Tea Board of India, the government agency overseeing the product’s promotion, cultivation and export, organised a tea promotion event Aug. 23 in Almaty. A 22-member delegation headed by Deputy Board Chair Shri A.K. Ray visited the former Kazakh capital for the two-day event. The programme included meetings between buyers and sellers, tea testing sessions and seminars. India, the biggest tea exporter to Kazakhstan, is seeking to boost shipments. The country exported 46.92 million kilograms of tea from April 2017-January 2018 to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Kazakhstan will host the first World Traditional Sport Games in 2021. The decision, made during the fourth consultation council meeting on traditional sports and games as part of the Turkic Games 2018 in the Turkish city of Erzurum, was initiated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). UNESCO traditional sports and games committee representatives Marcellin Dally, Khalil Ahmed Khan and Shami Rana visited Astana July 1-2 during Kazakhstan’s bid to serve as host. The year will be symbolic as the nation will celebrate the 30th anniversary of its independence.
Kazakh companies discussed their participation in EXPO 2020 in Dubai during a Kazakh trade and economy mission to the United Arab Emirates. The meeting gathered 16 Kazakh and 34 Arab companies acquainted with Kazakh agriculture, metallurgy, oil, gas and food production. Kazakh Invest in the UAE office head Ilya Urazakov said Arab companies are interested in Kazakhstan as a business partner and stable, developing region with excellent prospects.
Young Kazakh geologists claimed two gold, one silver and three bronze medals at the International Earth Science Olympiad Aug. 8-17 at Mahidol University in Thailand’s Kanchanaburi province. The annual competition gathered school students from 40 countries across disciplines such as geology, meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and astronomy. Kamila Kazhen from Nazarbayev Intellectual School (NIS) in Astana earned two golds, while Aknazar Kazhymurat from NIS in Almaty won silver. Umurzak Asylbek and Islam Aituganov from NIS in Astana won three bronze medals.
Specialists from the U.S. Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration and Defence Department Threat Reduction Agency toured the Kazakh National Nuclear Centre as part of their visit to the country. The delegation observed the centre’s research base and former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, discussing current projects meant to ensure safety at the site and convert research reactors. Throughout more than 25 years of cooperation, Kazakh and American organisations have implemented projects such as eliminating the infrastructure remaining from nuclear tests, removing reactors from service and creating a network of seismic monitoring in support of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).
