23 November 1998
DAILY REVIEW FROM TATARSTAN
Tatarstan Republic Officials Issue Statement On Starovoitova Assassination
Tatarstan President Mintimer Shaimiev, State Council Chairman Farit Mukhametshin, and Prime Minister Rustam Minnikhanov issued a statement on 22 November expressing sorrow on behalf of the people of Tatarstan at the news of the assassination of Russian Duma deputy Galina Starovoitova. The Tatarstan government also expressed appreciation for her efforts in helping to avoid ethnic conflicts in the Russian Federation when she served as President Boris Yeltsin's advisor in the early 1990s. The statement also noted the efforts made by Starovoitova in helping to end the war in Chechnya and preventing the breakout of other military conflicts in Russia.
Tatarstan's government urged democratic movements to unite in the fight against crime and the continuation of democratic reforms in the Russian Federation.
Tatarstan Oil Potential Attracts New Investments
Licenses to extract oil and gas from deposits in the northwestern part of Tatarstan were bought by the Canadian-based International Academy Of Informatization and the Russian RITEK Company at an auction on 20 November. The Tatarstan president's advisor on oil issues, Rinat Muslimov, said that Tatarstan's state oil company had heretofore concerned itself with oil resources in the southeast part of the republic. But he added that there may be oil "layers" in the northwest with quantities as high as 10 millions tons of oil. Investors paid $1.36 billion for the right to explore for oil in the northwest.
Tatarstan President On Business Trip To India
President Shaimiev left for an official visit to New Delhi on 22 November. The purpose of his trip is to establish closer economic ties with India. Current cooperation projects between Kazan and New Delhi involve food imports for Tatarstan and navigational systems for Indian aircraft manufactured in Kazan. Shaimiev is accompanied on his trip by the directors of several major industrial enterprises.
Compiled by I.Nurmi