Journalicious Dots from Switzerland

PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNT #1201 2941240

ZNY CCCCC ZZH

P 201240Z OCT 08 ZDK

FM AMEMBASSY TASHKENT

TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0435

INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 1128

RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 4621

RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 2912

RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 1571

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 001201

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/19/2018

TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON UZSUBJECT: TASHKENT TIDBITS OCTOBER 20, 2008

Classified By: POL-ECON Chief Nicholas Berliner for reasons 1.4 b and d.

UNDP and Uzbek Customs Launch New Web Site

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¶1. (C) The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Uzbekistan’s State Customs Committee have launched a new website (www.customsreform.uz), which will include updates on the latest changes in Customs regulation and discussions of the new Customs Code. An English-language version is in the works.

Non-Stop Service to Switzerland

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¶2. (C) Uzbekistan Airlines last week announced the expansion of its route network to include a new non-stop flight linking Tashkent and Geneva. At first glance this seems like an unusual choice since the airline already serves several major European hubs and Geneva is not a particularly large city; ZURICH is also a more of a gateway airport. We can’t even convince the Government of Uzbekistan to extend prison visit agreements with the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross. The main reason may be that the new Uzbek Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva happens to be President Karimov’s daughter, Gulnora Karimova, who would otherwise be subjected to time-consuming layovers in Paris, Frankfurt, or Milan on her commutes. The direct flight may also prove popular with Uzbek “biznessmen” seeking to do anonymous banking.

Russian Ambassador Moving On

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¶3. (U) The Russian MFA reported on its website that the Russian Ambassador to Tashkent, Farit Muhametshin, has been appointed the head of the Federal Agency for Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Affairs, Citizens Living Abroad, and \International Humanitarian Cooperation. The Charge d’Affaires will be Vazyh Ibragimovich Serazaev until a new envoy is named. In an October 18 article the Uzbek website uzmetronom.com credited Muhametshin, an ethnic Tatar, with the “restoration of friendly and allied relations between the states.”

Russia’s Economy and Uzbek Migrants

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¶4. (C) The effect of the world economic crisis on Uzbekistan was the topic of discussion at a meeting of embassy and IFI economists hosted last week by the Tashkent office of the EBRD. A significant portion of the discussion was devoted to the effect a downturn in the Russian economy would have on the up to 5 million Uzbek migrant laborers in Russia. A representative of the Russian trade mission assured us that the Russian migration service would be ruthless and efficient in deporting undocumented laborers, but his assertion was met with raised eyebrows. Other participants posited the more believable notion that highly qualified Uzbeks working in Russia will always find work and will remain through any recession, whereas unskilled laborers employed mainly in the construction industry may flood back to their family bases in Uzbekistan. Given that officially acknowledged remittances amounted to USD 1.6 billion in 2007 (nearly 9% of the Uzbek GDP), a mass return of unskilled laborers could be the most significant manifestation of the world economic crisis in Uzbekistan.

Iranian Ambassador Takes Four Months to Present Credentials

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¶5. (C) Iran’s new ambassador to Uzbekistan Muhammad Keshovarzoda was in Tashkent for four months before presenting his credentials to President Karimov on October

¶15. That Karimov was clearly in no hurry to receive Keshovarzoda can be seen as a reflection of GOU attitudes about Iran generally and suspicions about Tehran’s motives in the region.

NORLAND

DE RUEHNT #1201 2941240
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 201240Z OCT 08 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0435
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 1128
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 4621
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 2912
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 1571

XTAGS: XTAGPREL, XTAGPGOV, XTAGECON, XTAGUZ 08TASHKENT1201