British Ambassador Makes Farewell Call on Niyazov
Topic: Foreign Relations
Ashgabat, 7 June 2005 (nCa) --- Ambassador Paul Brummell made Monday farewell call on President Saparmurat Niyazov. His tenure as British ambassador to Turkmenistan is coming to an end.

President Niyazov thanked Ambassador Brummell for his exceptional efforts in promoting Ashgabat as regional peace centre where international community can join hands in finding solutions for global stability and development. He also thanked the British envoy for building on already excellent relations between the Great Britain and Turkmenistan.

Ambassador Brummell expressed his gratitude to Niyazov for extending all possible support in building the traditional ties between the two countries.

Brummell has been one of the most successful ambassadors in Turkmenistan. His stay in Ashgabat would be long remembered for the rich tapestry of cultural and social events that he kept going during the three years of his stay here.

Besides enriching the social life of Ashgabat, Brummell worked on a number of multifarious projects to integrate Turkmenistan into the international community.

Source: www.newscentralasia.com

The Castle Where the Fairy Tale to Live
Topic: Turkmen Culture
March 31, 2005. Every child likes fairy tales, believes in all amazing transformations and wonders happened to the heroes, who take children into the journey and do great deeds in the name of the good and beauty, love and friendship. The main idea of the project for construction of the new building of the Turkmen State Puppet-Show Theatre is to built the fabulous castle of exciting adventures and mysteries where the heroes of various fairy tales will live inviting the children in the world of fantasy and creation.

The castle designed in the oriented style will be constructed in the big district in the southern part of Ashgabat. The 35-metre tower crowned with a spire will be erected in the centre of the architectural ensemble. Two other towers with spires will adjoin the complex from both sides. The sculptural figures of the puppets placed in the base of the side towers will meet the guests. A white-marble semicircular colonnade as if embracing the facade will add solemnity to the building.

The ancient traditions of national architecture as well as modern tendencies in architecture were taken into consideration while developing the project. The unique architectural complex will become an architectural pearl of Ashgabat and one of the most beautiful buildings in Central Asia.

The up-to-date stage equipment will allow holding mass actions, children’s creation contests and film festivals. An auditorium designed for 350 seats with the stage of 180 square metres equipped with the lifting and expanding devices and an auditorium for 200 seats with the 126-squaremetre stage with a revolving mini stage are to be built. A puppet museum and cafe are to be on the ground floor of the theatre. The total area of the theatre complex makes up 7,600 square metres and the total area of the adjacent territory 25,000 square metres.

The new theatre is to be opened in October.

By Tamara Glazunova

Source: Turkmenistan: the Golden Age

Malaysian oil company Petronas plans to invest over $210 million in Turkmenistan
Topic: Economy & business
9 June, 2005. Malaysian state oil company Petronas that has been prospecting the Turkmen sector of the Caspian sea since 1996, plans to invest over $210 million in this area, the Turkmen government official told Reuters.

“Petronas will continue exploration works at offshore oil blocks worth US $ 210 mln and hopes to get the early oil by this autumn,” he said on Thursday.

Petronas was the first foreign company to sign an oil and gas production sharing agreement (PSA) with Turkmenistan on Block-1 which includes three oil fields, Gubkina, Jdanova and Livanovo.

According to the Turkmen source, the company plans to bring in an additional drilling rig and to drill three more testing wells by the end of the year. At the same time, the company will build an infrastructure to ensure the transportation of crude.

Petronas is currently holding talks on the mechanism of realization of hydrocarbons.

Exploration works conducted in the last years proved that, apart from oil, Block-1 contains great volumes of associated gas. In this regard, Ashgabat asked Petronas to help build a gas pipeline along the Caspian Sea coast to Russia.

Apart from Petronas, four more foreign companies operate in Turkmenistan: Maersk Oil, Burren Energy, Mitro International and Dragon Oil. They are implementing two onshore and three offshore projects. Only Dragon Oil deals with oil output in the sea.

German Wintershall is going to start prospecting works on the Caspian Sea this summer. PSA are expected to be signed with Dutch Berlanga, Russian Zarubezhneft and Rosneft and Itera’s subsidiary Gazhiminvest, LUKoil and other companies.

Ashgabat claims that hydrocarbon reserves of the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea are estimated at 11 bln tonnes of oil and 5,5 trillion cub. m. of gas. Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran are still at odds over the final division of the Caspian resources.

Source: REUTERS

Turkmenistan?s 1Q foreign trade turnover reaches US $ 2,659 bln
Topic: Economy & business
14 June 2005. Turkmenistan’s foreign trade turnover was US $2, 659 bln in January-April 2005, up 17% year-on-year, the Ashgabat correspondent of Turkmenistan.ru reports referring to data released by the National institute of state statistics and information.

In the first four months of the yeas, trade with CIS countries surged 28,7% to US $ 1,229,3 bln year-on-year owing to 29% rise in exports and 28% rise in imports. Trade surplus with CIS countries totaled US $ 407,3 mln.

Trade turnover with the rest of the world amounted to US $ 1,429,7 bln, an increase by 8,5% on the same period of last year. Although imports (16,8%) rose faster than did exports (3%), trade balance with those countries showed a surplus of US $ 200,3 mln.

Turkmenistan’s exports was US $ 1,633,3 bln in January-April 2005 as opposed to US $ 1,426 bln in the same period of 2004.

Exports of natural gas grew from 53% to 55%. Exports of oil products rose from 19% to 24%. Exports of textile products shrank from 7% to 6%, cotton – from 7% to 1%.

Favorable prices at the world markets of fuel-energy products contributed to achieving high export growth rates in terms of money measure of such products as natural gas, oil and oil products. In fact, in the four months of the year, a 23% rise in the average export price made it possible to increase natural gas supplies in terms of money measure by 17,6% against a 4% fall in volume of exports year-on-year. The same trend was reported in exports of oil and oil products. Exports of electricity in the reported period grew both in money measure (16,8%) and in volumes (by 16,4%).

Turkmenistan exported to 50 countries, with Ukraine, Iran, Italy, Turkey and Azerbaijan consuming over 80% of the total exports.

Turkmenistan imports stood at US $ 1,025,7 bln in January-April 2005, up 21,1% on 2004. Growth in imports in terms of money measure was mainly due to a 1,7-time increase in imports of raw materials and a 1,5-time increase in imports of consumer goods.

Turkmenistan imported from 71 countries. Imports grew from Ukraine (46%), Russia (18%), France (6 times) and China (2 times).

Source: Turkmenistan.Ru

Legislative Sphere - an Important Factor of the Economic Development
Topic: Economy & business
As it has been already informed, the International Business Arbitration organised on the initiative of the German Technical Co-Operation Society with the assistance and participation of the government of Turkmenistan, the Embassy of the Federative Republic of Germany and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Turkmenistan has been held in the Turkmen capital. The members of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, leading lawyers of the country, representatives of the legislative and juridical bodies and economic and trade departments took part in the work of the forum at which the urgent issues of the international co-operation in that significant legislative sphere were discussed. The organisers and participants of the conference shared their impressions of the conference.

Dr. Rolf Knieper, Professor of Bremen University, representative of the German Technical Co- Operation Society:

“First of all I would like to say that an interesting and constructive exchange of views between our and Turkmen experts took place within the framework of the International Business Arbitration Conference. I saw that our Turkmen partners are full of desire to raise the national legislation to the international level and it corresponds to the wish of the head of the Turkmen state Saparmurat Niyazov who did us the honour receiving us at his Palace. We, international consultants, will help the Turkmen specialists to prepare for the ratification of the New York Convention on recognition the arbitration decisions and to draw up a state law on the international arbitration. I should also state a high organisational level of the present forum. In my opinion, Turkmenistan has a great infrastructure and there are all necessary conditions for holding international conferences in Ashgabat. Political stability in the state and all other factors prove that Ashgabat could be a regional centre for settlement of the investment disputes in case of further development of the legislative basis of the country. Kuala-Lumpur is one of the largest centres of the international arbitration in Asia. The potential of Ashgabat is not less.”

Dr. Robert Briener, President of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (Paris):

“For some years I have been assisting Professor Knieper in organisation of his work, modelling the arbitration laws and systems of the arbitration legal proceedings in different countries. By his request I agreed to take part in this representative forum in Turkmenistan to listen to the opinions of the Turkmen politicians and competent officials. It was a great honour for me to be in the capital of independent and neutral Turkmenistan and to represent the Paris International Chamber of Commerce at this significant forum. At present the problem of the international arbitration policy and co-operation in the sphere of the business arbitration is urgent for Turkmenistan as efficient economic activities are being carried out in Turkmenistan possessing colossal natural resources. International arbitration is a reliable system of solving the disputes in the trade and economic relations between different states and the most important factor of harmonisation of legislation of different countries. In this context, the theme of Turkmenistan’s integration with the international arbitration system as soon as possible is of great significance for gaining ‘a legislative confidence’ by it in the sphere of international business and proper regulation of the international commercial disputes.”

Ian Paulson, President of the London Court of International Arbitration:

“The international conference held in the Turkmen capital proves that Turkmenistan is ready to improve its legislation system and to co-operate within the framework of the international lawmaking. Turkmenistan attracts foreign investors by many reasons and, first of all, because the political order reigns in the country and its legislation system is developed; it is very important for economic co-operation. As I could see, my Turkmen colleagues had sufficient experience and were highly professional. It was pleasant for me to listen to them and to discuss the themes common to us. I would like to say one more thing: I was greatly touched by the cordial welcome in Ashgabat. I will remember the remarkable people who met us everywhere with their smiles and cordial welcome.”

06 June 2005

Source: Turkmendowlethabarlary News Agency