipped inside by the Kazakhs, who gave Mary the book in the first place. The first food section is devoted to horsemeat. There are captioned photos of cuts, recipes and serving dishes. Most favourite are cold dishes of horseflesh: kazy, shuzhuk, zhaya, zhal, karta and so on.

The kazy sausage recipe shows that the raw sausage is dried, boiled or smoked.

If drying, it is better to dry kazy by warm weather, hanging them out for a week in a sunny, aired place. For smoking, it is best to place kazy in dense smoke at 5060 degrees C, for 12-18 hours and then dry them for 4-6 hours at 12 degrees C.

If boiling, Kazy should be boiled for 2 hours in a broad vessel on slow fire. The kazy should be pricked in several places to avoid bursting during boiling. Kazy are served cut into layers and arranged in a circle on a large plate with onion rings and green peas.

Shuzhuk is made of equal weights of horsemeat and suet.

The meat is rubbed with salt and kept for 1-2 days in a cool place at 3-4 degrees C. Guts are washed and kept in salt water. The meat and fat are cut into small pieces and stuffed into the gut with salt, pepper and greens. The ends are then tied and the sausage is hung in a cool place for 3-4 hours.

Shuzhuk is then smoked at 50-60 degrees C for 12-18 hours and then dried for 2-3 days at 12 degrees C. Dried or smoked shuzhuk is boiled on a low fire for 2-2 ½ hours and served in thin 1 cm slices on a plate, decorated with onion rings and greens.

cold smoked, wind-dried and salted horse all cost 1600 tengis per Kg (250 tengis = £1 sterling), while fresh meat costs 600 tengis per Kg for all meat, where lean and fat were considered as equal. In Almaty the raw Great Sausage costs 500 tengis per Kg; raw meat costs 500 tengis per Kg for lean rump, and it’s 800 tengis per Kg for rib – more expensive because it included fat. Cured meat was more expensive, with salami at 800 tengis per Kg, and bestirmek at 1500 tengis per Kg. A one- to two-year-old horse of 150 – 160 kg (dead weight) is slightly less expensive than the five-year-old horse 280 kg (dead weight), which is considered the better meat. In Almaty they said that a nine-month colt tasted even better. Like spring lamb or sucking pig, I suppose.

Bon appetite!

Zhaya is made from the horse’s hip. The upper muscular layer with fat is cut off and salted. Then it is dried, smoked and boiled. Zhaya is served in slices decorated with greens.

Zhal is an oblong accumulation of fat in the undercrest part of the horse’s neck. It is cut off with a thin flesh layer, rubbed with dry salting mixture and put in a pan for salting. Then it is dried for 10 hours. Zhal can be smoked and boiled. Before boiling zhal is soaked in cold water; then it is boiled on a slow fire for 2 hours. Zhal is served both hot and cold, cut in slices and decorated with onion rings.

Karta – not for the faint-hearted. The thick part of the rectum is washed, without removing the fat, and then carefully turned inside out so that the fat is inside. It is washed once more and then tied up at both ends. Karta can be dried or smoked. To dry karta it is covered with fine salt and kept in a cool place for 1-2 days, then dried out. Karta needs to be smoked for 24 hours and then dried for 2-3 days. After washing it well karta is boiled for 2 hours on a slow fire. It is served cut into rings and decorated with green pepper or dill.

Sur-yet. Horseflesh is cut from bones, tendons, cartilages, and the fat removed. The meat is cut into rectangular pieces 0.5 to 1 kg each, salted and kept in a cool place for 5-7 days.

Then it is dried for 10-12 hours. Sur-yet is smoked like zhaya and zhal and consumed only boiled. Before boiling it is soaked in water. Sur-yet is boiled for 2 hours on a slow fire and served cut into thin slices with onion rings and greens.

For those wishing to rush out to their nearest Kazakh market and stock up on horsemeat; In Stepnogorsk, hot smoked,

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Travels in Kyrgyzstan An extract from… Friendly Steppes: A Silk Road Journey In his new book, Friendly Steppes: A Silk Road Journey, Nick Rowan chronicles an extraordinary adventure that led him from Venice through Eastern Europe, still recovering from brutal warfare; on to Turkey, the gateway to Asia, and muchmisunderstood Iran; across the exotic steppes of Central Asia, emerging from Soviet domination; and finally into a rapidly developing yet still mysterious China. Containing colourful stories and characters, wrapped in the local myths and legends told by the people who live along the route today, this is both an entertaining travelogue and inspiring introduction to a part of the world that has largely remained hidden from Western eyes for hundreds of years.

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In the third of a series of short extracts from the book, Open Central Asia follows Nick into the “Switzerland of Central Asia”, Kyrgyzstan. In this extract Nick travels by horse to the Tash Rabat Caravanserai, near the Chinese border, with fellow Silk Road traveller, a German named Tom, who he met in Bishkek.

A wise man isn’t he who has lived the most, but he who has travelled the most.

– Kyrgyz nomadic saying

It was mid-morning by the time we arrived at Kazybek village, but there was no sign of our horses, let alone a guide. This was one of the last settlements before the Chinese border, and if At Bashy had been deceptively lifeless, this village seemed positively abandoned. The mudbrick buildings with their enclosed courtyards and corrugated tin roofs stood still. Through broken fences I could see hay piles in the corner and clothes hanging on sagging lines. It looked like life still existed, but nothing stirred.

Tursan sent her husband to investigate while we were left stranded just east of the village, wondering how long it would take. Tursan kept smiling, tamely assuring us that all would be well. In the distance, a convoy of Chinese trucks heaved their goods slowly up the narrow passes as they traversed the Tien Shan Mountains. Laden with cheap Chinese goods and heading west, they were spurred on by plumes of black smoke billowing out of the exhaust.

Finally, three horses appeared over the horizon, raising our spirits. We exchanged our spluttering Mercedes for horseback, and once in the sheepskin saddle we waved goodbye to Tursan and her long-suffering husband. We already knew it was going to be a long day. Our guide was 22-year-old Norsultan, and we named our horses Pomme and Fritz for lack of anything more imaginative.

Tom and I were two city slickers who, having ridden horses only once before, were heading off on a far-tooadventurous trek. Tom confided in me that the last time he sat on a horse he was ten years old. Nonetheless, he told Norsultan that he was more than a novice, but our guide looked far from convinced. Fortunately our horses were responsive to novice riders. Tom and I spent most of the time amusing ourselves by riding up to each other’s horse and whipping it, which would send it off into a frenzied gallop.

The only problem with this technique was that after a while, my horse learned that whenever he saw Fritz behind, he should gallop off—which he subsequently did without any command at all.

The first stage of our journey was to traverse a flat, fertile, open plain that was surrounded on either side by quilted green mountains. Our destination, the isolated Tash Rabat caravanserai, was some forty kilometres away and at three and-a-half-thousand-metres of altitude. As we started out, the sun beat down unceasingly. I prayed for a little cloud, but the sky remained a solid blue ahead. The only clouds were behind us, casting a dark shadow on the mountainside.

For the first few hours the scenery changed very little.

We trotted on but never seemed to get any closer as the plain continued to unroll before us. Yaks, sheep and cows grazed as we rode along, unperturbed by our presence. In the distance, nomadic yurts dotted the landscape, as did crumbling buildings that were possibly Silk Road relics of outposts, forts and caravanserais.

After four hours, with my back and thighs aching, I was ready to stop for lunch as we approached a small stream cutting through the grass, its hypnotic murmur of flowing water making for an alluring place to rest. As I dismounted I could hardly move and almost collapsed to the ground.

Unmoved by my immobility, Norsultan got on with preparing a simple lunch of Kyrgyz flatbread with cheese and sausage.

We’d barely tucked into the food when a man dressed in dirty overalls, sporting a cowboy hat, and carrying a spade over one shoulder, walked over to us. He introduced himself

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Narynbeck in his yurt with his daughter as Narynbeck, and we invited him to join us for lunch. Lunch turned out to be a jolly affair, and my limited Russian went a long way. In fact, we ended up with an invitation to stay the night and have a lamb slaughtered in our honour.

We spared the lamb, instead taking up the offer to be proudly introduced to Narynbeck’s family and inspect his lodgings.

Narynbeck was a proud man who had set up his family in the traditional farming way. He was hardly thirty years old but his leathery skin made him look older and a few grey hairs had started to appear in thin streaks across his head. Like many of the villagers in the region, he was a semi-nomadic farmer. In winter he and his flock stayed in the comfort and warmth of their village home. But for five months of the year, the whole family and their animals migrated to the summer jailoos and lived in a traditional Kyrgyz felt-covered yurt.

Our newfound friend gave us a tour of his animals and introduced us to his wife and two daughters. Slightly embarrassingly, his apple-cheeked wife was finishing the bath of his youngest daughter, but seemed totally happy for us to glimpse the most basic of daily rituals. We sat around the central stove

that was heating a pot of water, and spent the afternoon drinking endless cups of kymyz. We chatted, joked, made fools of ourselves, and laughed.

‘Does the city ever tempt you?’ I asked, wondering whether he had ever considered a different life. ‘ What is there in the city for someone like me?’ he replied. ‘Nothing.

I am not a teacher or an accountant. I cannot be a shopkeeper. I am a farmer.

This is my place in life.’

‘And your children? Will they follow you?’

‘I don’t know. Things are changing so fast here. But, maybe they will,’ he said thoughtfully as he slurped another cupful.

A n h o u r l a t e r, N a r y n b e c k reluctantly let us leave and return to our grazing horses.

Soon after we left, the landscape changed dramatically and became claustrophobic. The flat plain gave way to narrow, winding valleys between pointed mountains with the last of the winter snow still resting on their peaks. Each time we surmounted one of the smaller peaks, we landed in the gravel tracks of the next. We trundled on, crossing a dry riverbed with its ashen banks before starting to climb into one of the valleys. There was little

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This is the chronicle of an extraordinary adventure that led Nick Rowan to some of the world’s most incredible and hidden places. Intertwined with the magic of 2,000 years of Silk Road history, he recounts his experiences coupled with a remarkable realisation of just what an impact this trade route has had on our society as we know it today. Containing colourful stories, beautiful photography and vivid characters, and wrapped in the local myths and legends told by the people Nick met and who live along the route, this is both a travelogue and an education of a part of the world that has remained hidden for hundreds of years.

Friendly Steppes: A Silk Road Journey reveals just how rich the region was both culturally and economically and uncovers countless new friends as Nick travels from Venice through Eastern Europe, Iran, the ancient and modern Central Asia of places like Samarkand, Bishkek and Turkmenbashi, and on to China, along the Silk Roads of today.

This book is available on Amazon.co.uk ISBN: 978-0955754944 Signed copies available on request from publisher@ocamagazine.com

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commotion from nature save a few hawks that whirred, hunter-like, around us.

Around teatime we were chased down by a lone man dressed in a worn grey suit and wearing a traditional Kyrgyz white felt hat. He’d spotted us and insisted we take tea in his yurt.

We were probably the only people to have passed his patch that day, and any company at all was likely welcome relief to the monotony of pasture life.

This was great for us as well, for the riding was proving to be a gruelling experience. The tea turned out to be more milky kymyz, but we gratefully accepted. His daughter, prepared some bread and jam to satiate our hunger.

‘Drink up, drink up,’ the man encouraged us, the wrinkles on his face deepening in disappointment with how slowly we were consuming his brew.

Tom’s stomach was churning from the earlier rounds and he could not drink any more. Soon after he passed out from exhaustion on the yurt’s soft floor.

‘I’m full,’ I tried to explain, but to no avail.

‘Now we must toast,’ came the

call, as my cup was re-filled. ‘To the President!’

Norsultan and I held our cups aloft and then drank, smacking our lips in appreciation as we finished.

‘Your turn,’ came the order.

‘To family and friends!’ I proffered, and we drank. We then proceeded to name each family member and drink to their health in a ceremony that lasted nearly two hours. Each time a new round of toasts began, a feeling akin to despair overcame me as I realised that I would have to consume yet another cup of kymyz before we could be on our way again and reach our destination. My stomach was getting worse with every drink. I could not complain, however; it was easy to become lulled by the hospitality and forget that life on the pastures was difficult. Our host had been most welcoming and jovial, and I only hoped I was not enjoying something that he could not afford.

It was getting late and we needed to move on in order to reach Tash Rabat before dark. The last part of the journey seemed to take an age as we wound our way through the narrow valley. The horses were tired and no longer had a spring in their step.

Adding to our sense of urgency, the weather was closing in and it was clear

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that a storm was brewing. It gradually became darker as we wound our way along a narrowing path and through a ghostly causeway. It was almost nightfall and getting cold when we rounded the corner to see the stone fortress of Tash Rabat. Soon after, a small cluster of white yurts came into view, a faint amber light shining like a beacon in the hills—showing signs of life against the jet-black sky.

The Soviet-renovated stone caravanserai, which some claim has stood since the 10th century a.d., was an impressive and welcome sight. It is supposedly one of the few medieval stone buildings in Central Asia. We’d arrived, exhausted but relieved.

Sadly, the caravanserai no longer accommodated travellers, so we stayed at one of the yurts run by a local family headed by a short, weather-beaten man named Obyrbeck. They had not been expecting us, but with a little commotion they installed us in one of the yurts, started the stove’s fire, and brought a warming vegetable soup with pieces of meat for supper. A small wicker lantern, flickering against the yurt’s wooden frame, gave the only light. We slept on the floor on thick mattress-like blankets and went straight to sleep.

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of

EXPERIENCES KYRGYZSTAN

You would be forgiven for missing the tiny landlocked country of Kyrgyzstan on the map. Meshed into Central Asia’s inter-locking web of former Soviet Union boundaries, this mountainous country still has more horses than cars. It never fails to surprise and delight all who visit. Proud of its nomadic traditions, dating back to the days of the Silk Road, be prepared for Kyrgyzstan’s overwhelming welcome of hospitality, received, perhaps, in a shepherd’s yurt out on the summer pastures. Drink bowls of freshly fermented mare’s milk with newfound friends and let the country’s traditions take you into their heart. Marvel at the country’s icy glaciers, crystal clear lakes and dramatic gorges set beneath the pearly white Tien Shan mountains that shimmer, heaven-like, in the summer haze as the last of the winter snows caps their dominating peaks. Immerse yourself in Central Asia’s jewel with its unique experiences and you will leave with a renewed zest for life and an unforgettable sense of just how man and nature can interact in harmony..

RRP: £19.95

ISBN: 978-0-9574807-4-2

High Altitude Sailing 26

‘Roof of the World’ Regatta - September 2014, Lake Karakul (3960m altitude), Tajikistan.

High altitude sailing may not be on everyone’s radar, particularly with the plethora of ‘sea-level’ sailing options in the world. There are relatively few large expanses of water at higher altitudes and opportunities are limited. At least, they were until the arrival of the ‘Roof of the World’ Regatta – a 3960m altitude sailing event to be held in September 2014.

What makes this event even more unique is the fact that it is being held in one of the most land-locked locations in the world on Lake Karakul, Tajikistan.

The event was conceived when an endurance cyclist met a tourism development advisor in Karakul village, Spring 2012.

The cyclist imagined the dream of a jetty and boat house on the lakeside on a particularly beautiful spring morning, serving fresh coffee and croissants. He’d just spent four weeks of arduous riding on the infamous cult road trip – the ‘Pamir Highway’ – it was hardly surprising that the poor fellow was beginning to fantasize. We caught his dream and now hope to translate that into reality – not quite in the form he originally conceived.

Lake Karakul is an endorheic lake – that is, it has no egress and is served solely by water from local glaciers. For that reason, and perhaps even more obscurely, the brackish lake at the time of the above conversation was completely frozen.

However, from June to October it turns from ice-white to turquoise-blue and, being 380Km2 in area, it offers serious sailing opportunities. Furthermore, being formed from a meteorite impact 25m years ago it lies in a wide depression surrounded by magnificent snow-covered peaks rising to Pik Lenin at 7136m altitude.

Currently, the highest commercially navigable lake in the world is Lake Titicaca (altitude 3812m) and Lake Karakul is in the process of beating that record through the Guinness World Records organisation. This therefore also justifies the ‘Roof of the World’ event as the highest regatta in the world.

Travelling to the lake is perhaps the biggest issue for prospective participants. It is a 3-4 day journey by 4x4 from Dushanbe (capital of Tajikistan) along the ‘Pamir Highway’ and, as the cyclist suggested, it is a tough journey. Access from

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The Alphabet Game

by Paul Wilson With the future of Guidebooks under threat, The Alphabet Game takes you back to the very beginning, back to their earliest incarnations and the gamesmanship that brought them into being. As Evelyn Waugh’s Scoop did for Foreign Correspondents the world over, so this novel lifts the lid on Travel Writers for good.

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Osh in Kyrgyzstan is easier and only takes 1-2 days of travel. However, there is an additional challenge to either of these journeys, as breathing becomes an effort with the reduced atmospheric pressure (60% of the value at sea-level). Altitude sickness is a real risk unless care is taken to allow your body to adjust. Allowing for, at least, an additional two days of acclimatization is essential.

The event itself is open to all classes of water-craft. Because of the road conditions, it is expected that lighter craft (kite-surfers, wind-surfers) will be popular, although we hope the smaller sailing classes will also be present. The event will be held in September because the winds become stronger as summer gives way to winter.

All contestants should wear wetsuits or, preferably, dry suits. It is hoped that a motorized rescue boat will also be in attendance.

For further details of the event contact myself (Tony Nelson) at rotwregatta@gmail. com or visit our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/roofoftheworldregatta) or website at (http://etc4ca.com/rotwregatta/).

Travelling around the world may appear as easy as A,B,C in the twenty first century, but looks can be deceptive: there is no ‘X’ for a start. Not since Xidakistan was struck from the map. But post 9/11, with the War on Terror going global, the sovereignty of ‘The Valley’ is back on the agenda. Could the Xidakis, like their Uzbek and Tajik neighbours, be about to taste the freedom of independence? Will Xidakistan once again take its rightful place in the League of Nations?

The Valley’s fate is inextricably linked with that of Graham Ruff, founder of Ruff Guides. In a tale setting sail where Around the World in Eighty Days and Lost Horizon weighed anchor, our not-quite-a-hero suffers all the slings and arrows outrageous fortune can muster, in his pursuit of the golden triangle: The Game, The Guidebook, The Girl.

Wilson tells The Game’s story with his usual mix of irreverent wit and historical insight, and in doing so delivers the most telling satire on an American war effort since M*A*S*H. The Guidebook is Dead? Long Live the Guidebook.

ISBN: 978-0-9927873-2-5 Available on pre-orders by e-mail: publisher@gmail.com

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EDUCATION, AUTHORITY AND INITIATIVE 28

PROJECT EDUCATION AND YOUTH INITIATIVES OF THE FUND FORUM Text: Botir Yuldashev

Photos: Fund Forum Facebook page

At the present stage of development of civil society in Uzbekistan, some particularly burning questions relate to youth education. Education can be defined as a purposeful learning activity to seek true knowledge and skills. If you know MORE and can do BETTER – this is your advantage or a unique POWER. In our current society, many people seek higher education.

However, for some people “higher education” refers to receiving a diploma, and not knowledge. Most parents believe that it is highly important to choose a prestigious profession even if their son or daughter has a natural disposition to something more artistic. What matters more to them is a “money”-oriented and prestigious profession. This is of course a mistaken assumption, because your diploma, degree or position on a business card cannot provide with additional authority and opportunities for your personal development.

Recently, the research centre on public opinion “Ijtimoiy Fikr” in Uzbekistan conducted sociological research on “Youth of Uzbekistan: place in life, morality, social guidelines”. The goal of this survey was to study perceptions of younger generations

about the increasing socio-political activity of Uzbek youth, strengthening their material condition and provision of moral support.

According to the research, every second young Uzbek citizen would like to increase his/her level of education. Higher education was desirable for 70% of the surveyed youth.

Currently, there is a dynamic growth of youth involved in entrepreneurship, but for most of them a job in power structures is still considered prestigious and profitable. Young Uzbeks consider business, economic, judicial, administrative and medical qualifications, as well as teaching and psychology professions as the most attractive ones.

At least three Institutions of Higher Education in Tashkent prepare professional teachers and psychologists. These are popular professions because many assume that these specialties give some kind of authority over people; a desire to dominate, to demonstrate your power for your own security.

On its own, this desire to dominate, gain prestige and acquire enough wealth for well-being is not a bad thing. The bad thing is that this desire often emerges from a sense of anxiety,

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inadequacy, and also suppresses and substitutes a desire to develop and make efforts to improve yourself. Further, when the desire to dominate and gain power causes violations of human rights and a desire to punish others, people fail to find suitable ways of resolving the situation and achieving the initial objectives.

Punishment is a sign of ignorance and fear, and only weak people and weak systems resort to punishment. A pragmatic person with concrete material ambitions will never use punishment. Therefore, today there is more priority given towards seeking new means and methods to allow selfdevelopment and critical thinking. Greater importance is now being paid to the search for new methods and approaches for education and personality formation. One of the most successful methods, in my opinion, is the project approach to educational activities by the Fund Forum.

The original motto of the founders of project education is “Everything out of life, everything for life”. The participants of this educational process implement their project ideas and models in professional environments, experience real phases of project implementation, communicate with experts and get real project outcomes.

In 2004, work focused on identifying talented youth with outstanding abilities.

This project was named the as the republican contest of gifted youth “Kelajak Ovozi” (“Voice of the Future”). It was just a single project to identify a talented youth, but afterwards it grew into a major independent youth public association. By 2006, under the patronage of the International Organisation of Fund Forum, it was registered as an independent organisation, called the centre of youth initiatives “Kelajak ovozi”.

In 2007, branches of the Centre of Youth Initiatives were opened in all regions of the country. The branches, run by the young people themselves, began to improve in quality and further perspectives and dimensions of development were formulated. New divisions were opened, including Youth Printing “Kelajak Press”, Youth Television studio “Kelajak TV”, Youth “IT School” and an “Entrepreneur School for Youth” among others.

The purpose of these educational dimensions was to identify and promote the potential of young people by encouraging their creative aspirations and dreams in a rapidly changing social and business environment, helping them choose the path of their professional development. The scheme changed the thinking of a whole generation of young people. Dozens of educational and professional camps were organised.

Several thousand participants of the summer training “Kelajak ovozi” camps received professional knowledge in business, psychology, sociology, economics, politics, culture and art.

Students were also given training in leadership and building confidence to enable them to voice personal opinions and not succumb easily to manipulation by others.

In order to facilitate this educational process, foreign trainers and lecturers such as Lorena Lambardotti (Italy), Videke Berndt (Germany), Shamota Yosuki (Japan), David Byers (United Kingdom), Roan Wagner (USA), Marat Akmedjanov (United Kingdom) and Mark Liberatty (Italy), were invited to share their expertise. In one of these camps, Marat Akhmedjanov, a talended publisher from Uzbekistan, gave lessons on the publishing business through the Skype sessions.

Professional businessmen and bloggers from City University, Marcus Gilroy and Alex Wood (United Kingdom) also performed their master classes in these training camps.

It is important to note that young people initiated many projects on their own. The invited trainers, experts and organisations were only involved in many of these projects as consultants, experts and partners.

Many of these mentioned projects were implemented with the support of volunteers – professionals, parents, youth social movements known as “Kamolot”, and the Ministry of higher, secondary and special education. Over the next few years, this organisation has grown into a major Youth Association. After extensive and painstaking work though my observations for human behaviour and psychology I have concluded that youth is a great creative power in our society that can independently bring certain innovative ideas to life.

During the formation of the strategic directions for further activities, activists of the Centre of Youth Initiatives considered their mission priorities, values and key objectives, as well as conducted additional analysis of needs and requirements.

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Young people, who faced problems with different degrees of importance, demonstrated their key needs. For instance, the need for education, employment and financial stability, psychological support and health care system, etc. All the developed strategies took into account the needs of young project participants. On the other hand, they were clearly matched with the priorities of the state, national interests and the Millennium Development Goals.

Within the framework of these projects, about 1000 projects were implemented, more than 30 patented inventions were registered, 5 republican youth forums were organised, more than 5000 people participated in forums, 3 republican videoforums with more than 1200 participants were conducted, and also a national Internet-festival “Domen.uz” was organised.

wave of initiatives. By combining almost all well-known public figures around the cultural projects, arts, education, medicine, sports, grant aid and design inside of the country and abroad, with Gulnara’s help, the Fund Forum became one of the most popular and recognised social organization of Uzbekistan.

In November 2013, the Fund “Forum of Culture and Arts of Uzbekistan” (Fund Forum) announced the suspension of its central office in Tashkent. For the 10 years of its productive existence, the Fund Forum organised and carried out more than 3000 projects and activities, with more than 100 organised abroad. The total number of beneficiaries was about 7.5 million people. The contribution of the Fund Forum was highly vivid, especially in regard to development of the awareness and education of young people.

The Fund Forum in partnership with “Mehr Nuri” fund and “Kelajak Ovozi” ran a program on educational grants and scholarships for gifted students. Educational grants were allocated to talented applicants, who could successfully pass the competitive basis of higher education, but did not have enough funding to pay for the annual contract. There were more than 300 winners of educational grant programs, more than 5000 participants and 550 winners of educational scholarship programs.

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As it was already mentioned above, one of the most ambitious youth projects supported by the Fund “Forum of culture and arts of Uzbekistan”, was the Republican contest of talented young people “Kelajak Ovozi”. The main purpose of the contest was to identify and support for gifted and talented youth, enhancing their intellectual level and creative aspirations, as well as nurture and support of the harmonious development of youth in accordance with national values and traditions. In 2005, about 3,000 young people participated in the contest, and in 2010 the number of participants grew to 70,000.

Of course, it should be noted that the activities of “Kelajak Ovozi” would not be so effective and productive without a strong partnership with local and international public associations and organizations initiated by Fund Forum.

Moreover, the activities of the Fund Forum would not be so effective without the support and active participation of government agencies, large businesses and famous public associations. Local authorities of the country, regional and city administration (hokimiyat) provided their support in the implementation of youth projects and programs.

One person was particularly instrumental in the success of the projects. Although Western media perceptions of Gulnara Karimova, the Uzbek Presiedent’s daughter, vary, she was able to unite our citizens and inspire creative youth to build a new

We have to admit that Gulnara Karimova was able to use her own contacts and opportunities for common creativeness.

Her creative courage, social activity, initiative and leadership qualities brought a valuable and tangible result. She demonstrated herself as an assertive leader, saying in a recent interview: “I am pleased that I have an opportunity to help talented people who are obsessed with their own ideas. Many speak about our capabilities with inertia, and there is little faith in these words. However, my goal is that anyone who speaks about Uzbekistan can speak confidently and sincerely.”

During this short period of time, these were great events in the country. It has really changed the thinking of young people. I hope for the continuation of these innovative projects that support youth education by continuing the allocation of study grants and award of special scholarships, or promote education by organising various training courses, summer camps and experience exchange programs with foreign partners. For this purpose, responsible citizens, volunteers and young people themselves should be the primary driving and motivating forces for initiating further innovative projects.

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Bringing UK publishers to Central Asia 31

For more information and queries - contact us by e-mail: manager@discovery-bookshop.com www.ocamagazine.com www.discovery-bookshop.com

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UBTIC Meeting Expels Invited OCA Magazine Reporter On Thursday 21st November 2013, the 20th Uzbek-British Trade & Industry Council (UBTIC) meeting, by UK Trade and Investment, took place at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. The agenda laid out a series of presentations on the investment climate and projects between the two countries. A high-ranking delegate list of Uzbek politicians and businessmen was led by Mr. Elyor Ganiev, Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, Investment and Trade. Mr Ganiev and the Rt Hon. Peter Lilley MP cochaired the event for what promised to be an informative session.

A representative of Open Central Asia magazine had been invited by the organisers and we hoped to be able to report on the event. However, we are saddened to report that without due or proper explanation our invited reporter was requested to leave midway through proceedings and embarrassingly escorted by security guards from the premises �at the request of the chairman�. Disappointingly, despite e-mails and letters to the organisers and Peter Lilley, this magazine has been unable to ascertain which of the two chairmen requested our reporter to leave nor the reason. Both parties have not responded to our multiple requests and we feel we must make this publicly known. This is a most unusual and somewhat concerning occurrence to see in the UK, an advocate of free press.

Many people in the UK will know about the profile of Peter Lilley as a Tory politician, and a quick Google search will easily bring up plenty of information, but his Co-Chairman, Ganiev, is a somewhat lesser known Uzbek politician for those in the UK. Open Central Asia sent our reporter to find out more and try and understand if there might be anything more sinister.

The following report has been produced independently and without influence from the events described above, nor does it seek to pass judgement, but rather provide an insight into the personality and the opportunities for Uzbek-UK relationships.

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Personalities in UK-Uzbek relations:

Mr. Elyor Ganiev

by Yasmin Masood

The Minister of Foreign Economic Affairs, Investments and Trade of Uzbekistan, Elyor Ganiev is one of the high-ranking officials in the Uzbek government. A native of Tashkent, born to an Armenian mother and an Uzbek father, Ganiev is said to have been a multicultural person since an early age. His later interest in geology and energy led him to graduate from the Department of Oil and Gas of the Tashkent Polytechnic Institute.

After a brief academic career Ganiev enrolled in the army, before serving in a number of state institutions and finally embarking on career within the government body dealing with foreign economic and trade matters.

Due to Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s key political principle - to frequently reshuffle government officials in order to prevent their excessive concentration of power, Ganiev has not led the

Ministry continuously. After heading the Ministry between 1997 and 2002, he worked as a Deputy Prime Minister (2002-2005) and then as a Minister of Foreign Affairs (2005-2006). When, in 2006, Ganiev was removed from the latter position and was reappointed Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, US diplomats reported on speculation within the Uzbek elite about Ganiev “falling out of favour” and being on his way out of the government. The Wikileaks cables showed that the US diplomats were cautious about trusting such assumptions, and in fact Ganiev remains in his position today.

Due to a lack of sufficient and credible reports, it is somehow difficult to assess the degree of importance the role Ganiev plays within the Uzbek government. Considered a member of the powerful Tashkent clan , Ganiev is

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also often linked to the Uzbek National Security Service due to his former employment there. Whether such a close connection is retained today or not cannot be verified. So far US officials and possibly other Western diplomats seemed to view Rustam Azimov, Sodiq Safoev and Vladimir Norov, three other influential Uzbek government officials, as more “pro-Western”, while Ganiev’s alleged ties to the security services were viewed as a negative. However, it could be wrong to assume that the lack of Ganiev’s diplomatic service in the West or possible connection to the security services makes him necessarily pro-Russian or anti-Western. Current Uzbek foreign economic politics and trade are based on the interests of the state. Recalling a classic British political saying, Uzbekistan like Britain has “no constant enemies or friends, but constant interests”.

Ganiev has been the key Uzbek government official responsible for the Uzbek-UK economic and trade cooperation in the past decade.

Unofficial reports refer to Ganiev as a hardworking, modest and civil individual. These traits surely cannot constitute a negative characteristic for an individual responsible for foreign trade and economic relations of the country, but neither can those be a crystal ball for predicting the policies or interests of a government official. At the moment, it seems that Uzbekistan’s interests lie in increasing trade and economic relations with non-European markets and this trend could continue.

According to Ganiev’s own ministry statistics, in 2010 the bilateral trade between the UK and Uzbekistan was USD 228m. Amongst the EU countries, the UK ranks second, preceded by Germany, with a bilateral trade of USD 483m. These numbers are very modest compared to cooperation with Turkey and South Korea, equalling USD 958m and USD 1.6bn , respectively.

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Uzbek cotton, which is one of the most important Uzbek exports, is boycotted by many UK retailers such as Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Debenhams and ASDA, following reports on the use of child labour in Uzbekistan in 2009-2011. Following the earlier turmoil in the global media, and a public ban of the Uzbek cotton by many European clothes brands, the Uzbek government assured the world that no children of school age would be involved in cotton harvest. During the past two years some progress has been made and there have been fewer reports of the use of child labour in Uzbekistan.

However, the previous events and disruption of contracts with Western companies had already forced Uzbekistan to switch its focus to the emerging markets instead of Europe.

trade cooperation. Both parties - UK and Uzbekistan seem to indirectly recognise the need to improve the current bilateral relationship’s less-than-perfect state.

All does not appear smooth with the British investments in the country either. While UK capital is present in Uzbekistan, either directly or via joint ventures (according to Uzbek British Trade and Industry Council (UBTIC)), currently 437 companies with British funding are operating in Uzbekistan), some big UK investors have unfortunately left the country. Those include Oxus Gold, a mining group, and Intercontinental Hotels Group, a well-known hospitality group.

Improving the relationship requires both sides to cooperate.

Opportunities for Uzbekistan will also depend on UK investors and politicians and their approach to Uzbek specifics. Positive steps of the Uzbek government could be highlighted as much as the negative events in the UK media – too often anything positive is lost amongst the sensational stories, however the Uzbek government needs to develop a more pro-media approach. The UK needs to track and appreciate progress made by Uzbekistan and aim at a better understanding of its politics, economics and its Soviet legacy, and work on policies accordingly. After all, democracies are not built in one day.

In late 2013, London hosted the 20th session of the UBTIC . Held at the Foreign Office premises, the 20th anniversary meeting included many British government officials and business representatives. The Uzbek government delegation headed by Ganiev, emphasized favourable business and economic environment in Uzbekistan and highlighted the potential for development of the bilateral economic and

As a Minister, Mr. Ganiev is challenged to attract more UK investments and retain those in the country. Lobbying the need to update the relevant legislation, introducing full currency conversion, as well as ensuring no child labour is ever in place, would be some of the viable steps in this direction. The Uzbek government cannot neglect the fact that the economic welfare of the majority and a favourable investment climate matter as much as political and security issues, and it is hoped that progress will be made accordingly.

It is hoped that efforts from both parties will turn the “potential for development” of UK-Uzbek ties into an actual development of those. Both UK and Uzbekistan communities are looking forward to it.

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Uzbekistan is situated in the heart of Central Asia. Measuring 448,844 km2 in surface area, it is the most densely populated of all Central Asian states. Despite this, nature and wildlife in Uzbekistan remains rich and diverse. The extraordinary Ustyurt Plateau, the escarpments of which form the shores of the Aral Sea, is situated in the North of the country, while the vast Kyzylkum Desert neighbours the flood-lands of the tugai forests, which fringe the two largest Central Asian rivers, the Syrdarya and the Amudarya. The spurs of the Pamyrs-Alai and Tien-Shan mountain ranges, which are are capped with snow all the year round, rise in the South and the East. There are also more than 500 lakes and reservoirs in Uzbekistan.

Birds of Uzbekistan presents almost 200 photos of over 100 species, with 95% of the photos having been taken in the wild and being unique to this publication. Each photo caption provides the exact date and place which makes it a great guide to travelling birdwatchers.

RRP: ÂŁ24.95

ISBN: 978-0-9557549-1-3

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Azerbaijan Heralds New Energy Route to Europe H.E. Mr. Fakhraddin Gurbanov Ambassador of Azerbaijan to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Baku hosted a historic signing ceremony for the development of Shah Deniz-2 gas field on 17 December 2013. Leaders of the countries along Southern Gas Corridor, representatives of the European Commission and energy companies joined President Ilham Aliyev to witness the Final Investment Decision on Shah Deniz-2 project, one of the world’s largest gas reserves.

The project involves plans to expand the existing Southern Caucasus Pipeline, which has been supplying gas to Georgia and Turkey in the frame of Shah Deniz-1 and the construction of two new gas pipelines, Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) and TransAdriatic Pipeline (TAP) along 3500 km long route. It is expected that some 30,000 new jobs will be created during the construction phase in the countries all along the route.

The Shah Deniz-2 project stands among the most complex and comprehensive energy projects ever undertaken by the global energy industry and will represent the biggest foreign investment to Azerbaijani economy so far. The first volumes of gas are expected to reach customers in Georgia and Turkey by the end of 2018 and gas deliveries to the European customers (Greece, Bulgaria and Italy) will follow the next year. Out of 16 bcm annual output, Turkey will get 6 bcm and the rest will be delivered to European countries.

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new stage. Baku-based UK firms, which total more than 300, led by BP, are set to benefit significantly from the project.

Currently UK is the largest foreign investor in Azerbaijan with around half of foreign direct investments coming from the UK into mainly energy industry and the new project will mean more investments into Azerbaijani economy.

Foreign Secretary William Hague’s visit to Azerbaijan is a manifest to the importance UK attaches to this project. The visit comes at a time of heightened bilateral cooperation and represents the highest governmental visit from Britain to Azerbaijan in the past 17 years. The energy cooperation lies at the core of bilateral Azerbaijan-Britain cooperation and the two countries are now exploring ways to further strengthen these energy ties and find ways to diversify the bilateral cooperation into new areas. The issues discussed in the meetings between Secretary Hague and President Aliyev and Foreign Minister Mammadyarov included cooperation in the frame of Azerbaijan’s two-year nonThis project opens new opportunities Key facts about Shah Deniz-2 project permanent membership at the for the future of energy cooperation UN Security Council, Azerbaijan’s between Azerbaijan and Britain and Location: Caspian Sea, offshore Azerbaijan contributions to the peace efforts further strengthens Azerbaijan’s Proven reserves: 1 trillion bcm in Afghanistan and new areas for role on the European energy map.

Pipelines: Southern Caucasus Pipelines, advancing bilateral cooperation.

Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) and TransEducation, cultural connections Firstly, the project opens a new Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and sports are among the new energy route into the European Length: 3500 km areas both countries are keen to markets. The Southern Gas Corridor, Investments: 28 bln USD build ties. once fully operational, will become Shareholders: SOCAR, BP, Statoil, Total, the fourth energy route to the Lukoil, NICO, and TPAO The implementation of this energy European markets. For the very first Annual output: 16 bcm project will help the Government of time in its history Azerbaijan will Azerbaijan continue its economic get access to the European energy diversification policy and reducing markets and European customers dependence on energy revenues.

The expected revenues will access the gas reserves of Azerbaijan. In light of its from Shah Deniz-2 project will contribute to the continuing geographical proximity, it can also potentially be extended efforts to modernizing communications and infrastructure, to new energy sources in the Middle East. The energy corridor establishing new industries and turning the energy will connect all countries all along the route through common revenues into human capital.

In the future infrastructure, energy interests further contributing to stability and security communications, human capital and new industries will prove in the region. During the construction phase it will create vital areas to move the country’s economy beyond energy. thousands of new jobs in all countries thus contributing to the national economies of the countries.

The Shah Deniz-2 project will strengthen Azerbaijan’s position on the European energy map, and tie it strongly to Secondly, the project further consolidates UK’s leading the European energy markets. It will also open a new chapter position in the energy industry of Azerbaijan. Over the last in energy cooperation between Azerbaijan and Britain with two decades British investments and expertise have played a British companies standing to benefit from the project. Above pivotal role in developing Azerbaijan’s energy sector and this all the project will bring more prosperity and continuing role will be further strengthened with the implementation economic growth to the people and economy of Azerbaijan. of this important gas project. The project has the potential to move crucial Azerbaijan-Britain energy cooperation onto a

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OCABF 2013

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‘Don’t give up your dreams’ Literary Contest Winner - Abdulla Isa The judges of OCABF 2013’s Literary contest were thrilled to award first place to Abdulla Isa’s “Man of the Mountains”, which will enable this talented author to have his book published for the first time. It is a realisation of one of his dreams, so Open Central Asia magazine took the time to interview Abdulla in his hometown of Baku, Azerbaijan.

Tell us a bit about your background and how you got into writing?

I’m just a creative person who is excited about the history of wider Caucasus and Central Asia. It brought me to the documentary business 10 years ago and I ended up filming the Georgian “Rose Revolution”, drug trafficking along the IranianAfghan border and a history of the first Azerbaijan oil boom ranging from 1860s up to the Bolshevik revolution of 1917.

As it was put correctly by J.D. Salinger in the Catcher in the Rye – “I like it when somebody gets excited about something”.

So, I’m excited about everything related to the Caucasus and Central Asia and “Man of the Mountains” is another part of this excitement. It helps me in my professional capacity while I’m running an ambitious project aiming at narrowing the digital divide in the wider Caucasus and Central Asian region via “TASIM” a fibro-optic terrestrial internet backbone.

What made you decide to enter the OCABF Literature Contest?

While being a student in the US, I understood that there is enormous potential to promote the Caucasus, our history and

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traditions via simple tools such as writing a book, shooting a documentary or making a film. I wanted write something inspirational about the Caucasus, tell its mystical and turbulent history, partly based on my own eye-witness account of events. I wanted to write a story for the Western world, whom, consciously I belong too. When I heard about the OCABF two years ago with its first ever contest in Kyrgyzstan, I did not feel ready to enter, but as the forum is a great place to pitch my book, when the contest was to be organised in the UK for our region with ultimate goal of publishing the winner’s book and promote it afterwards I had to enter. I feel touched that my book was selected among many contenders from the region.

I don’t know who’s idea it was to come up with the Open Central Asia (OCA) Literature Contest yet I believe in its future.

With many legends like Nizami Ganjevi, Abdulkasim Firdousi, Abdullah Rudaki, Alisher Navoi and others, little known to the western audience, but often considered founding fathers of local cultures, OCA’s future is bright.

How would you describe your style of work and what has influenced it?

Let me start from the end. There are two dimensions. The first comes from my experience as a filmmaker and TV reporter who has travelled extensively all over the Caucasus and beyond. I have met countless people, both famous and little known, who shared tons of information with me. I didn’t want this information to just sink into the sand. All those stories where precious to me – they were about the Caucasians and I knew that if not recorded in this book they would just vanish.

Second, I always adored Nizami Ganjevi. The main reason is his simplicity in explaining complex questions such as what is love, what is the meaning of life and why do we need to fight for our freedom. Nizami was a genius in terms of explaining such fundamental questions in his 2 sentence long “beyts”.

What sort of readers would be interested in your writing?

Those who love mysticism, history and oriental philosophy, and literature. In my book, two stories develop simultaneously – the Caucasian wars of last 20 years and the mystical story of the Alexander the Great, written more than 800 years ago

by Great Nizami. If we look at our wars of early 90ss, we see that small nations can stand up to global powers. Caucasians not only stood up against those enormously strong powers, but for years led successful guerrilla wars. So, this itself quite interesting as one can’t apply standard logic here to explain this reality.

chapters of the book. In Iskandarname, Alexander, along with many other adventures, fights against the Russians in Abkhazia and the Persians in the holy city of Mosul, journeys to the “world of darkness” to obtain immortality in Peshawar, a city in Pakistan, where Usama Ben Laden in the late 1980s established his base to fight Soviet troops in cross-border operations. Also, maybe for a first time, we may see a chapter on the clash of civilisations when the Chinese emperor and Alexander argue on the depth of Chinese and Greek art.

All these topics and venues mentioned in Nizami’s book are in news headlines today. Sometimes, it is difficult to believe that “Iskandarname” was written over 800 years ago.

Now that you have won the contest, and will be a published author soon, what plans do you have to promote the book and build on your success?

I think that in today’s world, so interconnected economically, socially, and culturally, Man of the Mountains should find its niche. It talks about subjects that are on the public radar – radical Islamic movements, their fake ideology, the cultural bounds of Caucasus nations, global jihad tools and so on. I’m interested in promotion of the book in US, UK think tanks, various universities, media forums and conferences.

Our region has witnessed so many tragic and proud moments that we may need a hundred books to write about it. There is no lack of subjects of interest for people in the West.

What message do you have for other aspiring authors?

It is an important question. When I told my close circle of friends that I was writing a book on the Caucasus and wanted to publish it in UK, none of them believed it had a future. They just said that nobody wants to read a book on the Caucasus in UK or elsewhere. And, even if the subject is interesting, my English is not good enough to write a profound book. They said that even if I could solve the first two issues, no publisher will print it.

They all were wrong. Man of the Mountains will be published this autumn in the UK in perfect English with a reputable publisher, under Hertfordshire Press. As Nelson Mandela once said “no one believes in it till it is done.” Don’t give up your dreams.

The same mysticism can be applied to Nizami’s final work – “Story of the Alexander the Great” or “Iskandername” in Azeri.

Nizami died in 1209 and his son Mohammed wrote the last

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Latest events from The European Azerbaijan Society The European Azerbaijan Society (TEAS) is a UK-registered pan-European organisation dedicated to raising awareness of Azerbaijan and fostering closer economic, political and cultural links between that country and the nations of Europe.

RECENT EVENTS

As well as promoting the positive aspects of Azerbaijan, TEAS also highlights the plight of the 875,000 refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) within the country.

These people are unable to return to their homes and lands because of the illegal occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions by Armenia’s armed forces – in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions.

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TEAS was launched in November 2008, having initially been established as the London Azerbaijan Society four years earlier. The organisation now has offices in the UK, Belgium, France, Germany and Turkey, along with a representative office in Azerbaijan.

TEAS has three main facets to its operations:

Rashid Behbudov and Leila Bedirbeili celebrate their marriage in song at the end of Arshin mal alan

 Culture – TEAS raises awareness of Azerbaijan’s rich and vibrant culture to a worldwide audience by organising cultural events and operating as a networking centre.  Business – TEAS supports its membership of European and Azerbaijani businesses. It provides a platform for organisations to establish links and strengthen their existing business relationships via a programme of networking opportunities across the regions.  Public Affairs – TEAS works to increase awareness about Azerbaijan amongst key opinion formers, key decision-makers and other political, academic and civil society stakeholders.

For more information on all TEAS events, both past and future, go to www.teas.eu

Azerbaijani film old and new in the spotlight The Cinema of Azerbaijan festival, organised by TEAS Turkey and the Pera Museum – one of Istanbul’s leading cultural institutions – opened on 23 January with a gala screening to an audience of around 80 invited guests of Arshin mal alan (The Cloth Peddler). This is one of Azerbaijani cinema’s greatest triumphs and has recently been digitally restored and colourised with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and ATA Holding. Featuring the dashing Rashid Behbudov, the legendary Azerbaijani lyric tenor, the film was made in 1945. It is based on Uzeyir Hajibeyli’s world-famous comic operetta of 1913, and features some outstanding melodies, which synthesise western writing with Azerbaijani mugham, graceful national dances and amusing comic sequences. It was popular across the entire Soviet Union and Turkic-speaking world, and remade in 1965.

Tale Heydarov, Chairman and Founder, TEAS said: “I am delighted that we are beginning this festival of Azerbaijani

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cinema with the restored version of Arshin mal alan. The Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibeyli is an important figure in the history of music, for he composed Leyli and Majnun in 1908, the first opera in the Muslim world. The songs and dances from Arshin mal alan remain very popular, and this film exemplifies how Azerbaijani culture remained alive and vibrant, even during the Soviet period.”

Rena Rzaeva, Istanbul Representative, TEAS Turkey, remarked: “I am pleased that TEAS has been able to organise this festival of Azerbaijani cinema at the Pera Museum, located in the heart of Istanbul. The Pera Museum values cinema on equal parity with other art-forms, and is renowned for its interesting and eclectic film programming. We hope you will all come to see the remainder of the festival, which showcases some of the most impressive Azerbaijani films from the past few years, several of which have been submitted for the Academy Awards.”

Comprising eight Azerbaijani films, the festival ran until 2 February. The remainder of the programme focused on some of the country’s recent cinematic successes, including The Bat (Ayaz Salayev, 1995), an homage to silent cinema; Fortress (Shamil Najafzadeh, 2008), an intriguing story about how a crew filming a war film gradually become engulfed in a real war; Holy Animal (Yavar Rzayev, 2011), an allegorical tale of an adolescent shepherd in a remote, challenging region of the country; and Steppe Man (Shamil Aliyev, 2012), Azerbaijan’s Official Submission for the Best Foreign Language Film in the 2014 Academy Awards.

Azerbaijan’s peace and tolerance showcased at the European Parliament Azerbaijan: The Land of Peace – a remarkable free exhibition of 100 photographs showcasing Azerbaijan’s traditions, life, culture and history – opened on 11 February at the European Parliament. The opening networking cocktail was organised by TEAS Belgium, in collaboration with Niki Tzavela MEP (EFD, Greece). The selection of images provided an invaluable overview of everyday life in this westernfacing, cosmopolitan, secular country, which is renowned for its religious tolerance.

Over 400 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), European Council members, diplomats, European Parliament researchers and journalists attended the opening. Fiorello Provera MEP (EFD, Italy) said: “I welcome all of you to this unique and beautiful exhibition. This will introduce many of you to Azerbaijan, a country that is becoming increasingly relevant to Europe. In December, the EU and Azerbaijan signed important agreements during the Co-operation Council covering political dialogue, energy, policy, trade, investment and cultural collaboration.

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On 7 February, Arshin mal alan was also screened in London to around 160 viewers by the King’s College Azerbaijan Society, in an event supported by supported by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the UK, ASAIF and TEAS.

More than 400 people experienced the photos

Fiorello Provera MEP listens to Ambassador Isgandarov at the opening.

“Azerbaijan and the EU are coming closer, mostly on energy issues, and my country – Italy – has now become a very important partner to Azerbaijan. However, the country should not solely be regarded as a source of gas and oil. You will also see that it is a wonderful historical land with beautiful landscapes, mountains and cities. Mrs Tzavela organised this exhibition to showcase Azerbaijani peace and tolerance, and this is evident in many of the photos. You will also see that Azerbaijan is home to many races and religions, and is a bridge between East and West – in short, a land of peace.”

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H.E. Fuad Isgandarov, Azerbaijani Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Head of the Azerbaijani Mission to the EU, commented: “It is a great pleasure to introduce our country to MEPs and other friends. In December 2013, the final investment decision (FID) was signed between the Azerbaijani government and the BP-led Shah Deniz Consortium that will make construction of the Southern Gas Corridor a reality. During the next few years, Azerbaijani gas will be piped to Europe through some of the most expensive infrastructure in the world. Development of the Southern Corridor will help to drive down gas prices for EU consumers.

“Azerbaijan and the EU countries share many common values and it aims to integrate with the EU family of nations.

It should be remembered that Azerbaijan has managed to retain its stability and to develop, despite the ongoing Armenian–Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, the worst atrocity of which occurred on 26 February 1992, when the Khojaly Massacre claimed the lives of 613 men, women and children. Azerbaijan enjoys excellent relations with many countries, and seeks to bring about resolution to this conflict, based on goodwill.”

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inescapable element of the Azerbaijani mentality, traditions and values. In Brussels, Azerbaijan is being brought to the European stage. The Khojaly Tragedy on 26 February 1992 was extremely serious and this exhibition helps us recall the sacrifice of the victims.”

During the opening, vibrant music was performed by Azerbaijani violinist Dr Sabina Rakcheyeva, Cultural Advisor, TEAS, who was the first Azerbaijani graduate from the Juilliard School in New York. Playing alongside the Londonbased Deco Ensemble, she performed a range of works by the Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla, jazz-mugham pioneer Vagif Mustafazadeh and arrangements of Azerbaijani traditional pieces.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS 12 March, CD launch: Dreams, King’s Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9AG 19.30hrs. Free admission. RSVP through EventBrite at http://bit.ly/dreamscdlaunch

Dr Asim Mollazade, Azerbaijani MP and Chairman, Democratic Reforms Party, said: “It is most apt to be in the European Parliament, as Europe is an important destination for Azerbaijan. We share common values with the EU, including democracy, human rights and the rule of law. A huge proportion of Azerbaijani territory remains under Armenian occupation, and it should be remembered that February is a very hard month for the Azerbaijani people due to the remembrance of the Khojaly Tragedy. Azerbaijan is represented in Brussels as it respects justice and rule of law. All international documents support the Azerbaijani perspective on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and we expect the EU to pay attention and to seek justice.

“Azerbaijan has always faced towards the west, and was the first country in its region to combine European culture with that of the East. Azerbaijan now needs to transform the revenues from black gold into human gold, and to fully assimilate European values.”

Ambassador Arif Mammadov, Head of EU Mission, Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) said: “When I was walking into this exhibition, I was struck by the colours.

However, colours do not fill every aspect of our world – there is necessarily some black and white, and suffering is often portrayed in black and white. Those who suffer should be recognised, and the Khojaly Massacre should be remembered alongside other instances of ethnic cleansing.”

Dr Roman Huna, Head, TEAS Belgium, concluded: “These pictures exemplify the peace in the country, which is an

Violin phenomenon Nazrin Rashidova and renowned guitar virtuoso Stanislav Hvartchilkov mark the UK launch of Dreams, their debut duet album, with a TEAS-sponsored concert. This is a unique and exciting collaboration that showcases a flamboyant collection of 20th century Azerbaijani song classics.

The prolific composer Tofig Guliyev wrote songs for more than 40 Azerbaijani films during his lifetime, and these achieved extreme popularity across the former Soviet Union.

This album fuses popular and classical, oriental and western themes and approaches in new arrangements that demonstrate the virtuosity and lyricism of both instruments in a duet setting.

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Baku International Humanitarian Forum Today’s world of globalisation eliminates borders among nations. Now, countries prefer to solve international issues through dialogue. Cultural and humanitarian relations among nations have expanded in recent decades. In this respect, Azerbaijan has become a place where representatives of various nations meet and discuss the problems of humanity and try to find solutions to them together. The Baku International Humanitarian Forum is one of the important events for such discussions.

The Baku International Humanitarian Forum was first held in 2011 to discuss wide range of global issues in the interest of all humanity. Now an annual event, it brings together famous representatives of political scientific and cultural elite of the world community including famous statesmen, Nobel Prize winners in the various fields of science and leaders of influential international organizations.

With a growing number of participants, 800 representatives took part in the third Baku International Humanitarian Forum held on 31st October to 1st November 2013. A wide range of programs had been prepared for participants to acquaint

them with the rich Azerbaijani cultural heritage and make them familiar with Baku and other regions of the country.

Professor Mike Saks (University Campus Suffolk, UK.) commented on the forum, saying, “The main problems for the development of intercultural dialogue are narrowly defined nationalism and parochialism that impede more holistic discussions of problems and their resolution in the contemporary world. These are more fundamental obstacles to dialogue than language barriers, which are pleasingly progressively being broken down across the globe. It was very appropriate that the theme of multicultural dialogue was pivotal to the International Humanitarian Forum in Baku” Expressing his wish to attend as speaker for next Humanitarian Forum Professor Joseph Mifsud (University of East Anglia, London Academy of Diplomacy) added, “This event has a great importance in terms of bringing together of world’s intellectual elite. Topics discussed in the event was very popular and actual in international level”.

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Text by Orkhan Ismayilov

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Removing the Soviet Shroud Revealing the emerging talent of Central Asian female authors Kochi Okada shares her thoughts on Central Asian literature and its dissemination amongst the English-speaking world, as the once all-empowering Russian language falls out of favour and the emergence of female writers is bringing new perspectives on Central Asian literature that was for so long shaded under male-written Russian literature. She explores this effect in Galina Dolgaya’s new novel, “The Gods of the Middle World”, published by Hertfordshire Press after the work won the Open Central Asia Book Forum and Literature Festival’s top prize in 2012.

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For Marat Akhmedjanov each literary publication by Herefordshire Press, the publishing house he established for the promotion of Central Asian cultural heritage, is not just about making money. It is an attempt to take stock of and promote the author’s account of the historical, cultural and socio-political significance they have experienced. Marat has always made explicit that when a literary piece undergoes translation from one language to the other, the process often erodes the authenticity of the original. Regardless of that recognition, he stipulates that although it would be logical and provide a more truthful assessment of the work if it were to be reviewed by literary critics in its native language, this is a challenge when you come across Central Asian literature.

When one comes across the complex array of regional Central Asian literary practices it is difficult to promote these in their native formats. So, to broaden readership both inside and outside the region, he has decided that the only way to communicate the creative ideas of the writers from his native region of the world, he must use the current lingua franca of the world, English.

Marat Akhmedjanov’s Aegean task to acknowledge the vibrancy of an often elusive Central Asian literature scene has been part of ten years’ effort in bringing the people, culture, business and wildlife of Central Asia to the world through magazines, travel guides and events. Building on unique links within the countries of the region, Hertfordshire Press’ broad list of titles range from illustrated reference works, to the first publication in English of a revered Kyrgyz-language novelist, to academic texts and travel writing. As the tag line of the publishing house goes, “Central Asia is right in front of you, and you need only to open a page”.

So, the idea of running a region-wide contest in 2012 and publishing the winners of this Central Asian Literature

Conquest, was a natural extension to Marat’s vision over the last decade. And, the contest harvested a rather intriguing novel in the process, when “The Gods of the Middle World”

by Galina Dolgaya was chosen as the competition’s overall winner. The choice of Dolgaya’s literary piece is significant.

Her award dispelled the myth of the insignificance of a shrinking urban Russian culture in the Central Asian region following the ascendance of independent post-socialist states, “The Stans”. Dolgaya’s novel also paved the way for an easing of gender imbalance within the regional literary world, by focusing on the emerging talent of female writers.

With the introduction of her novel taking a historical genre laced with spiritual leanings, Dolgaya provides her own outlook on the branching of the old literary genre towards focusing on spiritual beliefs, pre-empting institutionalised religions such as Islam and Christianity. Even before starting to read her novel, one has to take account of and understand Russian culture as perceived from its neighbouring Central Asia. What does it mean to be a female writer within Russian literary heritage or perhaps what, and how, would a female Russian author from Central Asia write?

Russian cultural presence in Central Asia started with the colonisation of the region. The acquisition of the lands of Turkestan by Russian empire lasted from late 18th century until 1914, through annexation, military conquest and signing treaties promising benefits of trade and military protection.

Since Russians were never able to master the skill of water irrigation required by the local terrain and climate, the Russian population became rooted mainly within urban areas. These urban centers, often with two millennia of history behind them, suddenly added Russian urban culture as one of many layers of local culture. Meanwhile, in the nomadic populated lands, Russian cities and townships that grew up were mainly

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Women’s position within the Soviet literary hierarchy was rather low. Their status was defined by their gender, as helpmates and muses. In their own right, women in the best cases were admitted to literary institutions as poets or writers of children’s fiction. Russian women started questioning such boundaries of what they could do within the complexity of the literary genre or for whom should they write, only at the late 1980s. Russian women bravely dwelled on the bleak, mundane and rather stifling life of men and women who could be defined as underachievers within the cheerful social scheme of the Soviet state. Their writing was never seen to be against state policies, nor were they labelled as dissidents, because it was still acceptable in short stories and theatrical plays to portray something ordinary in nature and its contextual surroundings never came close to questioning the errors of the state policies. Nevertheless women were not creating images of heroes and heroines within the correct guidelines lines of state policies as many of their male counterpart writers did. Unsurprisingly, women’s literary realm did not fall like a house of cards with the fall of Soviet cultural institutions that accompanied the demise of the communist state with its messianic zeal of preaching a pre-defined agenda for better life.

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a uniquely Russian representation of its urban culture, which persisted as far as the late 1960s. Russian cultural presence in Central Asia was at its height during 72 years of the Soviet period. Russian language served as language of power, science, culture and interethnic communication amongst over a hundred ethnic groups residing in the region. The last twenty years have reversed the status of Russian language due to the ascendance of highly nationalistic independent Central Asian states that coincided with the fall of Marxist ideology. All this reduced the prestige and global political appeal of Russian language.

The decline of Russian has been speedily followed by economically and politically motivated migration of people from the Central Asian states to Russia. This massive influx of newcomers from Central Asia, has made ordinary Russians in Russia far better acquainted with Central Asian culture, cuisine and modern music than previous generations of Russians, whose cultural awareness came from obligatory attendance at Soviet schools and study of state-sponsored curricula.

Yet, despite having a glimpse of Central Asians in their midst, Russians at large remain oblivious of contemporary Russian culture back in Central Asia. Russian literary practices managed to fare surprisingly well in spite of a lack of economic or political support by local states or the Russian Federation.

What followed the fragmentation of Soviet cultural institutions was the introduction of small scale post-Soviet cultural production, helping on the one hand to speedily resurrect female writers in publishing and making known their works while on the other hand allowing women to retreat from straightforward narrative to far settled and complex genres of children fairy tales or historical novels. Obviously, this new generation of women writers was strongly affected by the growing access to the internet and media sources, which helped to enrich and bridge their gaps in knowledge of the global cultural network; but it also deepened cultural and social divides within their own native cultural domain. What their current writing brought was a refashioning of children’s fairy tales or historical genres from short stories to the scale of grand novella, previously being the male writers’ domain.

Remaining on the safe grounds of well-trodden paths of the historical past or children’s world, women approached reality through an often fuzzy, mysterious and unidentified dream world, by telling their stories and taking their readers on journeys with no clear answers.

Dolgaya’s emergence as an independent Russian woman writer from Central Asia within the fold of Russian women writers as well as in Central Asian literary world, has brought a highly politically self-conscious female writer with firsthand knowledge of the regional landscape and urban history. Dolgaya’s story line is based upon Sima, an urban Russian girl, drop out student, single mother and a

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southern Kazakhstan, asking all the time whether it is really possible to ‘commune with the spirits’, she soon discovers the answer first hand, setting in motion events in the spirit world that have been frozen for centuries. Meanwhile three millennia earlier, on the same spot, a young woman and her companion struggle to survive and amend wrongs that have caused the neighbouring tribe to take revenge. The two narratives mirror one another, and Sima’s destiny is to resolve the ancient wrongs in her own lifetime and so restore the proper balance of the forces of good and evil. Drawing richly on the historical and mythical backgrounds of the southern Kazakh steppe and of ancient Tibet, the novel ultimately champions human love and compassion over rigid predestination and is a call to each of us to listen for the unique spirit that guides us.

With a lifetime of first-hand knowledge of the region in which the story is set, Galina Dolgaya has published a number of novels and poems in Russian. The Gods of the Middle World won first prize at the 2012 Open Central Asia Literature Festival and is her first work to be published in English. female devoid of nurturing capacities falls within the current pattern of female protagonists. By the end of the novel she vanishes somewhere in the tourist destination of Tibet without thinking much of her child or suitors.

Yet events which involve Sima within the Central Asian locale are unmistakably fashioned with blurred temporary past timelines. So vague are those historical periods that readers have to assume them rather than define them as the Soviet period sometime after Second World War. The remote past gets stretched further as the story flips between the Soviet era and the Bronze Age to the Early Medieval, with warring tribes and peoples, as a young woman and her companion struggle to survive. This part of history has been so carefully observed and written about that the comparison of the reassuringly boring Soviet past and the romantic stateless nomadic past is a strange dichotomy that makes the reader stop and think. Here there is no difficulty in figuring our out that writing in Uzbekistan about the present would be unrealistic, under its paranoid regime, so dipping within the range of multiple pasts is an intriguing option for writers. Yet since the past always held clues about the present one wanders what uneasy issues of the present are being subtly brought up. Suddenly, Dolgaya’s novel brings more thoughts about writing as a skillful graft rather than another run of the mill adventure read for lazy weekend.

The Gods of the Middle World tells the story of Sima, a student of archaeology for whom the old lore and ways of the Central Asian steppe peoples are as vivid as the present. When she joints a group of archaeologists in

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Dancing on Ice: Kazakh Sochi Success Interview Feature with Denis Ten, Olympic Bronze medallist 2014 On March 26th 2009, 15-year-old Denis Ten single-handedly put Kazakhstan on the worldwide map of figure skating. This ambitious young ice skater stunned the crowd, the media, and the judges with a magical performance that catapulted him from an initial 17th place to finish eighth overall. This was the best-ever placement that any skater from Kazakhstan had achieved at a World Championships.

their mark and crossing boundaries. Although his family is part of the Korean minority in the Central Asian country, his native tongue is Russian and he feels very much part of his nation’s multi-ethnic population.

Since then, Ten has continued to set new records in both junior and senior events, but it is his bronze medal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics that looks set to cement his place in Kazakh sporting folklore. He won the country’s only medal at the Olympiad and ensured Kazakhstan made it onto the final medals table, albeit taking last place.

Given that Kazakhstan is no figure skating hotspot, it is intriguing to find a young man able to display his talent so well. “My parents introduced me to sport,” he starts, as he explains his overwhelming love of sports and culture. “Besides skating, I went to classes in acrobatics, swimming, taekwondo, karate and dancing. I also studied music and painting. That is probably why I was well suited to take on one of the most beautiful sports, because skating includes three of these elements – music, dancing and acrobatics.”

Ten was born and raised in Kazakhstan. He is a product of a new generation of ambitious young Kazakhs eager to make

By dabbling in this rich range of childhood activities he found his niche, but given that Kazakh investment in figure skating

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back then was next to nothing, how did Ten manage to break through to the international ranks? “Fifteen years ago, when I started training, there were no proper facilities for ice skating in Kazakhstan. I was skating on a rink that only functioned in winter, and on the arena in a shopping mall. However, today the situation has changed dramatically. There are massive athletic facilities in Kazakhstan and all of them meet world standards. Figure skating is developing rapidly and many children have the opportunity to train and perform. I am happy to be a witness of this current progress.”

Ten’s first outing on the Olympic stage came at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010 where he finished well outside the podium places, but was showing promising progress. Since then expectations have risen and after the years of hard training, often away from his family, the reward of a medal is nothing less than he deserves. “I am very glad to finish this major international sporting event on a positive note. My life changed dramatically after Vancouver. I moved to Los-Angeles for the sake of winning an Olympic medal.”

Coached by Frank Caroll, who also developed Olympic Champion, Evan Lysacek, Ten’s whole regime and skating technique has changed for the better. “It was difficult for me, but I managed thanks to the support of my parents, fans and the Samruk Kazyna fund. In February 2011 I won a gold medal at the Asian Winter Games in Astana. Last year I came second in the World Championship, and in Sochi 2014 I managed to win the bronze medal.” All these events are historic for Kazakh figure skating.

Most notable about Ten’s Bronze-winning performance was the fact that he wore an odd pair of boots to do so. Probably the first medallist to use such a tactic to gain a competitive edge, Ten is very practical in his response. “I do not want anyone to go through my experience. I am very sensitive and it would usually take months for me to change my boots,” he explains. “This year I had many obstacles to overcome, beginning with some health problems and ending with outfit surprises. I broke one of my skates shortly before the Olympiad, and I had to replace it. It was very uncomfortable, because professional skates are handmade from, so no two boots are exactly the same. When I replaced one of the boots, I had to fit into the new one in a short period of time which meant that sometimes I was doing elements blindly.”

not rest on laurels and will continue to gain new medals for my country. I am confident every Kazakh sportsman has the same intentions and the next Olympic Games in South Korea in 2018 will be even more successful for Kazakhstan.”

With Kazakhstan looking to host the 2022 Winter Olympics in Almaty, Ten is positive about the city’s prospects, having helped represent the bid. “In Sochi, I was honoured to represent Almaty in the 2022 Olympic Games bid and also become a member of the Almaty 2022 committee. I think every city has equal chances. The Olympiad is a unique sporting event, an international festival of sport. And an Olympiad in your home country is an unforgettable event that will change a whole generation and leave a wonderful heritage.” He cites Kazakhstan’s previous experience of organising similarly large games, for example the Winter Asian games in 2011. “In 2017 Almaty will hold the Winter Student Games, which is going to be the perfect rehearsal for the Olympic Games themselves” By 2017, Almaty says it will already have in place 80% of the sports facilities it requires. “That is awesome!” Ten enthuses.

“First of all, this will decrease the cost of the Olympics, and secondly, sportsmen will have the chance to try out the venues in advance. Besides the new sport facilities, we have still the old ones, which are now historic places, like the alpine rink in Medeo. During the days of the Soviet Union, this rink was the centre of ice skating. Its second name is the “Place of Records” – there have been more than 120 world records set there!”

With Almaty’s growingly competent and comfortable transport system, it now takes only 25 minutes to go from the centre of the city, with its 1.5 million people, to the 2500m high Shymbulak ski resort. Understandably patriotic, Ten finishes by saying, “Our country has everything: wonderful conditions, an athletic population and a growing sporting history.

What’s missing though is the Olympic Games! I really hope Kazakhstan will have the chance to hold the Winter Olympiad in 2022. And for my part, I will do my best to help fulfil this dream!”

So what does Ten make of the Sochi experience now that he has had time to reflect? In Vancouver, Kazakhstan won only one medal, and only two sportsmen were in the top 5 in their sports. While the medal haul hasn’t changed, this time, many more joined the top of the ranks and were potential medallists. “All of this demonstrates the huge development of winter sports in Kazakhstan. I am going to work hard. I will

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book review

SILK, SPICE, VEILS and VODKA

by Felicity Timcke held hostage…by Americans. Forced to leave Kabul as the bombs intensify and her local supermarket falls victim she next heads to Iran and is keen to dispel the negative publicity as she celebrates new year in Tehran, welcoming the new year, that is the year 1389.

50 Felicity Timcke’s monologic, epistolary publication, “Silk, Spices, Veils and Vodka” brings both a refreshing and new approach to life on the expat trail. South African by origin, Timcke has lived in some very exotic places, mostly along the more challenging countries of the Silk Road. Although the book’s content, which is entirely composed of letters to the author’s friends and family, is directed primarily at this group, it provides “20 years of musings” that will enthral and delight those who have either experienced a similar expatriate existence or who are nervously about to depart for one.

Starting in Uzbekistan, Timcke’s world of “firsts”, the excitement of a new posting and a new place to explore are clear in the style and tone of her early letters written from the home of an Uzbek family that she and her husband live with. Her shopping visits to the stationery shop to buy toilet paper and of her first pay check arriving in a carrier back of small notes gloss over the more sinister bureaucracy and control she discovers as she goes deeper under the country’s skin.

Finishing with a perhaps more civilised Dubai and Istanbul, Timcke’s book is well adapted to those who wish to dip in and out, read a letter or two at a time and then ponder for themselves what it might really be like if one day they were sent to live in these once faraway places full of silk, spices, veils and (in some cases) plenty of vodka.

Book review by Nick Rowan Available on pre-order E-mail: publisher@ocamagazine.com Language: English Publisher: Hertfordshire press (April 2014), paperback RRP: £12.50

With interludes in a more familiar England, Timcke soon finds herself in Maputo, Mozambique chasing art deco buildings and avoiding being dragged into the local school musical extravaganza, before heading to Kabul, Afghanistan and being

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LIFE OVER PAIN AND DESPERATION

by Marziya Zakiryanova

Memoirs are an emerging genre in Central Asian literature, which are directly connected to the fall of political regimes. To explain the importance of this genre, one needs to look at the significance of Soviet period memoirs. Previously they were connected to the credibility of the person who wrote them but focused on aspects such as how a new source supports the state’s policy, or how it highlights the importance of a certain historical period or enlightens readers about certain historical persona. Soviet period memoirs were about something or someone; everybody knew them but it was assumed they wanted to know them better. Current memoirs challenge such a previously comfortable rapport between the reader and memoir writer. The last twenty years, without a communist state, have brought publications by ordinary men and women about their life in the Central Asian region living through the calamities of war, the fall of the communist state and emergence of new states. Those highly subjective accounts are more moving compared to the previously dry research papers and allow facts and figures of this region to be introduced to the wider world. These memoirs are important testaments for us in understanding the significance and meaningfulness of the human experience. Above all, these memoirs allow readers to more easily relate to authors because they often possess a very universal appeal.

Car crashes happen all over the world, leaving heavily disabled people, who have to reclaim their lives and relationship with their family and friends anew. Marziya Zakiryanova, a woman

51 from Kazakhstan, gives an unflinching account of what it means to survive an accident with a broken spine and being bound to a wheelchair, in a place where recuperative medical care is almost non-existent and even mere written sources are absent. So there is nowhere for other survivors to learn about the thin line of being a handicapped invalid or a person in charge of his/her disability. She started her relentless fight for the preservation of her dignity by not soiling herself, by learning to control her bodily functions. Her moving life story is about how this disciplined, clean way of life of self-control, helps her not to undermine family ties and combine this with bringing up children. She keeps her belief that her friendship is not a chore but a gift for her friends and that her selfesteem cannot be shaken by being confined to a wheelchair.

Suddenly after reading through twenty or thirty odd pages it does not matter to the reader that the author is unknown and from a faraway place, she is there with you; real, very real.

Book review by Kochi Okada Available on pre-order E-mail: publisher@ocamagazine.com Language: English Publisher: Hertfordshire press (April 2014), paperback RRP: ÂŁ14.50

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CATBIG events

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TVET Scoping Mission to Turkmenistan, 25-28 March Technical & Vocational Education (TVET) is organizing a short visit to Ashgabat to meet key officials in this priority sector for Turkmenistan from 25th to 28th March 2014. With a number of developments in the non-oil and gas sectors gathering pace, Turkmen President Berdimuhamedov and his government are keen that as far as possible Turkmen citizens play a leading role in all sectors of the economy. Modernisation of the Turkmen educa-

tion system is therefore a top priority for the government. In 2007 the legal framework for education was revised and the duration of schooling extended in both general and higher education. The advent of new technologies and the rapid development of economic sectors as above are all factors driving the need for up-skilling in the country’s workforce. It is widely recognised that human resources will greatly contribute to the growth and transformation of the economy and that the reform of technical and vocational education (TVET) will play a key role in ensuring the availability of a workforce with the right skills and competences.

Ord-Smith on Tajikistan The CATBIG meeting held on Tuesday 19th November focused on Tajikistan. The current British Ambas-

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sador to Tajikistan, Robin Ord-Smith MVO gave participants an update on the political, economic and commercial situation in the country.

Robin hosted the CATBIG trade mission successfully undertaken last April and was accompanied by his Prosperity Officer, Farukh Sultonov.

Both were very keen to see more UK companies exploring business opportunities in the country and provided insights into doing business in Tajikistan as well as other incentives. Tajikistan, the poorest country in Central Asia, receives substantial levels of development aid, but also offers a number of new opportu-

nities in the minerals and related sectors following recent success by British companies operating there.

The meeting also welcomed Fiona McLean, CEO of HealthProm, a charity which works throughout the CATBIG area promoting health and social care for women and children.

Their first project in Tajikistan re-

ceived an excellent rating from DFID, and Fiona was able to bring evidence to the meeting and described a follow-up project funded by the EU which is developing mod-

ern social services for vulnerable young children, as well as giving an overview of all HealthProm projects.

Trade Envoy Hendry Returns Charles Hendry MP, the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, once again agreed to host a CATBIG meeting in one of the historic committee rooms in the Houses of Parliament, on Thursday 27th February.

Charles Hendry MP was appointed the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in 2012, and kindly hosted a briefing meeting for CATBIG in July 2013. Since then he has had a busy schedule of visits, including accompanying the Prime Minister on his historic visit to Kazakhstan in September. Following his interview in the last issue of Open Central

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Asia he has followed up on his aims of expanding the relationship with the countries. “Energy is clearly at the heart of the business relationship, but we are determined to help spread this much more widely into the many other areas where we can work together,” he said.

Neil Floyd, Head of the South Caucasus, and Helen Walker, Head of Central Asia, from the FCO, who work closely with Charles also briefed CATBIG members on the Foreign Office’s wider interests in the region.

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events & news

54 AZERBAIJAN BEYOND OIL & GAS PASHA Bank, Azerbaijan’s leading corporate and investment bank, held a fascinating seminar at College Hill, London, entitled, “Azerbaijan Beyond Oil & Gas” on 14th November 2013. The one day event, led by Farid Akhundov, Chief Executive Officer of PASHA Bank, gave participants an insight into Azerbaijan’s economy, the existing and planned debt and equity issues in the country, the investment climate and regulatory regime, and also introduced PASHA Bank and its activities on the investment market. The presentation was followed by a panel discussion and Q&A session enabling attendees to question some of the most highly regarded experts in the region, including Elshad Rasulov, Chairman of the Board at Atropatena, one of the largest dairy manufacturers in Azerbaijan and Farid Ismailzade, Founder and CEO of Golden Pay, the country’s largest payment service provider. The hope is that such discussions will show investors how Azerbaijan’s developing economy, outside of oil and gas, can bring huge benefits to foreign investors

as well as build a long-term stable fiscal regime for the country.

STUDENT AMBITIONS FOR CENTRAL ASIA DISCUSSED IN LONDON The aspirational, Bishkek-based institution, The American University of Central Asia (AUCA), held a dinner at the Frontline Club in London on October 29th 2013. The dinner was held to discuss the future of higher education, focusing in particular on how AUCA can develop a forward-looking curriculum while still grounding students in a liberal arts curriculum. AUCA President, Andrew Wachtel, and retired Oxford professor, William Newton-Smith, led the discussion, arguing that an educated, talented workforce is the desire of every country, rich or poor.

The challenge for universities everywhere, and especially in developing countries, is to create the technical programs that will benefit regional development, while also giving students the general education and critical thinking tools that will allow them to pivot as quickly as the world changes.

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The discussion was especially important for AUCA as it currently has some 1200 students from 20 countries, the majority of whom stay and work in Central Asia after completing their studies.

D’VATZ’S SPIRITUALITY COMES TO LONDON During December, Timur D’Vatz held an exhibition entitled, “Journeys and Legends” at the Hayhill Gallery in London. Russian born artist, Timur D’Vatz, is one of Central Asia’s most successful figurative painters. Born in Moscow in 1968 to artist parents, D’Vatz grew up in a bohemian family, completing his studies at the Republic College of Art (Uzbekistan) and London’s Royal Academy in 1996. His work draws on his own studies into Eastern and Western spirituality, fusing vibrant byzantine colours with the ancient culture and traditions of Central Asia to create powerfully iconic images and hauntingly mnemonic landscapes.

55 Many of the dreamy scenes on display at this exhibition, held alongside a host of other exciting artists, featured the theme of “the chase”, with hunters in bejewelled hunting robes closing in on the glittering eyes of wild animals that were to be their prey. D’Vatz believes that through telling and retelling familiar stories we can ‘find rejuvenation in the eternal youth of the ancients; in core ideas that do not lose meaning as time passes but rather gain new significance with each historical transition’. D’Vatz’s exhibition led visitors through its paintings, deeper into the subconscious mind and on a stunning spiritual voyage between the traditions of east and west.

HAGUE’S AZERI MISSION UK Foreign Secretary William Hague visited Azerbaijan To attend the Shah Deniz-2 Final Investment Decision Signing Ceremony on 17 December. While in Baku, the Foreign Secretary held bilateral meetings with both President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

During the meetings, they hailed the strong and expanding relations between the two countries across many spheres, in particular the long-standing energy cooperation.

William Hague congratulated Azerbaijan on the Shah Deniz-2 project and its key role in delivering the project to this stage, underlining that the deal will contribute to the energy security of Europe. He also praised the contributions Azerbaijan has made to NATO’s ISAF mission in Afghanistan and its role in maintaining peace and security around the world.

During the meeting with Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, Hague was briefed about the current state of peace talks aiming to resolve Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

Minister Mammadyarov stressed that the continuing occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenian armed forces threatens peace and security of the region.

Hague welcomed the Vienna meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia and called for intensification of efforts to find a negotiated solution to the conflict.

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The ministers also exchanged opinions over other issues of mutual interest and regional developments as Hague ended his tour, being the most senior UK government official to visit Azerbaijan in the past 17 years. Sir Malcolm Rifkind was the last Foreign Secretary to visit, in 1996.

EBRD HOSTS AZERBAIJAN DAY The London-based Headquarters of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) hosted Azerbaijani Day on 19th December 2013. The event was organized by the Ministry of Economy and Industry of Azerbaijan with the support of the Embassy of Azerbaijan to the UK and the European Azerbaijan Society. The event was attended by senior management of the Ministry of Economy and Industry of Azerbaijan, EBRD, members of diplomatic community in London, representatives of British and Azerbaijani business circles and Azerbaijani community.

events & news

56 In his keynote speech, Minister of Economy and Industry Shahin Mustafayev briefed attendees on the recent economic achievements of Azerbaijan and outlined the prospects for economic development till 2020. The Minister stressed that Azerbaijan has turned into a reliable energy partner for European markets and its role is expected to further increase in the years ahead. He also underlined that a fertile business environment has been created in the country with a view to bringing more foreign direct investment into the economy. Touching on the long-term development strategy of the Government of Azerbaijan, he emphasized that it seeks to reduce energy dependence through developing key non-energy sectors such as tourism, ICT and agriculture.

The Minister’s speech was followed by presentations from directors of Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) and Azerbaijan Investment Company and representatives of foreign businesses in Azerbaijan.

Addressing the audience EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti praised Azerbaijan’s achievements, especially in the last 10 years, emphasizing the importance of holding such an event in the Bank’s headquarters for expanding cooperation.

Since 1992, the year Azerbaijan became member of the EBRD, the Bank’s activities in Azerbaijan has focused on six main areas: industry, commerce, agriculture, finance, energy and infrastructure. Priority areas also include increasing investments in the country’s non-oil sector, funding the development of the financial sector, and supporting small business entrepreneurs.

The Bank also seeks to engage other international financial institutions and the business community in policy dialogue with governmental authorities in order to implement reforms and improve the investment climate. To date, the EBRD has signed 134 investments worth more than €1.5 billion in various sectors of the Azerbaijani economy.

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LAUNCHING THE INCOMPLETE MANUSCRIPT The European Azerbaijan Society organised a launch event of Kamal Abdulla’s “The Incomplete Manuscript” in English on 25th November 2013 in Waterstone’s Piccadilly. The launch brought together lovers of literature, members of Azerbaijani community and media representatives.

A renowned Azerbaijani author, Kamal Abdulla is a Professor of Linguistics and Rector of Baku Slavic University. His novels, including The Incomplete Manuscript, have been translated and published in many world languages including English, Russian, Turkish, Polish, Arabic and Portuguese.

The event featured speeches by author Kamal Abdulla, translator Anne Thompson and Ambassador Fakhraddin Gurbanov. In his remarks Ambassador Gurbanov stressed the importance of literature and literary works in learning the psychology and national mindsets. He went on to emphasize that Kamal Abdulla’s The Incomplete Manuscript

57 is the first Azerbaijani novel translated and publicly presented to the British readers.

The Incomplete Manuscript is also available online on Amazon.co.uk 5 YEARS OF AZERBAIJAN HOUSE On 1 December Friends of Azerbaijan and members of Azerbaijani community in the UK gathered at Azerbaijan House to mark the 5th anniversary of the establishment of Azerbaijan House. In her opening remarks Farida Panahova, member of Azerbaijan House Executive Committee spoke about the activities Azerbaijan House has carried out over the five years. Launched in November 2008 with the participation of Mayor, Lord Fraser, Chairman of Anglo Azerbaijani House and Ambassador Fakhraddin Gurbanov, Azerbaijan House aims to bring together Azerbaijani community and raise awareness abut rich Azerbaijani culture and arts across the UK. Addressing the event Ali Tekin Atalar

of Azerbaijan House and Ambassador Fakhraddin Gurbanov congratulated Azerbaijani community on this occasion both stressed that Azerbaijan House has indeed turned into a sweet home for local Azerbaijani community who regularly gather to celebrate important occasions, anniversaries and organize a range of cultural events. The event also featured works of young Azerbaijani artist Kabira Aliyeva and was wrapped up by performances by talented Azerbaijani musicians Nazrin Rashidova, Ayan Salakhova and renowned American mugham performer Jeffrey Werbock.

ANGLO-AZERBAIJANI SOCIETY ANNUAL DINNER The Anglo-Azerbaijani Society (AAS) held its Annual Dinner at the House of Commons on 6th December 2013. The Dinner brought together Baroness O’Cathain, members of the Society, including co-chair Professor Nargiz Pashayeva, acting co-chair Ken Forest and Ambassador Fakhraddin Gurbanov who addressed the participants.

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In her opening remarks Baroness O’Cathain as well as other speakers all paid tribute to the late Lord Fraser, founder and chair of Anglo-Azerbaijani Society who passed away in June this year. They underlined that thanks to Lord Fraser’s efforts and services, the Anglo-Azerbaijani Society has turned into a vital organization promoting cultural and humanitarian ties between Azerbaijan and the UK. The Anglo-Azerbaijani Society is an organization drawing together the cultural, charitable and other links between Azerbaijan and the UK. Established in 1997, the AAS supports Azerbaijani-British relations in all spheres and assists charitable endeavors in Azerbaijan, as well as keeps members closely informed on the developments in Azerbaijan and increases public awareness about Azerbaijan in the UK. Membership comprises major British companies in the oil, banking, insurance, engineering, services, communications, law and other sectors.

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EXPERIENCES KAZAKHSTAN

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