The 20th anniversary Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan “Kazakhstan 2050: one nation – one country – one destiny” under the chairmanship of President Nursultan Nazarbayev is to take place on April 24 at the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation. The event will bring together members of the Assembly from all regions, the chairmen of the national and regional ethno-cultural associations, heads of central executive bodies, political parties, religious organizations, NGOs, diplomatic missions of foreign countries, scientific and creative intelligentsia and the media.
On April 17, Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov attended the Forum of Machine Builders in Astana. Akhmetov read out the Kazakh President’s welcome address. “Kazakhstan’s machine building complex should become one of the key sectors of the country’s economy in the near future. The Government creates all conditions for it: establishes institutional and legal frameworks, improves the investment climate, improves mechanisms of public-private partnership,” the President’s welcoming speech reads. Akhmetov noted the need to modernize the industry. “For ten years we have increased the production output from 45 billion to 680 billion tenge. It is vital to encourage modernization and reconstruction of factories and enterprises. We need new technology, new equipment. It is impossible to produce competitive products without it,” the head of the government said. More than 700 delegates from the CIS and non-CIS countries attended. The forum sought to become an international platform for effective interaction between representatives of government, business and science for the development and adoption of innovative solutions in the machine building industry.
As of March 1, 2013, the population of Kazakhstan increased to 16,953,900, head of the Statistics Agency Alikhan Smailov stated at a briefing on the results of socio-economic development of the country. “As of March 1, 2013 the population amounted to 16,953,900 people, and in comparison with the beginning of the previous year increased by 42,000 or 0.4 percent,” Smailov said. It was noted that the increase in population was natural, which in January-February 2013 was 41,400 people. Also, speaking of the demographic situation in the country, Smailov reported that in January-February 2013 the number of births was 66,400 that is 0.8 percent more than in 2012. The number of deaths in January-February 2013 was 25,600 people, which is 2.3 percent less than in January-February 2012.
A regular sitting of the Steering Committee of the 28th World Winter Universiade 2017 chaired by Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov was held in Astana on April 16. Akim of Almaty City Akhmetzhan Yessimov presented a final version of the Concept and Master Plan of the 28th World Winter Universiade. According to Yessimov, the concept of the event “reflects the mission of the 28th Winter Universiade, the organizational structure of the games, interagency coordination, project management and risk management.” The preliminary timeframe of the event is 29 January – 8 February 2017, which is yet to be agreed with the Executive Committee of the International University Sports Federation. The programme includes eight compulsory and five additional disciplines. Universiade venues include six existing and four new facilities that will have to be built.
More than 9,000 scholarships have been awarded over the 20 years of the international presidential programme “Bolashak,” Kazakhstan’s Minister of Education and Science Bakytzhan Zhumagulov told a government meeting on April 16. Bolashak focuses on training specialists needed for the country. From 1994 to 2013, 9,250 scholarships were awarded, the number of graduates was 5,714, and 2,796 scholarship holders have been trained in 33 countries around the world, Zhumagulov said. According to the minister, today the public sector employs over 20 percent of all graduates, national companies and companies with state participation employ 21 percent, the private sector 55 percent, international organizations and NGOs 4 percent.
