6 April 2000
DAILY REVIEW FROM TATARSTAN
Shaimiev Visits The Emirates
Tatar President Mintimer Shaimiev met on 4 April with the finance and industry minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Khamdan ben Rashid Maktum, during an official visit by a delegation from Tatarstan to Abu Dhabi, the presidential press service reported. The sides discussed cooperation projects in machine building, agriculture, and construction. The minister expressed special interest in the possibility of investing in Tatarstan and the setting up of joint projects both in Tatarstan and the UAE. On the same day Shaimiev met with Prince Gazi ben Shake, the adviser to Jordanian King Abdullah II. ben Shake came to Abu Dhabi to extend an invitation from the king for for Shaimiev to visit Jordan.
Tatarstan's mufti and the chairman of the Muslims' Religious Board, Gusman khazrat Iskhakov, is in Shaimiev's delegation and met on 4 April with the prince to discuss common Islamic issues. The KamAZ truck concern's general manager, Ivan Kostin, held talks on the delivery of Tatarstan-made cars to the UAE.
Gas Deliveries To Tatarstan Not Limited
An official from Tatarstan's electricity monopoly Tatenergo, Boris Donskoi, told Tatar-inform on 5 April that there are no limits on gas deliveries to Tatarstan. He made his comments in connection with reports in the Russian media on the threat by Gazprom of a significant slashing of gas deliveries to the Russian electricity grid United Energy Systems. Donskoi said that all payments by Tatarstan are paid on time and that enough gas is delivered to cover the needs of the republic's energy system.
Presidential Poll Results in Tatarstan
Tatarstan's Central Election Committee announced at a press conference on 5 April the final official results from the 26 March presidential poll in the republic. The committee chairman, Anatolii Fomin, told the press that the turnout in the republic was 79.92 percent. A full 68.76 percent of the electorate (1,486,753 residents of the republic) voted for President-elect Vladimir Putin. Russian Communist Party leader Gennadii Zyuganov received 19.95 percent, while Grigorii Yavlinsky won 3.08 percent.
The committee rejected accusations of a falsified election result in Tatarstan made by Zyuganov. He had claimed that 3.5 million extra ballots were printed in Tatarstan.
The second round of Tatarstan's State Council election will be held on 8 April. Six seats are currently vacant in the republican parliament. The poll will be valid if 25 percent of the electorate participate in it.
Compiled by Gulnara Khasanova