According to reports, U.S. mining business consultants Behre Dolbear, in their report released last week ranked Kazakhstan as one of the world’s five riskiest mining nations for investors along with Russia, Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Papua New Guinea.1 Astana scored the lowest due to its incidence of corruption and poor economic system.

In another development, reports noted that Pakistan has rejected Afghanistan’s demand that it pay transit fees with gas for receiving fuel through the proposed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-Iran (TAPI) pipeline.2

According to reports, Bishkek and Moscow are digging in their heels over Russia’s insistence on revising a deal to write off Kyrgyz debt in return for a stake in Kyrgyzstan’s Dastan torpedo facility.3 While Kyrgyzstan agreed in 2008 to swap a 48 percent stake in the plant for a write-off of his nation’s $180 million debt to Russia, the latter insists that it would write off the debt for no less than 75 percent ownership, arguing that the equipment there has depreciated in value.4

In the meanwhile, a long-standing agreement between Russia and Kyrgyzstan on the swift naturalization of Kyrgyz citizens working in Russia is about to be canceled according to the chief of Russia’s Federal Migration Service (FMS) last week.5 Russian parliamentarians are reportedly angered by the overwhelming presence of non-Russian-speaking foreigners in the country, the FMS chief said.6

In other developments, according to reports, Jund al-Khilafa (means “Army of the Caliphate”), a terror group which carried out a series of attacks in Kazakhstan last year, is claiming responsibility for the recent shooting deaths of soldiers and Jewish children in the south of France.7

• 1. “Kazakhstan is risky nation for investment, US firm says”, Universal Newswires, March 21, 2012 at http://www.universalnewswires.com/centralasia/viewstory.aspx?id=11633
• 2. “Pakistan will not pay TAPI transit fees to Afghanistan in gas”, Universal Newswires, March 22, 2012 at http://www.universalnewswires.com/centralasia/viewstory.aspx?id=11649
• 3. “Latest Kyrgyz-Russian clash concerns Dastan torpedo factory”, Universal Newswires, March 22, 2012 at http://www.universalnewswires.com/centralasia/viewstory.aspx?id=11645
• 4. Ibid
• 5. “Russia to annul Kyrgyz naturalization pact, FMS chief says”, Universal Newswires, March 21, 2012 at http://www.universalnewswires.com/centralasia/kyrgyzstan/viewstory.aspx?...
• 6. Ibid.
• 7. “Kazakh terror group claims responsibility for France shootings”, Universal Newswires, March 22, 2012 at http://www.universalnewswires.com/centralasia/viewstory.aspx?id=11641