Financing Economic Recovery

As the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the length and breadth of Asia and the Pacific, finance ministries are continuing their relentless efforts to inject trillions...


Silicon Valley-based Founder Institute to Launch Startup Accelerator in November for Central Asian Entrepreneurs

NUR-SULTAN – The Silicon Valley-based Founder Institute will launch a pre-seed startup accelerator in November for entrepreneurs from Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The online program will aim to help...


Kazakh Capital to Open Eco Parks for Birdwatching, Horse Trails Around Taldykol, Maibalyk Lakes

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh capital plans to build two ecological parks around lakes in the southern parts of the city, reported the Nur-Sultan Akimat (city administration) press service. The...


Jari Kaukua: “Al-Farabi Was a Representative Of an Enlightened Islamic Thought, Which Played a Great Role in “Naturalization” of Ancient Greek Heritage In Eurasian World”

As Kazakhstan celebrates the Anniversary Year of its medieval philosopher Abu Nasr al-Farabi (870-950), born on the territory of modern Kazakhstan 1150 years ago, The Astana Times is publishes...


Al-Farabi Kazakh National University Provides Grants for Refugees Living in Kazakhstan Thanks to UNHCR Support

NUR-SULTAN – The Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU) has launched the first grant program for refugees in Kazakhstan with the assistance of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in...


U.S. Commerce Chamber Launches Kazakh American Business Council

NUR-SULTAN – The U.S. Commerce Chamber announced the creation of the U.S. – Kazakh Business Council to expand bilateral trade and economic cooperation, reported the commerce’s press service. The...


Kazakh National Economy Minister Outlines New Government Measures to Prop Up Struggling Businesses

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Minister of National Economy Ruslan Dalenov summarized his ministry’s plan to fulfill the tasks set out by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in his state-of-the-nation address, reported...


Kazakh National Bank, Finance Ministry Begin Work on Plan Put Forward in President’s Address to Nation

NUR-SULTAN – The heads of the Kazakh National Bank (NBK) and the Kazakh Ministry of Finance began enforcing measures to update strategies and laws to ensure an immediate execution...


Kazakhstan to Provide Additional Support to Businesses Impacted by COVID-19 Pandemic

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh government will subsidize businesses affected by the pandemic as part of a broader and continued effort to support its economy, said Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. ...


Kazakhstan In A New Reality: Time For Action

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s State of the Nation Address The work of the next session of Parliament begins at a challenging time. Our country continues to confront the...


Kazakh Political Analysts Impressed By Visionary Address of President Tokayev to the Nation

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh political analysts are optimistic about the initiatives and instructions laid out in Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s Sept. 1 state-of-the-nation (SOTN) address. According to the experts, the...


Arab Company to Invest $100 Million in Silicon Plant in Ekibastuz

NUR-SULTAN – The ANSA Silicon company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will invest $100 million in a silicon plant in the Ekibastuz town in the Pavlodar Region....


Kazakhstan to Cut Civil Service by 25% by Next Year

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan is planning significant reforms in its civil service after Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced that the nation will cut the civil service by 10 percent this...


Distance Learning to Become New Standard in Education as Academic Year Begins in Kazakhstan

NUR-SULTAN – Some 3.3 million schoolchildren, 466,000 high school students and more than 600,000 university students began a new academic year on Tuesday. While the majority will continue to...


Kazakh Constitutionalism: Learning From Past Experience and Exploring Prospects For the Future

Today, almost thirty years after the proclamation of sovereignty, we can say with confidence and a sense of pride that Kazakhstan is an equal and respected member of the...


Kazakh Government Begins Talk With Leading German Geology Companies

NUR-SULTAN  – Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar explored ways to strengthen Kazakh and German cooperation in subsoil use and geology during a video conference with the heads and...


Foreign Experts and Public Figures Write Book Explaining Importance of Constitution in Establishing Kazakh Statehood

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Constitutional Council presented the book “Kazakhstan Way: Constitutionalism, Person, Peace and Prosperity” during an Aug. 28 virtual international scientific and practical conference. More than 30...


Kazakh President Proposes Seven Reforms in His Address to Nation, With Focus On Economic Recovery

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev outlined seven areas for the nation’s economic recovery in his state-of-the-nation address Sept. 1 at the joint session of the Kazakh Parliament, reported...


International Day Against Nuclear Tests: 75 Years After the First (“Trinity”) Nuclear Test

VIENNA – On July 16, 1945, the first nuclear explosive device was detonated at the Alamogordo Test Range in the New Mexico desert in the United States of America....


Importance of Learning During and After COVID-19

The First of September is a very special day in Kazakhstan. Coinciding with the first day of school, it is a celebration of knowledge that involves a schoolwide assembly...


Public Interest in Nur Otan Party Primary Process Growing, Says Nazarbayev

NUR-SULTAN  – Kazakhstan’s First President and Chair of the country’s ruling Nur Otan party Nursultan Nazarbayev noted the growing interest in the party’s upcoming primaries in October during an...


Maintaining a Healthy Constitution

Constitutions are funny things. The word itself derives from the Latin for regulations and orders, but in the 1550s it started to be used to describe physical health, strength...


Online Literacy School Opens for People with Disabilities, Offers Internship Opportunities

NUR-SULTAN – The Erekshe Tandau-Shelek Fund has launched the Lider Z project, a professional online school for people with disabilities, reported Ortcom.Kz.  The training program offered at the school...


Dimash Dears Broadcast Kudaibergen’s Hit Songs on Cuban television, Dedicate Radio Station, Paint 3D Graffiti

NUR-SULTAN – Dears (die-hard fans of Kazakh singer Dimash Kudaibergen) worldwide seem to have a religious mission to ensure that as many people as possible get to hear Kudaibergen’s...


Abu Nasr Al-Farabi: a Thousand Years Long Odyssey of Knowledge

As Kazakhstan celebrates the Anniversary Year of the medieval philosopher Abu Nasr al-Farabi (870-950), born on the territory of modern Kazakhstan 1150 years ago, The Astana Times is publishing...


The International Day Against Nuclear Tests – a Big Event for Kazakhstan, a Pioneer in Their Abolition

August 29 is the internationally celebrated International Day Against Nuclear Tests. It is highly symbolic that the establishment of this important annual event was initiated by Kazakhstan and the...


Kazakhstan Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Constitution

NUR-SULTAN – This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Kazakh Constitution which is observed on Aug. 30. The Constitution was adopted at a nationwide referendum in 1995.  “The...


World Celebrates the International Day Against Nuclear Tests

Half of the world today is a nuclear-weapon-free zone, and Kazakhstan has significantly contributed to achieving this result. Having signed the Decree to close the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site...


Kazakh Military Medical Team Returns to Kazakhstan After Two Weeks in Lebanon

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh military medical team returned to Kazakhstan after spending more than two weeks in Lebanon providing medical care to patients who suffered in the Aug. 4...


Nuclear Testing: An Example to Follow

On 29 August 1949 the Soviet Union tested its first nuclear weapon in the atmosphere at the Semipalatinsk test site in Kazakhstan. By the time it stopped testing nuclear...


Kazakhstan, U.N. Officials Speak at Nuclear Commemoration

NEW-YORK – The desert sands are quiet now, at Semipalatinsk. And they’re quiet too, at Alаmogordo and Frenchman Flat, at Maralinga, the seas of Mururoa and other sites that...


Kazakhstan Eases COVID-19 Restrictions, Reopens Places of Worship, Sports Centers, Cultural Venues

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan has taken further steps to ease the current COVID-19 restrictions in the country. Starting from Aug. 31, the nation will reopen religious, sports, and cultural facilities,...


UNGA Recognizes Leading Role of Kazakhstan in Worldwide Anti-Nuke Testing Efforts

NUR-SULTAN – The President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Tijjani Muhammad Bande recognized the role of Kazakhstan “in championing the cause to ban nuclear test explosions and...


Kazakh Director Adilkhan Yerzhanov’s Film “Ulbolsyn” Receives Work in Progress Award at 26th Sarajevo Film Festival

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh director Adilkhan Yerzhanov’s feature film “Ulbolsyn” won the main prize in the Work in Progress category at Bosnia’s 26th Sarajevo Film Festival, reported the director’s press...


Kazakh Ecology Minister Introduces $8.83 million Development Plan For Charyn National Park 

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Deputy Minister of Ecology, Geology, and Natural Resources Yerlan Nysanbayev presented a development concept for the Charyn National Park in the Almaty Region during a Aug....


Revitalizing These Four Areas Will Help Developing Asian Countries Cope With New Corona Normal

To date, more than 810,000 people around the world have died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The pandemic has brought despair to countless families and caused unprecedented economic damage....


Businesses Restart Operations After Passing Special Permit Registration Process

NUR-SULTAN – The Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs has launched the InfoKazakhstan website to register companies that have resumed their activities after the lockdown to prevent the spread of...


Kazakh Government Forecasts Kazakhstan to Have 2.8 Percent GDP Growth in 2021

NUR-SULTAN  – The Kazakh Ministry of the National Economy has projected a 2.8 percent growth in real gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021, and 4.6 percent in 2025. This...


Kazakhstan and Turkey to Resume Passenger Flights On Aug. 27

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan and Turkey will lift restrictions on regular passenger flights on Aug. 27, the Kazakh Civil Aviation Committee confirmed. Prior to this, Turkey abruptly suspended flights on...


Kazakh Boxer Firuza Sharipova Wins IBA World Female Super Light Belt

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh boxer Firuza Sharipova (11-1, 5 KOs) has won the International Boxing Association World Female Super Light Title in Kazan by defeating Aug. 22 Tanzanian boxer Happy...


New Kazakh Eco-Tourism Industry May Attract up to 167 Million Dollars of Private Investment

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan has striking tourism potential and one of the recent areas in the development of the field is in eco-tourism which may attract up to 70 billion...


Fitch Rating Agency Gives Firm BBB Credit Rating to Kazakhstan

NUR-SULTAN – The Fitch Ratings credit rating agency affirmed Kazakhstan’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at the BBB with a stable outlook on Aug. 21. Despite the shocks...


Tokayev Explores Turkestan Tourism Development Options, Visits Major Cultural Sites

NUR-SULTAN  – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visited the Otyrar regional tourism center in the Turkestan Region as part of an effort to attract more tourists to explore the region’s...


Ministry of Trade and Integration to Develop National System For Delivery of Goods, Offer Tax Exemptions

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Minister of Trade and Integration Bakhyt Sultanov spoke about the key tasks of the ministry for the near future during the Aug. 20 meeting with the...


Kazakhstan Deploys Second Group of Peacekeepers to UN Mission in Lebanon

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan deployed a second group of 60 peacekeepers on Aug. 20 from the Kapshagai garrison of the Almaty Region to serve as part of the United Nations...


Kazakh MFA Establishes Operation Headquarters to Assist Students Studying Abroad

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs established the Operation Headquarters to coordinate and help Kazakh students who study abroad.  “The pandemic outbreak creates difficulties for international students...


Kazakh Cellist Sandi Toka Nova Speaks About Work on Charity Concerts to Support Kazakhstan, Growing Popularity of Kazakh Music (Video)

NUR-SULTAN – Famous Kazakh cellist Sandi Tokanova also known as Sandi Toka Nova spoke to The Astana Times about her performances at charity concerts to support Kazakhstan during the...


Kazakh Archaeologists Are Looking For Traces of Historic Figure Abu Nasr Al-Farabi

This year marks the 1150th anniversary of the outstanding thinker Abu Nasr Al-Farabi. For more than a millennium, the ideas of the philosopher have united East and West. According...


Author of Viral ‘Koronavirus, Ket!’ Song to Perform in US Charity Concert After Pandemic

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh composer Marat Omarov has begun preparing for a post pandemic charity concert in the United States, part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal initiative, Omarov told...


Central Asia Offers a Vast Ocean of Possibilities for Asean

In a global landscape radically changed by Covid-19, expedience is the name of the game. An impending post-pandemic climate, fraught with unpredictability, means previously unlikely partnerships are now possible....