Kazakh Minister of Energy Kanat Bozumbayev participated in the March 17 meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Baku. OPEC+, a group of 24 major oil-producing countries, collectively decided to cut their output by 1.2 million barrels a day for the first half of this year to stabilise global markets. Bozumbayev assured participants that Kazakhstan will commit to the plan based on results from the first six months of 2019. “Kazakhstan is not yet a member of the OPEC+ monitoring committee, but Saudi Arabia and Russia have invited us to join. In December 2018, OPEC and OPEC+ countries decided to reduce production by 1.2 million barrels per day to balance supply and demand in the market. As a result, the price of oil has risen, reaching a corridor of $60 to $70 per barrel. This has reduced volatility and inventory levels have dropped significantly” in major oil importing countries, he said.
A Kazakh delegation headed by Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection Aida Kurmangaliyeva concluded its participation at the 63rd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the UN headquarters in New York. The event is a leading annual conference meant to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women. It gathers nearly 5,000 delegates from UN member states, UN agencies and accredited nongovernmental organisations from around the world. On the sidelines of the event, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan joined efforts with the regional office of UN Women for Europe and Central Asia to organise a discussion on social protection in Central Asia. Kurmangaliyeva moderated the event and briefed the gathering on her country’s efforts to bolster social protections and expand access to public services to achieve gender equality and empower women.
Nur-Sultan is bidding to host the World Martial Arts Games in 2021 against three other cities, said Kazakh Minister of Culture and Sports Arystanbek Mukhamediuly during the Kazakh Martial Arts Association’s recent congress in the capital. Kazakhstan set up the organisation in 2018 to promote sports, uniting 20 non-Olympic sports federations. The minister said the association will give a “new impetus to the development of sports in the country” and “be an excellent platform to prepare national teams for upcoming international tournaments and World Martial Arts Games under the International Convention for the Sport Accord.”
Tatarstan hosted a days of Kazakh culture event that convened with the exhibition, “The Great Steppe: History and Culture,” in the Manezh exhibition hall of the Kazan Kremlin. “With active support from the culture ministries of Kazakhstan and Tatarstan, we opened the Altyn Adam [Gold Man] Tour exhibition in Kazan and Days of Kazakh cinema,” Consul General of Kazakhstan in Kazan Yerkin Tukumov announced. The exhibition, which displays 127 exhibits from the Kazakh National Museum’s collection representing ancient and medieval Kazakh art, will run through April 15.
A Portuguese translation of the book “Era of Independence,” has been presented in Brasilia. The book by Nursultan Nazarbayev tells the history of Kazakhstan, its development and its role in the international arena. It is the fist Kazakh book to be translated into Portuguese. The event was organised by the Foundation of the First President of Kazakhstan and the Kazakh Embassy in Brazil with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil.
