National adoption agency needed to meet Kazakh children’s needs, says Ana Uii executives

ASTANA – Creating a national adoption agency will make the process high quality and more transparent. The agency will also help to meet the needs of children in orphanages...


Kazakh athletes to participate in world’s most complex triathlon for first time

ASTANA – Four triathletes from Almaty, Elena Kun, Madina Kurmanbayeva, Elfira Dudnik and Anel Sydykova, have announced that they will be competing in the 480-kilometre Enduroman Arch to Arc,...


Economic news in brief

The number of mobile phone subscribers in Kazakhstan decreased over a year by 1.8 percent to 26 million, though the share of subscribers with access to the internet increased...


External news in brief

Kazakh products were for the first time presented at the 84th Green Week 2019 agriculture exhibition in Berlin that ran from Jan. 18 through Jan. 27. The exhibition welcomed...


National news in brief

Astana Invest plans to implement the smart street lighting project through a public-private partnership, according to the company’s press service. “We announced competition to select an investment company that...


It is important to be one of bright facets of culturally rich Kazakhstan, says Polish community leader

ASTANA – The Polonia Polish Community Public Fund, an ethnocultural centre, actively participates in developing cultural, social and economic ties between Kazakhstan and Poland . It seeks to remember...


EBRD launches Women in Microbusiness programme, focuses on Kazakh regions

ASTANA – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is accepting applications for the Women in Microbusiness project financed by the Kazakh Ministry of National Economy, reports EBRD’s...


EBRD: 2018 was fruitful year in Kazakhstan with focus on renewable energy

ASTANA – For the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), 2018 was another successful year in Kazakhstan. The bank allocated $541 million to the country’s economy for 26...


Brazilian chef wants to expand restaurant business in Kazakh capital

ASTANA – Brazilian restaurant Rio Chef Roberto Santos recently shared his perspective on living and working in the capital in an interview with The Astana Times. Santos grew up...


Kazakhstan provides investment opportunity at time of global economic uncertainty

When the world’s business and political leaders met in Davos at the World Economic Forum last week, the mood was cautious and reflective. There are too many challenges for...


Kazakh national cycling team wins five gold medals in Asia

ASTANA – The Kazakh national cycling team won 14 medals, including five gold, at the Jan. 9-13 cycle racing events at the 2019 Asian Cycling Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia....


Karaganda region set to expand infrastructure construction, attract tourists

ASTANA – In an exclusive interview with The Astana Times, Karaganda region Akim (Governor) Yerlan Koshanov speaks about the prospects of the region’s economic development, including infrastructure construction, and...


New tourist facilities to be built in Pavlodar

ASTANA – New tourist facilities and attractions are on the drawing board for the Pavlodar region’s Bayanaul National Park. The region’s akimat (administration) is encouraging local entrepreneurs to participate...


Uly Dala Sazy project seeks to popularise folk music among youth

ASTANA – The Qazaqstan national TV channel recently began streaming a new musical television project called “Uly Dala Sazy” (The sounds of the Great Steppe) to popularise Kazakh traditional...


Yrys finances more than 1,200 projects to develop Turkestan’s rural areas

ASTANA – Yrys microfinance organisation has funded 1,243 projects in the Turkestan region in the last 12 months. The ventures totalled 4.54 billion tenge (US$12.03 million) and employed approximately...


Kazakhstan increases municipal solid waste recycling by 3 percent

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s share of municipal solid waste (MSW) recycling increased to 11.5 percent last year, compared to 9 percent in 2017. The country produced 4.3 million tonnes of...


Singapore investors to build international schools in Kazakhstan

ASTANA – Singapore-based Pegasus Education Group will invest in educational institutions based on the Singapore continuing education system in Astana, Almaty and Shymkent, reported Jan. 19 the press service...


Astana Ballet to stage Karaganda performances in February

ASTANA – Astana Ballet will swap out its usual stage in the capital for Karaganda’s Konstantin Stanislavsky Russian Drama Theatre stage Feb. 23-24, reports its press service. In his...


Kazakhstan launches pilot programme using biometric data to deliver public services

ASTANA – Kazakh citizens will soon be able to receive public services using biometric data by scanning their faces and fingerprints. The programme will be launched in September in...


Kazakhstan, Zimbabwe to identify economic cooperation areas

ASTANA – Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa visited Kazakhstan for the first time Jan. 20-21. The delegation toured sights in the capital and met with the local business community. Mnangagwa...


Astana Pro Team leader Sanchez finishes fourth at Tour Down Under

ASTANA – Astana Pro Team leader Luis Leon Sanchez finished fourth in the general classification of the Tour Down Under road cycling stage race in and around Adelaide, South...


Kazakh President kicks off Year of Youth in Astana

ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev launched the Year of Youth in Kazakhstan during a Jan. 23 ceremony on the EXPO 2017 grounds at the Nur Alem pavilion. He...


National Bank of Kazakhstan keeps base rate at 9.25 percent

ASTANA – National Bank of Kazakhstan announced plans to keep the base rate at 9.25 percent with an interest rate band of +/- 1 percent, reported the bank’s press...


Kazakhstan’s 7-20-25 affordable housing programme grants $137 million in loans

ASTANA – The Kazakh 7-20-25 affordable housing programme has approved 4,350 applications for 52 billion tenge (US137.2 million) since its launch in July, said Kazakh National Bank Chairman Daniyar...


Astana-Schuchinsk toll road revenues reached $4 million in 2018

ASTANA – New charging systems and more stringent enforcement of vehicle control helped increase 2018 revenue from the Astana-Schuchinsk toll road to 1.54 billion tenge (US$4.06 million), reported the...


Nomad culture, ethno-sports key to drawing tourists to Central Asia, says Nomad Games organiser

ASTANA – Central Asian countries are paying ever more attention to controlling their own national brands. The Astana Times spoke with Maksat Chaki, former Kyrgyz vice minister of culture,...


Ridder – place of extreme sports and untouched nature

ASTANA – Ridder is a city in the East Kazakhstan region with untouched nature suitable for ecological and sports tourism. Visitors can go camping, do winter sports, climb rocky...


Aqkol becomes first smart city in Kazakhstan

ASTANA – The SmartAqkol project has entirely digitised all consumer and public services in Aqkol, making the small city 100 kilometres north of Astana Kazakhstan’s first smart city. Aqkol,...


Kazakh IT start-ups enter global market

ASTANA – SmartLab was named one of the top 10 best start-ups at the Startupbootcamp international competition last month in Australia. The Kazakh company presented its new product –...


Electronic sports academy to launch in the capital

ASTANA – The Digital Kazakhstan state programme will launch an electronic sports academy in the capital. The academy will offer master classes, tournaments and trainings on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive...


Kazakhstan’s National Bank identifies microfinance, insurance organisations’ 2018 violations

ASTANA – The Kazakh National Bank recently identified microfinance and insurance organisations’ violations of consumer rights and interests committed in 2018. The bank applied 17 sanctions and limited measures...


Kazakh poetry and prose tradition and culture centrism challenges experts to properly translate them

ASTANA – Translators, writers and representatives of publishing organisations in China, France, Russia, Spain and the United Kingdom discussed the difficulties they encountered when translating samples of contemporary Kazakh...


Silk Roads are central to understanding global history and modern world, says Oxford historian

ASTANA – Historically, the Silk Roads featured overlooked but central networks of ideas, goods, languages, religions and diseases, an observation that still holds importance, said Oxford University Professor of...


Using early hip dislocation diagnostics is vital, says Kazakh paediatric orthopaedist

ASTANA – Kazakh paediatric orthopaedist Roza Karabekova has invented panties for newborn babies (up to three months) to prevent hip joint dislocation. She emphasises early diagnosis of the disease,...


Kaiyndy Lake attracts thousands of tourists with unique underwater forests

ASTANA – Kaiyndy Lake near Almaty is artwork created by nature. Formed in 1911 as a result of the 7.7-magnitude Kebin earthquake (also known as Chon-Kemin earthquake), the natural disaster...


Anthologies of modern Kazakh prose and poetry to be distributed in 70 countries

ASTANA – Work is nearly complete to translate anthologies of modern Kazakh prose and poetry into Arabic, English, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish for distribution in 70 countries. The...


Kazakhstan doubles number of licenses for geological exploration

ASTANA – The Kazakh Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development has issued 26 licenses for geological exploration since mid-September in accordance with the new Code for Natural Resources and...


First ice sculpture competition takes place in Astana

ASTANA – The Yessil District akimat (administration) organised Kazakhstan’s first ice sculpture competition in the capital Jan. 16 for professional international participants. The sculptures will decorate the main entrance...


Edgravity online learning company expands educational and knowledge-sharing opportunities

ASTANA – Online education is a new field for Kazakhstan required for expanding educational and knowledge-sharing opportunities, said Edgravity online course company founder Aigerim Khafizova in an interview with...


Kazakh-Slovak cooperation in 2019 to centre on trade, OSCE chairmanship and Central Asia, says Slovak envoy

ASTANA – In the year ahead, Slovakia and Kazakhstan are aiming to boost trade turnover and tourism, share international organisation leadership experiences and address problems faced by Central Asian...


World Bank forecasts Kazakhstan’s growth to ease to 3.5 percent in 2019

ASTANA – The growth rate of Kazakhstan’s economy will decrease to 3.5 percent this year as oil production growth levels off and further fiscal consolidation efforts continue, according to...


Czech Bílek appointed head coach of Kazakh national football team

ASTANA – Czech football manager and former player Michal Bílek was appointed Jan. 17 head coach of the Kazakh national football team, a post formerly occupied by Bulgarian football...


Kazakhstan and its rapidly emerging role as a global conduit

It has been aptly said that in development economics, more than a scorecard of passive data and numbers, the true story is best perceived by naked human eyes. I...


Almaty edible bouquet business to expand to Astana

ASTANA – Almaty businessman Dinmukhamed Baitukayev plans to open a store in Astana by Feb. 14, selling edible bouquets into the Astana market before Valentine’s Day. His company Cosmoberry...


Kazakh alpinist leads expedition to climb K2

ASTANA – A seven-man expedition led by experienced Kazakh alpinist Vassiliy Pivtsov has set out from Askole, a Pakistani village near the city of Skardu, to climb K2. Located...


Kazakh capital’s Paralympic Training Centre offers free facilities to those with disabilities

ASTANA – The capital’s Paralympic Training Centre began allowing Jan. 1 free access to its facilities for people with disabilities, reports the city akimat (administration) press service. The Paralympic...


OneWeb to launch satellites from Baikonur

ASTANA – OneWeb will be launching a constellation of satellites which will provide broadband Internet access to users worldwide by fully covering the Earth’s surface. OneWeb British communications satellites mounted...


Kazakh national programme provides housing for 40,000 people

ASTANA – Approximately 40,000 Kazakh citizens received housing in the past year and every fourth loan was issued as part of the Nurly Zher national programme, reported Housing Construction...


Kazakh government makes strides in e-government development, plans further services

ASTANA – Kazakhstan does not plan to lag behind in the global digitisation trend and the Kazakh government is taking an active approach to developing electronic government services, planning...


Free Kazakh healthcare policy underway, national screening campaign brings results

ASTANA – Kazakhstan saw an increase from 40 to 46 percent last year in the number of private medical organisations participating in the guaranteed free health care programme, according...