Kyrgyzstan: joint hydropower projects begin with Uzbekistan

Presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan agreed on joint operation of hydropower facilities, Shavkat Mirziyoyev said following the talks with Sadyr Japarov. According to him, the countries start implementation of large hydropower projects. “Our companies are working out the issues of joint construction and operation of hydropower projects. These are very serious and large objects. We…

Estonia: tourism revenue down in 2020

According to Enterprise Estonia (EAS), tourism exports fell by 63% or by EUR 1.3 billion in 2020, reaching only EUR 763 million. “Especially in a small country, it is clear that our prosperity or lack thereof depends primarily on the extent to which we are able to sell goods and services outside Estonia,” Liina Maria…

Ukraine: China interested in increasing imports

Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Ukraine Fan Xianrong says China is interested in increasing exports of Ukrainian goods, especially food. He said this during a meeting with Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna. During the meeting, the interlocutors considered the state of implementation of the decisions of…

Uzbekistan: external debt rising

Uzbekistan’s external debt soared to $21.2 billion, or 36.5% of GDP, as of the end of 2020. This was almost exactly in line with an October 2020 forecast of Fitch Ratings. Five years ago, the GDP ratio stood at 16%. Tashkent has justified the rising external borrowing by pointing to social demands that require urgent…

Estonia: imports up in January 2021

Imports rose by 13% YoY in January, state agency Statistics Estonia reported, while exports grew by 4%. Evelin Puura, Statistics Estonia leading analyst, said the primary contributor to foreign trade in January was the increased trade in oil products and mineral fuels, partly the result of higher prices global crude oil prices. Meanwhile, the largest…