More to lose Generally, trade with Russia is more important to Central Asian states than it is to Moscow. Russian state gas producer Gazprom now buys far less gas than it used to from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. In much of Central Asia, remittances represent the key economic link with Russia. Money sent home by workers in Russia accounts for nearly half of the gross domestic product of Tajikistan, the poorest of the former Soviet republics. Because the currency wired back is rubles, declines in the currency, including the recent steep falls around the Crimean crisis, deal a big blow to Central Asian economies. Central Asia also has to worry about the overall Russian economy. A slowdown could affect Russian spending in the region, according to Lilit Gevorgyan, a senior economist at information provider IHS Global Insight who specializes in financial risk in Central Asia.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Apr 2014 22:12:03 +0000
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