Fund of First President to explore increasing Kazakhstan’s economic competitiveness

NUR-SULTAN – The Fund of the First President of Kazakhstan plans to start scientific and practical research and find ways to improve competitiveness, said Executive Director of the Fund...


Bulbul Kartanbay is first Kazakh athlete to play in National Women’s Hockey League 

NUR-SULTAN – Left wing forward Bulbul Kartanbay has become the first Kazakh athlete to play in the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) after signing Aug. 16 with the Metropolitan...


East Kazakhstan’s Vozrozhdenie ethno-cultural centre celebrates its 30th anniversary preserving ethnic Germans’ identity 

NUR-SULTAN – East Kazakhstan’s Vozrozhdenie (Revival) German association, one of the oldest ethno-cultural centres in Kazakhstan, is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The centre has been uniting and serving approximately...


100 MW capacity solar power plant launches near Kapshagai

NUR-SULTAN – ENEVERSE KUNKUAT, a subsidiary of Singapore-based companies, launched Sept. 3 a 100 megawatt (MW) solar power plant in the Almaty region near the city of Kapshagai. The...


Travel bloggers suggest promoting Kazakhstan’s rich wildlife, unique environment 

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan’s wildlife and unique environment were identified as some of the main advantages of travelling in the country during a recent public talk by travel bloggers in...


Kazakhstan to launch compulsory health insurance 10 years in the making

NUR-SULTAN – After almost a decade’s effort, Kazakhstan plans to launch in January 2020 a new system of compulsory insurance. The system is meant to lower the cost of...


Turkestan Region legislators add $76 million to regional budget

NUR-SULTAN – Turkestan Region deputies and regional governmental body heads agreed on the way to distribute the budget, which increased by 29.6 billion tenge (US$76 million), at the Sept....


Ablyazov, Khrapunov cases to be sent to foreign jurisdictions, says Kazakh Prosecutor General’s Office

NUR-SULTAN – Materials from the cases of former BTA Bank Board of Directors Chairperson Mukhtar Ablyazov and former Almaty Akim (Mayor) Viktor Khrapunov will be transferred to foreign jurisdictions for prosecution,...


Kazakh PM encourages Turkish business development

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin met Sept. 13 with Turkish-Kazakh Business Union (TÜKİB) representatives headed by board chair and Eksen Group owner Firat Develioglu to discuss strengthening...


Kazakh FM visits South Korea on 10th anniversary of strategic relations 

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Foreign Minister Beibut Atamkulov discussed bilateral relations, international issues and the situation on the Korean Peninsula with South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon and other top...


220 tour operators from 60 countries gather for Pacific Asia travel expo in Kazakh capital

NUR-SULTAN – Approximately 220 tour operators and 250 travel content providers from 60 countries gathered Sept. 18-20 in Nur-Sultan’s Korme Exhibition Centre for the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)...


Kazakh President reshuffles key government and ministry posts

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev made changes Sept. 18 to the leadership of some key government agencies and ministries. Tokayev appointed Roman Sklyar as Deputy Prime Minister, Beibut...


“Under One Sun” TEDx conference discusses ideas that help overcome differences

NUR-SULTAN – “Under One Sun,” the TEDx conference held Sept. 15 in the capital, focused on ideas that help overcome differences.  “It was chosen as a guideline for the...


Kazakh scientists study gamma-ray bursts in distant galaxies

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan will launch a new high-speed telescope to study gamma-ray bursts in distant galaxies, reports Nazarbayev University. Scientists recently assembled and conducted preliminary tests with the Nazarbayev...


Designer uses fashion to instil love of Kazakh culture

NUR-SULTAN – Capital fashion designer Nagima Kaidarova is devoted to instilling love of Kazakh culture and traditions through her ethnically-stylised clothes.  Although she studied graphic design at Gumilyov Eurasian...


Kazakhstan is one of world leaders in chromite mining, production and reserves, says U.S. Geological Survey

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan is one of the world leaders in chromite mining, production and reserves, according to the United States Geological Survey. The country was the third biggest chromite...


Kazakhstan secures two 2020 Olympic licenses at Senior Wrestling World Championship 

NUR-SULTAN – Approximately 1,000 athletes from 105 countries gathered in the Kazakh capital Sept. 14 to compete for 108 Olympic bids at the Senior Wrestling World Championship. It is...


In UK, ATOM Project’s Kuyukov advocates for global nuclear disarmament

LONDON – The ATOM Project Honourary Ambassador Karipbek Kuyukov called on people around the world to sign The ATOM Project’s online petition to permanently end nuclear weapons testing during...


Kazakhstan to provide working youth apartments for less than $35 per month

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh citizens under the age of 29 with full-time employment will be able to rent apartments for between 10,000 tenge (US$25.8) to 12,000 tenge (US$31.0) per month...


Kazakhstan sets 30% interest limit on short-term microloans

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh National Bank plans to limit the maximum interest rate on microloans to 30 percent, according to the recently drafted Resolution of the Board of the...


Uzbekistan joins Turkic Council

NUR-SULTAN – Uzbekistan will become a member of the Cooperation Council of the Turkic-speaking States (CCTS), also known as the Turkic Council, reports Turkkon.org. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed...


AIFC develops regulatory framework to grow green finance

NUR-SULTAN – The Astana International Finance Centre (AIFC) is developing a framework to facilitate the growing green finance sector in Kazakhstan, AIFC Board Chairman Kairat Kelimbetov told the Sept....


Astana Opera offers performances for children in September

NUR-SULTAN – Astana Opera musicians and artists will present in September projects for children and perform Gioacchino Rossini’s one-act operatic farsa comica “La Scala di Seta” for adults. “Music...


Kazakh pianist, British actors to perform at Astana Concert Hall

NUR-SULTAN – Sell-out and critically acclaimed British concert “Byron: Angel and Outcast” is coming to Astana Concert Hall.  The performance, slated for 7 p.m., Sept. 21, recounts Lord Byron’s...


More than 2,700 young professionals have applied for Kazakhstan’s Presidential Personnel Reserve

NUR-SULTAN – More than 2,757 young professionals have sent in applications to be chosen for the Presidential Personnel Reserve, which matches Kazakhstan’s brightest early professionals with key positions in...


Kazakhstan and China: strengthening friendship and partnership in a new era

NUR-SULTAN – Beibut Atamkulov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, gave an exclusive interview to Kazakhstanskaya Pravda newspaper explaining the results of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s Sept. 11-12 state visit...


Kazakhstan to increase penalties for wildlife poaching, better protect state wildlife officials

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan is drafting a law to more harshly punish wildlife poachers and to better protect state wildlife officials, Kazakh Deputy General Prosecutor Marat Akhmetzhanov said Sept. 11...


Nur-Sultan to host ISU Speed Skating World Cup in December

NUR-SULTAN – Alau Ice Palace in the capital will serve as host Dec. 6-8 for a portion of the International Skating Union’s (ISU) Speed Skating World Cup Series. The...


Mangystau Region to celebrate Kazakh writer and politician Kekilbayev’s 80th anniversary 

NUR-SULTAN – The Mangystau Region will mark the 80th anniversary of Kazakh writer and politician Abish Kekilbayev’s birth by hosting events including an Oct. 10-12 science congress and Oct....


Kazakh draft law would toughen penalties for rape, child sexual abuse

NUR-SULTAN – A draft law is being developed to make penalties more stringent for rape and child sexual abuse, Deputy Prosecutor General Murat Akhmetzhanov said at a Sept. 11...


Astana IT University opens in Kazakh capital

NUR-SULTAN – The expo site in the capital has become the home of the newly opened Astana IT University. As a one-of-its-kind in the country, the university has the...


Kazakh industrialisation programmes create 11,000 jobs since 2010

NUR-SULTAN – One-hundred-fourteen projects worth approximately 276 billion tenge (US$715.07 million) were implemented and approximately 11,000 jobs created under national industrialisation programmes since 2010, said Kazakh Vice Minister of...


Kazakhstan seeks high-tech, agricultural cooperation with China, says Tokayev during Beijing Business Council meeting

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan will develop its high-tech sector and elements of Industry 4.0 to increase the degree to which its economy is based on innovation and new technologies, Kazakh...


Investors explore opportunities in Kazakhstan at Toronto Global Forum

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Invest officials presented investment opportunities in Kazakhstan to foreign companies Sept. 4-6 at the annual economic event Toronto Global Forum in Canada, reports Invest.gov.kz. Kazakh Invest...


Kazakhstan’s history of peace, denuclearisation are valuable in time of global risks, says President

NUR-SULTAN – As the role of international law and global institutions in maintaining peace and security diminish, Kazakhstan’s history of peace and denuclearisation can serve as a valuable model,...


Saryarka gas pipeline construction to be finished in December, will begin supplying gas in 2020

NUR-SULTAN – Construction of the Saryarka gas pipeline, which will increase the gas supply to the capital, central and northern regions will be finished in December and begin supplying...


Kazakh GDP grows 4.3 percent over eight months, says PM

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan’s GDP grew 4.3 percent from January-August compared to the corresponding period of 2018, Prime Minister Askar Mamin said at the Sept. 10 government session. Positive growth...


Kazakh Ministry of Finance completes one-time debt relief programme, writes off $357 million

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Ministry of Finance summed up the results Sept. 9 of a one-time debt relief action that wrote off more than 138 billion tenge (US$357.06 million)...


Kazakh, Chinese leaders agree to develop long-term strategic partnership

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed during a Sept. 11 meeting in Beijing to “develop a long-term, strategic and comprehensive partnership,” reports the...


Two programmes to provide free entrepreneurial training to 4,000 people in Shymkent

NUR-SULTAN – The Bastau Business and Zhaskasipker funded entrepreneurship skills training programmes are being offered for the first time in Shymkent. The former will involve 2,700 participants; the latter,...


Apartment with yurt room for rent in Nur-Sultan

NUR-SULTAN – Capital residents may have noticed an unusual advertisement posted on the real estate website krisha.kz about a five-bedroom apartment in the Skazochnyi Mir (Wonderland) residential complex. Large...


Kazakhstan seeks high-tech, agricultural cooperation with China, says Tokayev during Beijing Business Council meeting 

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan will develop its high-tech sector and elements of Industry 4.0 to increase the degree to which its economy is based on innovation and new technologies, Kazakh...


Expats give Kazakhstan high marks in new InterNations report

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan has shown the biggest improvement in the 2019 InterNations Business Solutions Expat Insider report, moving 27 ranks up to 22nd place from 49th spot in 2018....


Astana Pro Team’s Jakob Fuglsang wins Vuelta a España 16th stage

NUR-SULTAN – Astana Pro Team’s Jakob Fuglsang won the 16th stage of the Vuelta a España Sept. 10 atop Alto de la Cubilla, reported KazInform.kz. “I am super happy...


Fitch affirms Kazakhstan’s rating at BBB with stable outlook

NUR-SULTAN – The Fitch credit rating agency affirmed Kazakhstan’s long-term foreign currency issuer default rating (IDR) at BBB with a Stable Outlook, according to the Fitch ratings published Sept....


Kazakh FM discusses cooperation with UAE officials, attends IGC meeting in Abu Dhabi

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Foreign Minister Beibut Atamkulov and United Arab Emirates Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed cooperation and investment...


French family tours world in campervan, enjoys Nur-Sultan’s people and architecture

NUR-SULTAN – A family of three from Normandy, France sold everything they owned to go on a trip around the world in a campervan they lovingly named Le Daciel...


Kazakhstan attracts $330 billion FDI since 1991

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan has attracted $330 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) from more than 120 countries since its independence, said Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Zhenis Kassymbek at a...


Kazakh government presents draft plan to implement President’s initiatives

NUR-SULTAN – First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Alikhan Smailov presented the draft National Plan of Action to implement President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s Sept. 2 state-of-the-nation address during...


Nazarbayev opens Kazakh pavilion at exhibition hall in Moscow, meets with Putin

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan’s First President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and attended the opening ceremony of Kazakhstan’s pavilion at the VDNH exposition, museum and recreational complex...