Michail SERGEEV
ALMATY, June 2 (THE GLOBE)
From June 1 to 4 for the sixth time, the Central Asian International exhibition �Telecommunications, tele-and-radio-broadcasting systems, Internet, computer, informational and banking technologies. Security systems� � KITEL�99 is being held in Almaty in the territory of the business co-operation centre �Atakent�.
�KITEL�99 attracted more than 180 companies from 25 countries and is the most significant event in our region and the second largest exhibition in the CIS countries,� the representative of Iteca company (the organiser of the exhibition) announced.
Annually the wide program of round tables, workshops, presentations, press conferences and other events is realised at the exhibition. KITEL�99 is not an exception. Official delegations from Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan arrived to the exhibition to take part in the round tables.
In this year, for the first time �Kazakhtelecom� connected all the computers of the exhibition to the Internet free of charge.
Under the aegis of KITEL�99, table tennis competitions for a special prize are conducted among the participants of the exhibition.
�At present more than 20 participants who will fight for the right to be the first both in business and in sport, have been registered,� the representative of Iteca stated.
The official lottery of the exhibition is conducted daily for visitors and the participants. Cellular phones, office equipment, free connection and work on Internet are among the prizes of the exhibition.
The organisers of KITEL�99 were the international trade-exhibition company ITE Group and Iteca company, its exclusive partner in organising the international exhibitions and conferences in Central Asia.
The Ministry of transport and communications of RK and �Kazakhtelecom� officially supportedKITEL�99.
�In 1999 to 2000, the Iteca company is planning to hold a number of exhibitions devoted to telecommunications, computers and information technologies not only in Almaty and Astana, but also in other republics of the Central Asian region,� she added.
Askar DARIMBET
ALMATY, June 2 (THE GLOBE)
�In May the company recovered the sales volumes lost in April. After the tenge�s devaluation in April, we had to raise our prices, and sales plummeted. But the situation has gradually normalised,� the representative of �Techcentre� company, which take part in KITEL�99 announced.
According to the representative, Kazakhstan is still a country that is very attractive for investments.
�It will be interesting for me to know the resolutions taken at the tomorrow�s investment summit,� the representative of the company said.
�The majority of the products sold by us are produced in Russia. The collapse of rouble in the last year did not influence the activity of our company at all, as we pay the Russian producers in conventional units, as we sell in Kazakhstan,� another participant of the exhibition, the representative of �Tsunami� company announced.
Rashid DYUSEMBAEV
ALMATY, June 2 (THE GLOBE)
The financial crisis greatly influenced the retail sales, the vice-president of �Scan East� company, a participator of KITEL�99 said to THE GLOBE on June 2 in Almaty.
Alexander Sarazetdinov emphasised, that the main objective of participation in the exhibition was to work with traditional clients to assure them of the reliability of the company. That is very important under the crisis conditions.
According to the vice-president, despite the negative trends in the retail market, they have not influenced the long-term projects of his company. The company was also aided by the fact that they were not dependent upon any contracts with the state organisations.
�Today�s KITEL is not larger than the previous exhibition,� the participant said.
By Bruce Pannier and
Naryn Idinov
Prague, 1 June (RFE/RL)
A potentially dangerous precedent was set in Central Asia last week � the cutting off of water was used as pressure in a bilateral dispute. Kyrgyzstan shut off water supplies to parts of southern Kazakhstan in an attempt to force that country to fulfill a promise to provide coal.
Kyrgyz First Deputy Prime Minister Boris Silayev announced the cut off, saying that Kazakhstan had not fulfilled a promise to deliver 560,000 tons of coal as compensation for Kyrgyzstan maintaining reservoirs which guarantee water to the region. The announcement also came a week after Kazakhstan�s Intergaz company shut off natural gas supplies to northern Kyrgyzstan because of non-payment.
Water service to Kazakhstan was later restored after Kazakh officials promised to send a delegation to Kyrgyzstan this month (June). In the meantime, Silayev said over the weekend that Kazakhstan had agreed to resume coal deliveries ahead of the talks.
And so from Bishkek�s perspective, the point had been made. In a region where 90 percent of the land is arid, using water as leverage can be effective.
Relations between the five CIS Central Asian states have become increasingly complicated since independence. Nowhere is this more clear than in the politics surrounding the region�s energy and natural resources.
During Soviet times, the region�s energy system was relatively unified. Soviet planners devised a network of power sources, with gas pipelines bringing fuel from Uzbekistan to Kyrgyzstan and with Kyrgyz hydroelectricity supplies going to both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
The system seemed a good idea in the days when all the countries were part of the Soviet Union, but it is a source of problems today.
Kyrgyz officials say they do not have enough money to pay for the upkeep of rivers and dams to supply water to fields in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. They say the other countries should be required to help with maintenance costs.
At a meeting last year of representatives from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, it was agreed that southern Kyrgyzstan would receive some of its gas free from Uzbekistan. In addition, Kazakhstan would ship 560,000 tons of coal annually to northern Kyrgyzstan. In return for these steps and a modest financial contribution, Kyrgyzstan was responsible for maintaining the rivers.
It is fair to say none of the parties lived up to that agreement. Kyrgyzstan allowed a reservoir to fill too high last summer. It later flooded, leaving 80 people dead in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan, in turn, says Kyrgyzstan owes it for past deliveries of natural gas and has shut off gas pipelines four times in six months. Kazakhstan has not shipped coal to Kyrgyzstan as it was obliged to do.
Water is logically Kyrgyzstan�s trump card, but it also sets a dangerous precedent.
Threatening to leave two major agricultural regions of Kazakhstan without water as summer nears has apparently proven to be an effective means for Kyrgyzstan to make Kazakhstan deliver coal. But in a region familiar with the phrase �water is life,� it is also a tactic that may significantly strain ties.
All Over the Globe is published by IPA House.
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