By empty (9/23/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The six-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization, initially set up as a political alliance, took a step toward economic integration Tuesday with China proposing the creation of a central Asian free trade zone. The alliance, formed in Shanghai in 1996 and upgraded in 2001 to battle terrorism in the wake of the Sep. 11 attacks in the U.

By empty (9/23/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Some 900 Armenian businesspeople, 150 of them from the Armenian diaspora, congregated in Yerevan on 22 September for a three-day forum to discuss ways of promoting diaspora investment in the economies of Armenia and the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), RFE/RL\'s Yerevan bureau reported. Addressing participants, President Kocharian complained that some diaspora businesspeople regard investing in Armenia as \"a heroic sacrifice,\" and demand special privileges from the government. NKR Prime Minister Anushavan Danielian estimated investment in the unrecognized enclave at $35 million.

By empty (9/22/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The Uzbek Embassy in Almaty has issued a statement accusing the Kazakh media of biased reporting about recent incidents along the two countries\' border. The embassy asserted that the Kazakh media have been carrying reports that reflect negatively the state of Kazakh-Uzbek relations, and that \"certain people\" in Kazakhstan are trying to use the border incidents for \"populist or other narrow political ends,\" thereby creating tensions and provoking anti-Uzbek sentiments. The embassy warned that irresponsible statements by Kazakh officials could combine with media bias to worsen relations and, possibly, to inflame tensions in border areas.