- Friday, 13 February, 2026
- Almaty 21 °F / -6 °C
- Astana -2 °F / -19 °C
President Nursultan Nazarbayev visited on Dec. 4 South Kazakhstan and its capital Shymkent, which is Kazakhstan’s third most populous city and is expected to become a national...
ASTANA – Kazakh President NursultanNazarbayev highlighted the importance of government backing for innovative research Dec. 8 when he attended a conference on the issue in the TechGarden...
ASTANA – Stefano Ravagnan, Italy’s new ambassador in Astana, has plans to reinforce and formalise his country’s long-standing engagement with Kazakhstan, expanding the two countries’ traditional energy...
ASTANA – Kazakhstan Railways (KTZ) and ALSTOM signed an agreement Dec. 5 for the latter to purchase an additional 25 percent stake in EKZ, its Kazakh locomotive...
French President François Hollande visited Astana and Almaty on Dec. 5-6. This is the third visit of a French president to Kazakhstan, after François Mitterrand in 1993...
ASTANA – French President Francois Hollande commended Kazakhstan for “successfully pursuing its goals in economic development” and playing “an important political and diplomatic role” that allows Astana...
BANGKOK – Kazakhstan and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) signed a new trust fund agreement Dec. 3 that provides...
Foreign ministers from Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) participating states assembled in Basel on Dec. 4-5 for the annual Ministerial Council meeting to assess...
ASTANA – Twelve young football players from Astana travelled to Soria, Spain, from Nov. 1 – 10 to play in the first Spanish-Kazakh youth football tournament. The...
ASTANA – Astana doesn’t lack for snow or cold weather, but with a paucity of slopes, one would be forgiven for thinking skating or cross-country skiing the...
The ninth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage reviewed new strategies to implement its goals and report on the status of eight...
GAITHERSBURG, MD – The International Science and Technology Centre (ISTC), a multigovernment nonproliferation programme established in 1992, is moving its headquarters from Moscow to Astana’s Nazarbayev University...
ASTANA – The London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting improving energy efficiency in Kazakhstan by facilitating foreign direct investment in the refurbishment of...
ASTANA – Publisher Marat Akmedjanov took his first steps in the industry with a magazine intended to draw tourists to his native Uzbekistan. Now he’s at the...
President Nursultan Nazarbayev has said that the fate of peoples who don’t honour their own histories will always be in doubt. Olzhas Suleimenov, prominent poet, social and...
“Seventy-seven percent of children pre-school education in Kazakhstan,” Minister Aslan Sarinzhipov said at a Nov. 28 extended collegium of the Ministry of Education and...
Kairat Abdrakhmanov and Carlos Agostinho Filomeno das Nieves, the permanent representatives of Kazakhstan and Sao Tome and Principe, respectively, to the United Nations, signed a joint communiqué...
On Nov. 25, Prime Minister Karim Massimov took part in a Senate meeting. During discussion of the law On the National Budget for 2015-2017, Massimov answered a...
First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Bakytzhan Sagintayev chaired a Nov. 27 regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Damu Entrepreneurship Development Fund. The meeting...
Kazakhstan’s cultural heritage includes a long line of nomadic traditions. For thousands of years, nomadic herders have survived in the extremely cold winters and scorching summers of...
The Atyrau Paralympic wheelchair volleyball team won bronze at a Dec. 1 international tournament in Germany and player-coach Bauyrzhan Takhauov was voted captain of the team. The...
INCHEBURUN STATION, IRAN – In a major development with implications for regional trade and global politics, the presidents of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran launched a railway line...
It is easy to understand why protecting the environment does not figure high on the agenda of many developing economies. When poverty casts such a dark shadow...
Almaty-born Kazakh racer Lyubov Andreyeva, who recently turned 18, is hopeful about next year after the Nov. 26 season finale in Sochi, Russia. In her debut year,...
Kazakhstan’s famous figure skater Denis Ten set a new personal record in the short programme at the Nov. 24 regular Grand Prix in France, gaining the best...
Some 43 countries in the world are landlocked: 15 in Africa, 14 in Europe, 12 in Asia and two in South America. This list contains all the...
In my many years of translation work, an important place is taken by the work of my long-time friend, the undeniably gifted writer Zholtai Zhumat. Over a...
The 25th session of the Energy Charter Conference kicked off in Astana on Nov. 27. During the event, authoritative representatives of the world’s energy elite discussed pressing...
ASTANA – Astana’s Technology Commercialisation Centre (TCC) announced its latest round of grant winners, which include projects Lead Expert Erik Azulay described as world class, at a...
On Dec. 2, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) celebrates its national day. In 1971, after unification, the United Arab Emirates managed to transform themselves from desert areas...
The fall in oil prices and the decisions made at the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is causing severe ripples throughout the world economy. So...
On this auspicious day, we would like to wish all of you (and ourselves) a happy fourth birthday to The Astana Times! The first issue of The...
Concerning the latest video: references to natives of Kazakhstanoperating in Syria and Iraq have been made before. Over the year and a half since the first videos...
ASTANA – The future of the international energy market and global energy management systems, as well as a review of Kazakhstan’s energy saving and energy efficiency policies,...
ASTANA – TOUCHka Ltd. has developed a mobile application, TOUCHka, which is an analogue to the Uber application in Europe and America. The application allows Astana and...
ASTANA – Global consulting giant McKinsey introduced its upcoming book “No Ordinary Disruption: The Four Forces Breaking All the Trends” at a press conference in Astana’s Marriott...
ASTANA – “Uly Dalanyn Kemenger Galymy” (Brilliant Scholar of the Great Steppe), an exhibition dedicated to the 90th anniversary of Doctor of Historical Sciences Kemal Akishev, opened...
ASTANA – There has always been enough room for all nationalities within the multi-ethnic and multicultural community of Kazakhstan. Throughout history, Kazakhs have demonstrated tolerance and compassion...
Poets, writers and literary critics from Kazakhstan and Russia met in Moscow on Nov. 26 for the first time in 25 years to talk about common problems...
ASTANA – The construction of a residential area using green technologies has begun in Astana, Chairman of the Board of the Samruk Kazyna Real Estate Fund Bolat...
ASTANA – Construction for Affordable Housing 2020, the national housing programme, will begin Jan. 1, First Deputy Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev announced at a Nov. 20 meeting...
Almaty’s Kairat defeated Aktobe 4:1 on Nov. 22 to claim the Kazakh Football Cup in Astana Arena. Aktobe scored first in the 19th minute, but Kairat’s Yury...
ASTANA – A group of 75 college students in Astana, Almaty and Ereimentau (150 kilometres northeast of Astana) had a unique opportunity recently to receive innovative training...
ASTANA – Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan publicly confirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral ties and friendly cooperation in Central Asia during the official visit of Uzbek leader Islam...
Showing pictures of deserts and ships standing on rocks, British rock group Pink Floyd has released a new music video highlighting the problems of the Aral Sea...
Members of Kazakhstan’s government presented the country’s most recent report on Kazakhstan’s implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane and Degrading Treatment or Punishment...
ASTANA – The role of civil society was discussed Nov. 19 during the regular session of the Commission on the Fight against Corruption under President Nursultan Nazarbayev....
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev expressed hope that the Czech Republic will assist Kazakhstan in building an economy that does not depend on natural resources during...
ASTANA – The Diplomatic Christmas Charity Bazaar , one of the biggest events of the holiday season, is just around the corner and bazaar Organising Committee Chairperson...
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry held a roundtable Nov. 21 to introduce the country’s policy to improve the investment climate and priority sectors of the domestic economy...
The newest “Golden Voice of the Turkic World” belongs to Kazakh singer Zhanar Dungalova, winner of the recent Turkvision Song Contest. The competition was organised within the...
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev took part in a roundtable on industrialisation issues held Nov. 20 in the Akorda presidential residence, covering the results Kazakhstan achieved...
The Aral Sea has a grand history in Kazakhstan and the Central Asian region and was once one of the four largest lakes in the world, covering...
ASTANA – Verdi’s masterpiece “Aida” premiered Nov. 19 on the stage of the Astana Opera. Preparation took just over a month, as the staging involved all the...
The MolProduct milk factory in Petropavlovsk has increased its output to 60,000 tonnes since the beginning of the year. “We produce 25 sorts of milk with different...
ASTANA – President of the Swiss Confederation and Chairperson-in-Office of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Didier Burkhalter visited Astana Nov. 20-21 to discuss...
ASTANA – A mobile messenger service unique to Kazakhstan Aitys (iTys) was presented by the Foundation for Development of the State Language at a Nov. 19 briefing...
Dear readers, During the almost four years that The Astana Times has existed, foreign ambassadors, diplomats and officials at the offices of international organisations in Kazakhstan have...
ASTANA – Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) launched on Nov. 18 in Almaty and will run through Nov. 23. The week, begun in 2008, is intended to spark...
ASTANA – Kazakhstan is a multicultural country with more than 130 nationalities living within its borders. The Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan (APK) helps these ethnic...
Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Massimov met with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili when the latter officially visited Kazakhstan. At a Nov. 12 meeting, Massimov and Garibashvili discussed...
“Under the law on improvement of conditions for business, the number of procedures during the registration of enterprises will be reduced by three times,” said Minister of...
ASTANA – The Sixth Economic Forum of National Business Expert-200-Kazakhstan organised by the rating agency Expert RA Kazakhstan (RAEX) and the Expert Kazakhstan magazine was held on...
ALMATY – The third Open Central Asia Book Forum and Literary Festival was held in Almaty from Nov. 14 to 17, featuring contests, film screenings, book launches,...
“Work on establishing high technology productions for export in Special Economic Zone Seaport Aktau continues,” said Akim (governor) of the Mangystau region Alik Aidarbayev at a Nov....
At the recent Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (Amateur International Boxing Association, AIBA) Congress in Cheju, South Korea, important changes were made, questions were asked and members...
Turkey defeated the Kazakhstan national football team in the last qualifying match of the calendar year for the Euro 2016 championship with a score of 3:1. The...
So much of Kazakhstan is changing and modernising at an incredible pace: the country has entered into the ranks of the 50 most-competitive states, Astana has grown...
On Nov. 18, exactly two decades have passed since Kazakhstan and the United States concluded Project Sapphire, a joint secret operation conducted in 1994 to remove approximately...
ASTANA – European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) President Suma Chakrabarti visited Tajikistan on Nov. 17-18, the first official visit by an EBRD president to that...
ASTANA – Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Nomaindiya Mfeketo visited Astana from Nov. 5-6 to co-chair the fourth round of South Africa-Kazakhstan Bilateral Consultations with...
Two-time Olympic weightlifting gold medalist Ilya Ilyin of Kazakhstan set a new world record Nov. 15 in Almaty en route to winning his fourth Weightlifting World Championship....
ASTANA – President Nursultan Nazarbayev appointed well-known and respected Toleubek Alpiyev as new director of The Astana Opera State Theatre of Opera and Ballet on Nov. 14....
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s stalled People’s IPO programme has been revived to hold a new public stock offering, this time in the state-operated Kazakhstan Electric Grid Operating Company...
KOKSHETAU – Kansonar, the championship dedicated to the memory of legendary falconer Masip Batyrkhanuly, will soon celebrate its 12th year. The open championship for masters of falconry...
In anticipation of Kazakhstan’s upcoming EXPO 2017, geologists are proposing creation of presentational complexes known as geoparks. The potential geoparks will be several thousand times smaller versions...
During the Mazhilis’ (lower chamber of the Parliament’s) most recent “government hour,” which was focused on providing schoolchildren with textbooks and methodical resources, many flaws in the...
The Kazakh Ministry of Culture and Sports has developed a programme, including a 20-episode television series, to celebrate in 2015 the 20th anniversary of the formation of...
ASTANA – A landmark real estate project where each quarter of the city will match the style of a particular world capital was unveiled Nov. 5 by...
The local Petropavlovsk police department recently organised a flash mob of 100 schoolchildren to help promote law and order. “For half an hour, more than 100 students...
A high-level forum exploring the investment potential of Almaty as the newly redefined financial hub of Central Asia titled Financing Growth in Kazakhstan was held at the...
Kazakh metallurgical companies on behalf of the National Export and Investments agency KAZNEX INVEST are among 750 presenters at the Nov. 11-14 20th Metal-Expo 2014 in Moscow....
ASTANA – Five new affordable residential housing complexes offering 1,574 apartments under the Affordable Housing 2020 Programme will be available by the end of the year, according...
BRUSSELS – Kazakh Minister of Foreign Affairs Erlan Idrissov visited Brussels on Nov. 12 to address a distinguished audience of European politicians and scholars at the launch...
ASTANA – At a Nov. 6 meeting of the Senate (the upper chamber of parliament) chaired by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the chamber ratified an agreement between Kazakhstan and...
ASTANA – Nurly Zhol, a new economic policy, presented by President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the Nov. 11 meeting of the Nur Otan Political Council emphasised the infrastructure...
ASTANA – The right to freedom of movement was the theme of the regular meeting of the Consultative-Advisory Body Platform for Dialogue on Human Dimension held Nov....
ASTANA – At the Kazakh-German Business Council held on Nov. 10 in Astana during the visit of German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the focus was on promoting...
ASTANA – Astana’s public school No. 67 is the newest partner in the German language programme DSD, a 22-year-old government-funded initiative that partners with public schools around...
ASTANA – At a Nov. 8 press conference and Shabyt gala concert for the 17th International Festival of Creative Youth held in the Palace of Peace and...
The Combat and Strength Sports Confederation will celebrate its second anniversary on Nov. 20. In such a short period, the confederation has achieved considerable success, becoming one of...
ASTANA – President Nursultan Nazarbayev unexpectedly delivered his new state-of-the-nation address in Astana on Nov.11 at an extended session of the Political Council of the Nur Otan...
Kazakh culture, spiritual roots and traditions were presented to the French public during the Oct. 31 to Nov. 3 Days of Astana in Paris. The event will...
ASTANA – Kazakh Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov met Nov. 10 with visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Astana. Idrissov...
Przewalski horses are expected to be delivered from Germany’s Nurnberg Zoo in an effort to revive the breed in Kazakhstan, according to a recent announcement by the...
ASTANA – French artist, animator and designer Nicolas Journoud was born in 1978 in Lyon, France. He received his first education in Canada, choosing biological studies, but...
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev reaffirmed their two countries’ growing economic and cooperative relationship during the Nov. 7 fourth Supreme Interstate...
ASTANA – Nineteen-year-old Kazakh athlete Azhar Kenbeil has demonstrated excellent results in sambo, the Russian martial arts and combat sport that is very popular in various parts...
Developing a new paradigm focused on solving global challenges was recently discussed for the first time at the G-Global platform. An international conference titled “A New Paradigm...
