Fortnightly Review and Analysis: Iran, West Asia, Eurasia, Central Asian Republics (CAR) & Africa (Vol 2 Issue XI)

June 01-15, 2017

West Asia

Economic and Diplomatic Blockade of Qatar

On 5 June 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and UAE announced to severe ties with Qatar. This included diplomatic, air, sea and land connections to and from Qatar. In the week that followed, Egypt, General Hiftar from Libya, Mauritius, Mauritania and Maldives ceased ties with Qatar. Later, Jordon announced the revoking of the license of Doha based TV channel – Al Jazeera, in Jordan. This created intense hue and cry in the region and globally. While President Donald Trump acknowledge and supported the move, Rex Tillerson urged the states to maintain unity. The reason for the latest move, as explained by Saudi official, is the non-conceding attitude of Qatar to the Riyadh Agreement, and its support of terrorism and extremism in the region. However, there are convert causes which include the strategic isolation of Qatar in order to get it to comply with the demands of the GCC states. These include, Qatar’s ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and, more importantly, its ties with Iran. Qatar, on the other hand, has called these allegations false and fabricated. It also said that the latest move is to punish Qatar for following an independent foreign policy and that it will not concede to such coercive measures.

After the news was announced, New Delhi began to worry about the safety and security of its 6,50,000 (approximately) migrant workers based in Qatar and the gas deals made with Qatar. However, External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, said in a statement that New Delhi is continuous monitoring the situation in the region and checking if Indians are stuck. She also said that is a matter of internal affairs of the GCC states. However, amidst fear and speculations, there are no reports of any India being stuck due to the crisis yet.

Sale of US Fighter Jets to Qatar

On 14 June 2017, Washigton signed a deal with Qatar for 36 F-15QA fighter jets worth $12 billion. This accounts for a portion of the full deal that will take years to complete in full. The Qatari Defence Minister met US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis in Washington to sign the deal. The State Department describes this sale as fermenting U.S. efforts to "strengthen the security and defense architecture of the region." The Qatari Defence Minister said that this deal will enable Qatar to develop its own security instead on relying on the US military. It is worth mentioning that the deal was concluded after the GCC states announced it diplomatic blockade of Qatar, which President Trump acknowledged and appreciated in his later tweets.

Terrorist Attack in Iran claimed by ISIS

On 7 June 2017, twin attacks on Iranian Parliament took place. The main target was the Imam Khomeini’s shrine about 25 kilometers away in south Tehran. The left at least twelve people dead and dozens injured at the Iranian parliament. Four gunmen, including a suicide bomber, attacked the parliament, while a similar number of assailants were reported at the tomb complex. The Iranian intelligence ministry said it had foiled a third attack. The Islamic State later confirmed its involvement and it was also said that the two gunmen were of IS recruits of Iranian origin. This was the first of such attacks conducted by ISIS in Iran.

The Israeli Finance Minister meeting with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister

On June 1, 2017, the Finance Minister of Israel, Moshe Kahlon, met with the Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah. The meeting was to the brief the PA authorities of the security cabinet decisions to improve economic situation of the PA. The meeting came amidst the on-going efforts by the United States to re-start the diplomatic process to find a solution to the crisis and improving overall atmosphere in the region. The Finance Ministry statement said the steps approved by the security cabinet on the eve of Trump’s visit were detailed to the Palestinians. These steps include the opening of the Allenby Bridge Crossing 24 hours a day for the next two months and making the arrangement permanent in 2018; extending and upgrading crossing points in the West Bank; establishing an industrial zone near the Tarkumiya crossing; and easing restrictions on Palestinian building in specific areas of Area C that adjoin Areas A or B.

CAR

SCO Summit
17thSummit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was held in Astana on 8-9 June. This was a historic event, as India and Pakistan became permanent members of the SCO during this summit. This was the first-ever expansion of the organization since its establishment in 2001. After the inclusion of the two states, SCO now represents 42 percent of world's population, 20 percent global GDP, and 22 percent land. Process for entry of the new members had begun in the Ufa Summit in 2015. Subsequently in the Tashkent Summit of 2016, the two nations signed the Memorandum of Obligations for joining the forum.

Astana Summit was attended by heads of states of the members as well as the observer states. Among the high-level participants, were Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kyrgyzstani President Almazbek Atambayev, Tajikistani President Emomali Rahmon, Uzbekistani President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Afghanistani President Ashraf Ghani. The two day Summit included deliberations on issues like regional security, terrorism and connectivity. The heads of states of the founding members also signed the accession accord that finalized entry of India and Pakistan into SCO.

PM Modi, in his speech at the Astana summit, listed the priority areas of India in the SCO, as energy, education, agriculture, capacity building, development partnership, trade, investment and security. In addition to this, he mentioned about India’s connectivity projects in the region, namely International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and the Chabahar Agreement, which are likely to boost its economic relations with the countries of Eurasia. Moreover, he asserted that the connectivity projects in the region should be inclusive, sustainable, and should take into account sovereignty and territorial integrity of the members. PM also reiterated that India will cooperate with the SCO members in counter-terrorism, information sharing and cyber security.

On the sidelines of the Summit, PM Modi held bilateral meetings with the Central Asian leaders, and with President Xi Jinping. He also participated in the Expo 2017 in Astana.

Expo 2017 in Astana

The specialized international exposition, called Expo 2017, was inaugurated in the Kazakh capital Astana on 9 June. The Expo was opened for public participation on 10 June and will remain open till 10 September. More than a hundred countries and number of international organizations are taking part in the event, and organizers are expecting as many as five million visitors from across the globe. The Expo is taking place in the south-eastern part of Astana city, on the site of about 25 hectors. The theme of the Expo is “Future Energy!” with the focus on innovative and practical energy solutions.

Astana was elected as a venue for this event by the members of Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in 2012, which was recognized by the General Assembly in 2014. Kazakhstan is the first post-Soviet country to host a high-level event of such kind. The inaugural ceremony of the Expo was attended by as many as 17 world leaders, including Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Indian participation in the EXPO is organized by the India Trade Promotion Organization (ITDO), New Delhi. The India Pavilion was inaugurated by Mr Harsh Kumar Jain, Indian ambassador to Kazakhstan. The pavilion exhibits the replica of Cochin airport, which is world’s first green airport. There are models displaying innovative techniques and best practices in India in the field of clean and renewable energy. The pavilion also features themes like Indian architecture, Yoga, Ayurveda and Indian cuisine.

UN-Central Asia Dialogue on Counter Terrorism

‘High-Level United Nations-Central Asian Dialogue on Implementing the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia’ took place in Ashgabat on 13 June. This dialogue was chaired by UN Secretary-General Mr António Guterres, and was attended by ministers from all the Central Asian Republics (CARs). On the occasion, the participants adopted a Joint Declaration on strengthening regional collaboration to counter-terrorism. The objective of the meeting was to review implementation of the joint action plan on counter-terrorism strategy in Central Asia, and to define future strategic counter-terrorism priorities for the region.

CARs are seriously affected by terrorism, violent extremism and radicalization. However, their commitment to jointly addressing and defeating these threats was applauded by the UN Secretary-General. Terrorism cannot be defeated by any one country, and calls for a consorted efforts by all the states in the region. In this regard and otherwise, regional cooperation amongst the CARs has improved in the near past.

Africa

Tanzania Government and the Chinese Firms Sign $154 million Contract to Expand Country’s Main Port

Tanzania’s government has signed a $154 million contract with the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) to expand the main port in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. To transform the country into a regional transport and trade hub, Tanzania is seeking financing for infrastructure projects as part of its plans. Under the contract funded by a World Bank loan, CHEC, a subsidiary of the state-run China Communications Construction Co Ltd, will build a roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) terminal and deepen and strengthen seven berths at Dar-es-Salaam port.

Tanzania is hoping that the expansion of the port will increase container through output to 28 million tonnes a year by 2020 from around 20 million tonnes currently. The project is being carried out in order to increase competitiveness of the port. East Africa’s second-biggest economy wants to profit from its long coastline and upgrade its rickety railways and roads to serve the growing economies in the land-locked heart of Africa. The discovery of Gas in Tanzania and oil in Kenya and Uganda have turned East Africa into an exploration hotspot for oil firms. But transport infrastructure in those countries has suffered from decades of under-investment. Tanzania will receive a $305 million loan from the World Bank to expand its main port, where congestion and inefficiencies are hampering service delivery.

Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast Win Seats on United Nation Security Council

Oil-rich Equatorial Guinea and world’s biggest cocoa producer, Ivory Coast, were the two African countries that on Friday won non-permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the period 2018-2019. Other countries that won the seats at UNSC are Kuwait, the Netherlands, Peru and Poland. They will begin their two-year tenure on January 1, 2018. The other serving non-permanent members are Ethiopia, Bolivia, Kazakstan and Sweden. All four began their two-year tenure on January 1, 2017. Equatorial Guinea’s human rights record relative to the arbitrary arrest and detention of human rights defenders over the years has left rights groups worried about what signal their election to the UNSC sends. On the other hand, Ivory Coast has been stable since incumbent Alassane Ouattara took over the regions after Laurent Gbagbo was ousted.

Ethiopia Warns of Emergency Food Aid Shortage, 7.8m People to Suffer

The government and the humanitarian groups are of the view that Ethiopia will run out of emergency food aid for 7.8 million people very soon as the country is severely hit by drought. Successive failed rains blamed by meteorologists on fluctuations in ocean temperatures known as the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) have created a series of severe back-to-back droughts in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa region. The number of people now critically short of food is expected to rise by at least two million July 2017.

The World Food Programme’s representative in Ethiopia has also mentioned that the country and its people are in a dire situation. Humanitarian groups fear donor fatigue is weighing on efforts to meet requirements. According to the United Nations Famine in northeast Nigeria, together with South Sudan, Kenya, Yemen and Somalia, constitute the worst humanitarian crisis the world has faced since 1945. Across the Horn of Africa, close to 17 million people need humanitarian aid due to drought.

The Economic Community of West African States Gives Green light to Morocco’s Membership Application

In the 51st Ordinary Summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Heads of State and Government, has given its agreement in principle to Morocco’s request to join the regional grouping. Leaders of West Africa agreed in principle for the accession of the North African country to join the bloc given the strong and multi-dimensional ties of cooperation. However, the implications of its membership still needed to be considered before Morocco could formally join. Morocco’s application comes after it rejoined the African Union in January. ECOWAS is made up of 15 West African nations, none of which shares a border with Morocco.

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