External News in Brief

New Delhi hosted the round-table discussion, “Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran-India: Current Situation and Prospects,” Oct. 31. The event focused on logistics opportunities along the eastern route of the 7,200-kilometre North-South transit corridor and drew representatives from India’s Foreign Ministry, Commerce and Industry Association, and Trade and Industry Chamber Federation, as well as members of more than 30 leading transport and logistics companies. The participants noted the potential of the transport route to significantly cut delivery time and double or triple trade, which stands currently at about $1 billion. As part of the event, Kazakh national logistics company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy and India’s Tuberose Logistics company signed an agreement on rail transport and forwarding services.

The Kazakh film “Amre” won Best Global Hollywood Film award at the Hollywood Film Festival, held in Los Angeles, California, Oct. 23 to 28. “Amre” was filmed in Latvia and Kazakhstan in 2016. Directed by Jeff Vespa, it stars Sanzhar Madiyev, Yerkebulan Dairov, Abbie Cornish and Ben Aldridge. Premiered this year, the film tells the real story of Kazakh folk singer Amre Kashaubayev and his enchanting performance at the Paris expo in 1925. Six films were initially nominated for the festival from Kazakhstan, including three long features and two short films.

Kazakh mobile operator Tele2 was named Best Asian Project at the 14th Global Carrier Awards Oct. 24 in London, which gathered more than 400 industry leaders from across the international telecommunications community. The Kazakh operator, which accounts for 26.6 percent of the country’s mobile segment, presented its integration project with Altel at the contest, surpassing China Telecom, Indian Airtel, Colt and Epsilon in the category. “We have been growing in all directions, significantly exceeding the results of past years. We still remain a technological leader in 4G standard service provision and cover 74 percent of the country’s population with this technology, which is significantly higher than the similar indicator among other companies. At present, we service more than 7 million people,” said Tele2 and Altel Board Chair Roman Volodin.

Kazakh military forces took part in the 26th Euronaval international four-day naval and maritime exhibition and conference in Paris. Nearly 400 exhibitors from 34 countries presented technologies and the latest innovations in watercraft and infrastructure, hydrography, oceanography, maritime security and safety, naval architecture, maritime engineering, special operations, and training and simulation. The Kazakh delegation, led by Commander-in-Chief of Kazakhstan’s Naval and Maritime Forces Saken Bekzhanov, was among 124 French and international delegations visiting the event. The programme featured presentations in joint military operations, naval and maritime operations, cyber security and digitisation.

Kazakh companies signed contracts worth more than $1.5 million during the recent Central Asian trade forum in Tashkent. The annual event, first convened in 2011 in Bishkek, is meant to foster regional trade and partnerships and stimulate dialogue between regional businesses. More than 1,000 delegates from 27 countries attended this year’s forum, which focused on “New Horizons in Trade and Investments,” a theme that corresponds with the region’s growing linkages. Twenty-nine companies in engineering, cabling and wiring, metallurgy, agriculture, the food industry, construction and medicine represented Kazakhstan at the forum.


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