The fourth annual meeting of the Astana Club will be held Nov. 12 and 13 at the Nazarbayev Centre. The discussion platform and political forum will bring together more than 50 experts, politicians and diplomats from 30 countries to explore this year’s theme, Building a Global Future for a Greater Eurasia. “The choice of topic is guided by trends like increasing isolationism, trade and sanctions wars and new safety threats that can be seen in Eurasia and around the world. Experts will pay special attention to the potential of the new strategic architecture arising in Eurasia as the world shifts to a multi-polar power balance and medium-sized powers are strengthened – no longer objects, but subjects in a new geopolitical reality. The club’s panel sessions will consider various scenarios for the future of Greater Eurasia, prospects for the development of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the Eurasian Economic Union and actual transformation processes in Central Asia,” a press release from the Astana Club explains. Many sessions are held according to Chatham House rules that maintain anonymity of expert opinions.
African-based global defence and aerospace business Paramount Group will invest in the land, maritime and aerospace technology production lines of Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering (KPE), according to a Paramount Group press release. With this expansion, the company plans to achieve the vision of President Nursultan Nazarbayev to establish Kazakhstan as a serious global player in the defence industry. “Our partnership in Kazakhstan represents one of our most successful ventures to date. We have for some time looked forward to the opportunity to further invest in KPE capabilities, building on the tremendous successes of our armoured land vehicle manufacturing in-country and KPE’s recent graduation to the role of global supply chain provider of land solutions,” said Ivor Ichikowitz, founder and executive chair of Paramount Group.
A new high-speed train connecting Almaty and Turkestan will be launched in November, reports Khabar 24. The train will depart on Friday from Almaty and return on Sunday. “Passengers have the opportunity to take a walk around Turkestan, to see the unique architecture and major sights of the ancient city in two days. They can also spend the night on the train without booking a hotel. The project initiators plan to open a daily route between Almaty and Turkestan,” reads the release.
The Salamatty Kazakhstan and Densaulyk medical train teams have provided free medical examinations for more than 17,000 residents of Kazakhstan and conducted more than 16,000 diagnostic procedures in four regions since September, according to the Samruk Kazyna press service. The campaign covered 52 stations in the Kostanai, Pavlodar, Atyrau and Mangystau regions. “Most importantly, specialists examined residents of remote stations. Small outpatient surgeries and dental services were provided. Some 2,764 children were among those examined. Doctors will examine approximately 40,000 people by the end of December,” said Samruk Kazyna Trust Social Projects Development Fund representative Miras Irgebayev.
Forbes reports that the Kazakh Ministry of Defence will develop a Unified Bank of Geospatial Information Oct. 18. It will be based on the integration of digital map data and aerospace survey data converted into a single format. “The project will include cartographic and other geospatial data and infrastructure information and serve as the basic platform of information decision support systems for the Armed Forces, other troops and military formations. It will provide geospatial information to increase the efficiency of decisions made and to reduce the time needed to collect information about terrain under battle conditions,” said a ministry representative.
More than 800,000 square metres of mortgage housing will be built in the Aktobe region in the coming years, the region’s press service has announced. The administration will allocate 2 billion tenge (US$5 million) to support socially vulnerable populations and state employees by reducing the initial contribution by 10 percent. “At the first stage it is planned to allocate about 250 million tenge (US$682,125) from the local budget to subsidise the initial contributions. Approximately 250 citizens including teachers and doctors will receive affordable housing this year and more than 500 residents are expected in the next year,” notes the release.
