The 11th-12th century church of Saint Paterne in the sleepy hamlet of Bellou-sur-Huisne in France’s western region of Normandy seems like a typical medieval-era edifice in this heavily forested, agricultural area. But there is something special about it: a government-linked foundation based in predominantly Shi’a Muslim Azerbaijan has paid for part of its restoration.
What do the Louvre Museum in Paris, the British Council, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a foundation that is a global leader in the fight against breast cancer, have in common? If you answered Gulnara Karimova, you were right.
The French construction company Bouygues has dramatically expanded its business in Turkmenistan since President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov assumed power, according to US Embassy cables, obtained by the WikiLeaks website and reviewed by the French newspaper Le Monde.
