Energy intensity drops 28 percent in Kazakhstan

ASTANA – The energy intensity of Kazakhstan’s economy has decreased by 28 percent since 2008, Kazakhstan’s First Vice Minister of Investment and Development Alik Aidarbayev said during a Sept....


President Nazarbayev opens Kazakh Parliament’s third session, sets major goals

ASTANA – The third session of the Kazakh Parliament’s sixth convocation opened Sept. 4 with President Nursultan Nazarbayev setting the legislature’s tasks for the coming 10 months. Speaking before...


Kazakhstan and South Korea: 25 years of mutual sympathy, trust and support

ASTANA – With the new government of South Korea, Astana and Seoul have greater momentum to expand relations. This year, dealings between the countries have intensified significantly thanks to...


Kazakh wrestlers win three medals at World Championships in Paris

ASTANA – Kazakh athletes won three medals at the World Wrestling Championships Aug. 21-27 in Paris, taking two silvers in Greco-Roman wrestling and a bronze in freestyle. Demeu Zhadyrayev...


Kazakh boxers win gold, bronze and silver medals at world boxing championships in Hamburg

HAMBURG – Kazakh boxers won one gold, two silver and three bronze medals at the Aug. 25 to Sept. 2 AIBA World Boxing Championships in Hamburg. Kairat Yeraliyev, considered...


Kazakh PM gets two new deputies

ASTANA – Kazakh Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintaiyev received two newest deputies following the presidential decrees Aug. 29. Yerbolat Dossayev and Askar Zhumagaliyev were presented as two new deputy prime...


David Guetta’s EXPO 2017 concert stalls Astana, brings down house

ASTANA – EXPO 2017 has made this summer truly unforgettable for many capital residents, as it hosted multiple world-renowned singers and celebrities. The David Guetta concert on Aug. 29,...


Astana-Pavlodar highway to be toll road in 2018

ASTANA – The Astana-Pavlodar highway, where construction started in 2014 under the Nurly Zhol national programme, will begin operation in mid-2018. The route, an important part of the Centre-East...


UK, Kazakhstan to train Kazakh prison officers to international standards

ASTANA – Kazakhstan and the United Kingdom are marking their 25th anniversary of cooperation this year with Kazakhstan’s sixth largest investor launching a new project to train prison officers,...


EXPO 2017, OIC and its first ever Summit on Science and Technology

Science – and the practical technological developments that spring from advances in knowledge – affect every moment of our lives. They are the reasons we live longer and healthier,...


Objective factors affect investors’ decision to invest in Kazakhstan, says Kazakh Invest executive

ASTANA – Various objective factors, including the global political situation and unstable tenge rate, affect the investment climate in Kazakhstan, which Kazakh Invest Deputy Chair Nursultan Zhienbayev said complicate...


EXPO 2017 “is what conversation on transition to clean energy needs to be about,” says head of UN Environment Programme

ASTANA – Erik Solheim, head of the UN Environment Programme and Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, visited Astana late last month to meet with senior Kazakh officials and discuss...


Kazakhstan, Poland build on 25 years of relations, says Kazakh envoy

As became known, President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda plans to pay a state visit to Astana on Sept. 6-7. On the eve of this major event...


Social Medical Insurance Fund will have sufficient budget to finance medical institutions, says fund chief

ASTANA – In a recent interview with KazPravda, Zabira Orazaliyeva, Social Medical Insurance Fund (SMIF) managing director for medical care users, gave an overall assessment of the fund’s first...


Jackie Chan says he wants to make film in Kazakhstan

ASTANA – Chairperson of the Kazakhstan Television and Radio Company Yerlan Karin recently announced that Chinese actor and star of American cinema Jackie Chan plans to make a movie...


NGOs and government discuss civil issues at Kazakh MFA

ASTANA – The Consultative Advisory Body (CAB) of the Dialogue Platform on Human Dimension discussed during its Aug. 28 meeting Kazakhstan’s fulfillment of UN conventions and other civil issues....


UN General Assembly commemorates Int’l Day against Nuclear Tests

NEW YORK – The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) commemorated the International Day against Nuclear Tests with an Aug. 30 special meeting highlighting the need for unified efforts to...


Astana to build enclosed pedestrian skyway system

ASTANA – The Astana city government plans to build a system of enclosed pedestrian footbridges connecting buildings two and three stories above the sidewalk, according to the akimat (city...


Kazakhstan Temir Zholy boosts digitalisation to increase competitiveness

ASTANA – A conference called Drivers of Transport Development was held in the capital Aug. 28 in conjunction with the Eurasian Week international forum. The agenda focused on digital...


Balance of payment improvements reduce exchange rate risk, says Kazakh NB chairman

ASTANA – The inflation target in Kazakhstan is determined at the level of 5-7 percent with further gradual decrease to 4 percent and lower by 2020. This was announced...


New religion textbook to be included in national school curriculum

ASTANA – A new religion textbook will be added to the national school curriculum, announced Minister of Religious Affairs and Civil Society of Kazakhstan Nurlan Yermekbayev at a recent...


New children’s vaccination method proposed in Kazakhstan

ASTANA – Kazakhstan is considering making children’s vaccinations mandatory only for dangerous infectious diseases, Minister of Religious Affairs and Civil Society of Kazakhstan Nurlan Yermekbayev announced during a recent...


EAEU free trade zone negotiations with Iran close to end

ASTANA – Negotiations between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Iran to create a free trade zone are in their final stage. “We have been conducting quite intensive negotiations...


Manufacturing industry is major driver of growth, says official

ASTANA – Approximately 500 new locally made items have appeared on the market in the past seven years, said Kazakh First Vice Minister for Investments and Development Alik Aidarbayev...


EXPO 2017 welcomes three-millionth visitor

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s major event, EXPO 2017, welcomed its three-millionth visitor on Aug. 25. He turned out to be a 38-year-old resident of Moscow, Yuri Shurygin. “I liked the...


Kazakhstan steps up radicalism prevention efforts

ASTANA – Work to prevent the spread of religious radicalism is well underway in Kazakhstan, as state agencies led by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Civil Society are...


Astana EXPO 2017 and warm feeling that stays on

As someone who spent the major part of his summer in Kazakhstan working in and around EXPO 2017. I think it’s important to share both my thoughts and experiences...


Kazakhstan condemns DPRK missile launch, calls for dialogue during UNSC meeting

ASTANA – Kazakhstan condemned during the Aug. 29 meeting of the UN Security Council the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) launch of a ballistic missile over Japan on...


World holds minute of silence in memory of nuclear test victims

ASTANA – An international moment of silence honouring the memory of victims of all nuclear weapons testing in the world was held at 11:05 a.m. local time Aug. 29...


Kazakhstan, US agree to cooperate on nuclear energy

ASTANA – Kazakh Energy Minister Kanat Bozumbayev and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette signed an agreement Aug. 28 in Astana to cooperate on nuclear energy. “I am honoured to join...


Kazakh economy grows 4 percent in 2017 so far, projected to grow 3.4 percent by year’s end

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s economy has witnessed a 4-percent growth in the first seven months of 2017 and Minister of Economy Timur Suleimenov marked the overall macroeconomic stability during an...


Astana Opera star wishes nation well on Constitution Day

ASTANA – Young artists of the Astana Opera presented Aug. 26 at the Astana Opera chamber Hall “Our Song Is for You, Kazakhstan!,” a festive concert in honour of...


Pugwash Council, Kazakhstan focus attention on nuclear weapons’ consequences during Astana conference

ASTANA – The Pugwash Council called upon all governments and people to reflect on the grave and irreversible ecological and humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and to spare no...


Kazakhstan can be moral leader, key mediator in nuclear disarmament: head of CTBTO

ASTANA – Executive Secretary of the Vienna-based Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) Preparatory Commission Dr. Lassina Zerbo believes Kazakhstan and Japan have a moral obligation to lead...


IAEA low enriched uranium fuel bank opens in Kazakhstan

ASTANA – The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) supported by the Kazakh government opened Aug. 29 its first-ever Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Bank in Kazakhstan. The $150 million facility...


ATOM Project joins Pugwash conference meetings in search of nuclear disarmament

ASTANA – As Kazakhstan and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) launch the Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) bank in Ust-Kamenogorsk under the auspices of the Vienna-based organisation Aug. 29,...


Astana first city in CIS to complete first phase of dilapidated housing improvement programme

ASTANA – Kazakhstan recently became the first country in the Commonwealth of Independent states to complete the first phase of demolition in a pilot project concerning dilapidated housing. The...


Minister reports on Digital Kazakhstan programme as launch date approaches

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev held a meeting Aug. 23 with Minister of Information and Communications Dauren Abayev, according to akorda.kz, during which the minister reported on the development...


Almaty Drama Theatre brings innovative performances to EXPO 2017

ASTANA – The Lermontov Russian State Academic Drama Theatre from Almaty presented two of its most exciting and innovative stagings of the year in Astana Aug. 22-23 under the...


Kazakhstan seeks to further promote global nuclear security, set to launch LEU Bank to boost nuclear power industry

ASTANA – The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Bank will be launched Aug. 29 at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant in Ust-Kamenogorsk, said Parliament Senate Chairman...


Time to create platform for international cooperation, one common, multi-lateral tourist product: Tourist Silk Road

Kazakhstan has recently been in the news because of the prestigious international event, the Future Energy-themed Astana EXPO 2017. “It will become a model for future sustainable living,” notes...


EAEU internal, foreign trade grows by more than 25 percent in 2017

ASTANA ­– Trade within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and with non-member states grew by more than 27 percent in the first half of 2017. Trade with non-member states...


KazSport TV channel changes name to Qazsport

ASTANA – The Kazakhstan TV/radio company, which includes the only sports television channel KazSport in the country, has rebranded itself. Starting with the new TV season, which the channel...


60 percent of privatisation programme completed, says Samruk Kazyna chair

ASTANA – The privatisation of 60 percent of companies sought for Kazakhstan’s national privatisation programme within the Samruk Kazyna National Welfare Fund has been completed. Samruk Kazyna Chairperson Umirzak...


Zaman-Bank becomes Kazakhstan’s second Islamic Bank

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s previously commercial Zaman-Bank became an official Islamic bank Aug. 17 after receiving a license from the National Bank of Kazakhstan. The license allows the bank to...


Prime Minister praises EXPO 2017 in Eurasian Week opening remarks

ASTANA – Kazakh Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev praised EXPO 2017’s contribution to economic growth and regional integration in his opening remarks to the Eurasian Week forum on Aug. 24....


Kazakhstan to switch to electronic customs declaration

ASTANA – Kazakhstan will completely switch to electronic customs declaration, according to the draft code “On Customs Regulation in Kazakhstan” presented at the Aug. 22 government meeting, reported inform.kz....


Reviving and reliving nomadic past at Huns ethno village near Almaty

The Huns ethno village is an ideal place for those willing to relive the nomadic past of ethnic Kazakhs. The village, about 35 kilometres from Almaty in the Talgar...


FC Astana defeats Celtic at home, but fails to qualify for Champions League

ASTANA – FC Astana secured a 4-3 win over Celtic FC in the spectacular return match of the UEFA Champions League playoffs Aug. 22, extending its undefeated home streak...


Almaty Appeals Court upholds conviction of fugitive ex-banker in Kazakhstan’s biggest fraud case

The Almaty City Court Appeals Board upheld the decision of the Almaty City Specialised Criminal Court against BTA Bank’s former board of directors’ chairman Mukhtar Ablyazov, who in June...