President of Turkmenistan, Gerbanguly Berdymukhammedov, was in the US this week to speak at the UN General Assembly. It was hoped that his appearance would shed further light on his intentions for the future of Turkmenistan, but was typically difficult to read. No mention was made of human rights.

Like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President Berdymukhammedov gave a separate speech to members of Columbia University. His appearance was less controversial and less widely publicised than that of his Iranian counterpart. In it, he declared that Turkmenistan was “open for cooperation” and touched on the fate of political prisoner Boris Shikhmuradov. He also confirmed there would be a general amnesty for prisoners early in October.

Earlier in the week Condoleezza Rice and Berdymukhammedov met to discuss bilateral issues. They talked chiefly about energy and political freedoms. On Thursday it emerged that Turkmenistan may be planning to raise prices for gas it exports to Russia. Any price rise would likely see Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, also gas exporters, follow suit.

Turkmenistan’s position as a net hydrocarbon exporter may appear enviable. But amid all the talk of development, there are at least some who envisage a high environmental cost.

Uzbekistan was criticised in a Transparency International report released this week as being one of the ten most corrupt states on the planet. This corruption may extend as far as the President, as many believe Islam Karimov will ignore the country’s constitution and stand in the presidential election on December 23rd. Ferghana.ru examines two ways he might achieve this.

The constitution was at the forefront of debate in Kyrgyzstan as well, after President Bakiev announced that a referendum on his proposed constitutional reforms would be held on October 21st. Political parties have begun to prepare for the parliamentary elections it is widely assume will follow.

In Kazakhstan this week attention was still focused on the Kashagan oilfield crisis. The country’s parliament has passed a law which would allow the government to break contracts with foreign companies, according to the BBC. Reuters, meanwhile, reports the Kazakh energy minister’s assertion that raising the country’s stake in the Kashagan consortium is not their primary aim in suspending the project.

Tajikistan continues to suffer from food inflation, with calls for the government to take control of the situation. Ferghana.ru speculated on the possible succession of President Rakhmon by his brother-in-law.

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Despite the political risks made evident by Kazakhstan’s treatment of the Kashagan consortium, the prize of Central Asian hydrocarbon resources is still deemed worth fighting for. Following a visit by a BP executive in August, UK minister Malcolm Wicks arrived in Turkmenistan to talk energy this week. He called for the country to look to the EU rather than Russia to develop and buy its gas. Condoleeza Rice will meet Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov later this month, when the Secretary of State is likely to reiterate the message that western partnerships are in Turkmenistan’s best interests. In the London Telegraph, there’s also a whimsical travel feature on Turkmenistan by former editor Charles Moore.

Big news for Uzbekistan this week as the date for Presidential election, due sometime before the end of the year, was finally set. It will be held on 23rd December. No official comment was made on whether Islam Karimov intends to run for a third term, thereby flouting constitutional rules. The announcement has triggered speculation as to how the authorities will manage possible unrest in the run-up to the poll. EurasiaNet carries a piece on religious policy, suggesting that by promoting its own version of Islam, the government hopes to isolate more radical elements.

In Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan less than 50% of children are in secondary education according to a report by UNICEF. The lack of opportunities in Tajikistan, the region’s poorest nation, is one reason why so many Tajiks try their luck abroad. This week their government asked Russia for an amnesty for illegal immigrants who had been deported from the country and were consequently unable to return there for work. Russia has deported around 50,000 Tajiks since 2002.

The Tajik president travelled to Bishkek for talks with his Kyrgyz counterpart, amid confusion over the status of that country’s constitution after a high court ruling. At the same time contempt of court charges levelled at the daughter of ex-president Akaev were dropped.

Food prices continued to rise across the region this week. This puts Kazakhstan, as Central Asia’s chief grain producer, in a difficult position, reports EurasiaNet. Its political aspirations were also put to the test, as a Kazakh diplomat defended his country’s controversial bid for 2009’s OSCE chairmanship. Though the support of other OSCE members is far from assured, Kazakhstan at least has an endorsement in the pages of Esquire magazine.

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Read Clean Hands: Tajikistan’s Fights Against Corruption, by Livia Paggi, Central Asia Now’s latest piece of analysis.

Paggi’s article focuses on corruption and her themes are echoed in a piece on Italian site AsiaNews. The situation isn’t helped by food inflation, which has become a serious concern for citizens and governments alike. RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty reports a staggering 33% rise in the price of flour in Tajikistan over the past week. The Jamestown Foundation considers the possibility of civil unrest as a result of the inflation whilst the Institute for War and Peace Reporting suggests that people in Uzbekistan at least will be too frightened to protest.

Energy, however, remains at the top of the political agenda in Kazakhstan as the crisis over the Kashagan oilfield continues. A deadline of October 22nd has been set for resolving the dispute. During his visit to Ashgabat this week, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev discussed gas exports with his Turkmen counterpart. The countries’ willingness to forge ahead with pipeline routes West across the Caspian and East into China is likely to irk their current largest customer, Russia.

A report by the watchdog Crude Accountability warned that Turkmenistan needed to consider the environmental impact of the race to exploit its energy resources. At the same time a report by the Blacksmith Institute lists the city of Mailuu-Suu in Kyrgyzstan is among the world’s most polluted, according to the Financial Times. 

Uzbekistan mourned the death of one of its greatest creative talents this week. Mark Weil, who was murdered on 7th September. His loss is likely to contribute to the feeling of malaise amongst Tashkent’s embattled artistic community, reports Czech website Transitions Online.

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The high-profile dispute between the Kazakh government and the consortium led by Italy’s  Eni over the Kashagan oilfield continued this week. Kazakhstan said it would be seeking $10bn of compensation for the oilfield’s delayed development and rising costs. Despite the Kazakh government’s order to suspend operations at the oilfield, Paolo Scaroni, chief executive of Eni, said that work there had not ceased. 

On Monday Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivaylo Kalfin embarked on a four-day tour of Central Asia. Energy was high on the agenda as Bulgaria is seeking to diversify its natural gas supplies, which are dominated by Russia’s Gazprom. It is the first visit by a top Bulgarian official to the region in over ten years. As his visit ended Turkmenistan announced significant increases in oil and gas production in the first eight months of 2007 compared to the same period last year.

Food inflation is becoming an increasingly pressing issue in the region as world grain prices rise. A member of Kyrgyzstan’s parliament called on the government to resign over price hikes in staple foodstuffs. The Eurasia Daily Monitor looks at the impact of inflation on the poorest Kyrgyz citizens. Kyrgyzstan’s dependence on Kazakhstan and Russia for resources is widely blamed. Reports also emerged from Uzbekistan of protests about rising prices there.

Tajikistan faces similar problems; experts have called for drastic agricultural modernisation. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported on the controversial suspension of schooling in the country each autumn so that children can participate in the cotton harvest.

It was widely reported that the German terror cell whose foiled bomb plot dominated the headlines this week belonged to the Islamic Jihad Union, an obscure movement with origins in Uzbekistan, which has previously attacked the Uzbek prosecutor’s office. 

The Economist’s correspondent in Kyrgyzstan offers a diary of a week’s journey through the country, including an interview with fruit juice entrepreneur Ishen Obolbekov.

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