Economic news in brief

Kazakhstan’s government plans to issue a sovereign Eurobond this year, after putting off a plan to raise $1 billion last year. The bond would be Astana’s first entry onto...


Business news in brief

A moratorium on inspections of small and medium-sized businesses will not affect every organisation in Kazakhstan, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Kazakhstan National Chamber of Entrepreneurs Zangar...


Customs Union Leaders Discuss Integration in Moscow

Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko met March 5 in Moscow to discuss Customs Union and Common Economic Space integration, as well...


Woman-Owned Printing Business Grows with State Support

AKTAU – Thanks to a 60 million tenge (about US$329,000) loan, young entrepreneur Yevgenia Tamozhnikova has the opportunity to develop her business, create additional jobs in her printing centre...


Foreign Ministry Holds Briefing for Diplomats on Religious Freedom in Country

ASTANA – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan held a briefing on March 6 concerning religious freedom in Kazakhstan for the diplomatic corps and representatives of accredited international...


Gov’t Acts to Meet Domestic Refined Fuel Demand

ASTANA – After commissioning its fourth refinery, Kazakhstan will stop importing high-octane fuel and will be able to export oil to its southern neighbours, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan....


EXPO City Construction to Begin in Spring

ASTANA – Construction of the architectural complex for EXPO 2017 in Astana will begin this May, Deputy Chairman of the Astana EXPO 2017 Company Bekzhan Kulbayev announced on March...


Kazakh Sixth Grader Wins Paris Violin Competition

Almaty sixth-grade music student and violinist Malika Bekturova recently won the eighth Alexander Glazunov International Competition of Violinists and Cellists in Paris. The competition was held in the concert...


Talks over IAEA Nuclear Fuel Bank in Kazakhstan Near Completion

ASTANA – Talks over a so-called host country agreement between Kazakhstan and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the country to host an international bank of low-enriched uranium...


Kazakhstan Addresses Challenges of International Trade

ASTANA – In 2014, the Kazakh government will continue to work on improving its World Bank Doing Business ranking, following a comprehensive plan. The country’s biggest stumbling block is...


Samruk Kazyna Announces Focus on Kazakhstan Way 2050

ASTANA – The Samruk Kazyna National Welfare Fund announced at a meeting of fund companies on Feb. 26 that it will focus in 2014 on implementing the elements of...


Four Points of the Compass – Kazakhstan’s Energy Future

The recent announcement by Kazakh Oil and Gas Minister Uzakbai Karabalin that Kazakhstan’s oil and gas resources will adequately supply the country’s energy resources through the next half century...


DPM Issekeshev Reviews Industrial Development Programme Results and Future Projects in East Kazakhstan

UST-KAMENOGORSK – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and New Technologies Asset Issekeshev viewed State Programme of Accelerated Industrial-Innovative Development (SPAIID) projects on a working trip to the...


Corps A Civil Servants, Regional Akims Participate in EU-supported Distance Learning Programme

ASTANA – The Academy of Public Administration under the President of Kazakhstan and the European Union project on modernising and reforming Kazakhstan’s civil service have collaborated to create distance-learning...


Space Technology Key to Developing Natural Resources

In his state-of-the-nation address “Kazakhstan’s Path to 2050: Common Goals, Common Interests, Common Future,” President Nursultan Nazarbayev set specific tasks, among them is increasing the efficiency of the mining...


Education, Balanced Foreign Policy Will Lead to Evolutionary Changes in Central Asia, Scholar Says

WASHINGTON, DC – Gradual and incremental changes will ensure greater popular participation in political processes, leading to evolutionary democratic changes in the countries of Central Asia as the middle...


Falconry Tournament Tests Ancient Skills

ALMATY REGION – The Sonar 2014 national falconry tournament dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the Nur Otan party was held recently in the Yenbekshikazakh district of the Almaty...


Craftsman Passes on National Traditions

PAVLODAR – Melzhan Sydykov is a senior teacher in the department of vocational training of the Pavlodar Pedagogical Institute who says his vocation is to teach young people to...


Investors See Risk, but Stay Put in Wake of Tenge Devaluation

The National Bank of Kazakhstan’s recent decision to devalue the tenge by 19 percent was an unwelcome surprise for institutional investors and the local market. “Most investors were caught...


Kazakhstan ‘Deeply Concerned’ with Situation in Ukraine, Calls for Political Resolution of Differences

ASTANA – Kazakhstan is “deeply concerned with the current developments in Ukraine”, the country’s foreign ministry said in a March 3 statement adding that “further escalation of tensions may...


Counting down the days until Brazil welcomes the world

Only 100 days. It’s hard to believe it’s so close. It seems like only yesterday that Brazil was confirmed as the 2014 FIFA World Cup host nation. I remember...


Chamber of Entrepreneurs Launches Site to Help Businesses

ASTANA – The National Chamber of Entrepreneurs has received about 1,625 complaints from businesses this year. Despite a wide range of government programmes focused on reducing administrative barriers and...


Carpet Factory Opens in Southern Kazakhstan

SHYMKENT – A first-of-its-kind carpet factory recently opened in Shymkent. “I like working here; it feels as if you are in a carpet gallery. At lunchtime, I sometimes walk...


Country Seeks to Increase Medical Equipment Procurement Transparency

ASTANA – The government is working hard and methodically to efficiently use funds and respect transparency in procuring medicine and medical equipment. This issue was discussed at a meeting...


EBRD President Says ‘Proud of Work with Kazakhstan,’ Focuses on Green Economy Projects, Regional Development

Sir Suma Chakrabarti, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), in an exclusive interview with The Astana Times, spoke about the diverse portfolio of Europe’s major...


Sports Official Praises Ten’s and Team’s Sochi Effort, Upbeat About Almaty Olympic Bid

ASTANA – The Feb. 7 to Feb. 23 Olympic Games in Sochi once again were watched by people from every corner of the Earth and demonstrated the discipline, determination...


Rare Earths: A Rare Opportunity for Kazakhstan

The global market for rare earth elements used in the production of cell phones, flat screens, electric cars and other technology is valued at $3-5 billion and demand is...


Kazakhstan Should Stay Focused on Progress in Global Business Rankings

Having inherited moribund economy and outdated production capacities from the Soviet Union and being generously endowed with natural resources, Kazakhstan faced a developmental conundrum: how to exploit the natural...


Evening of Music and Poetry Benefits Young Astana Writer

ASTANA – A benefit evening for young Astana poet Aliya Demeisenova was held in the capital’s Black Duck restaurant on  Feb. 22. Poetry readings have been held every month...


Business news in brief

French IVECO BUS company and Kazakhstan Astana LRT signed an agreement in February on the delivery of 350 natural gas powered IVECO buses to Kazakhstan’s capital Astana. Currently, about...


Astana’s Production is Growing, Service Sector Needs Development, Mayor Says

ASTANA – Akim (Mayor) of Astana Imangali Tasmagambetov reviewed the city’s progress and discussed economic goals at a public meeting in Astana on Feb. 19. Major achievements include growth...


Joint UNDP, Gov’t Projects Eliminate Barriers for Vulnerable Populations

ASTANA – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is working with the national government on a joint programme to improve the competitiveness of the East Kazakhstan region through the...


Nation Marks 20 Years of Accession to NPT, Calls for Treaty’s Universality

ASTANA – Kazakhstan calls on all countries to work to strengthen the global nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament regime and to reaffirm their commitments to key treaties in this area,...


Economic news in brief

The government of Kazakhstan has set fixed prices on bread wheat, the country’s Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov said on Feb.17 in Astana at a meeting addressing recent orders given...


External news in brief

Chairman of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan Nurlan Nigmatulin visited Azerbaijan on Feb. 19-21 to promote parliamentary ties and the cooperation between the two countries generally. He...


Life Expectancy Grows to 70 Years Though Key Problems in Healthсare Remain

ASTANA – Life expectancy in Kazakhstan has increased to more than 70 years on average as the government continues efforts to improve the healthcare system, the country’s Minister of...


Nation’s Boxers Win Four Countries-2014 Tournament

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s national boxing team won the Four Countries-2014 boxing tournament, which ended here Feb. 20. In the tournament’s final round, Kazakh boxers defeated the Russian team with...


Piano Festival Hopes to Draw Musical Tourism to Astana

ASTANA – Travel companies in Kazakhstan are developing tour packages for foreign visitors wishing to attend the Astana Piano Passion festival of classical music this May. The festival, which...


New, Massive National Folklore Collection Presented

ASTANA – A 100-volume series of Kazakh folklore called “Babalar Sozi” (Kazakh for The Words of Ancestors) was presented at the National Academic Library of the Ministry of Culture...


Pavlodar Artist’s Paintings Exhibited in Astana

ASTANA – The work of painter Zhanetta Nauruzova, an artist from Aksu, in the Pavlodar region, is being showcased in the Has Sanat Gallery in an exhibition that will...


Kazakh National Bank Denies Small Banks’ Insolvency Rumours, As Prosecutors Announce Finding Their Perpetrators

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s National Bank held a briefing on Feb. 18 to deny rumours of the alleged imminent bankruptcy of three second-tier banks. Bank Chairman Kairat Kelimbetov issued an...


National news in brief

“The Ministry of Justice was selected as a developer to formulate a draft entrepreneurial code,” Minister of Justice Berik Imashev announced on Feb. 20 at an expanded meeting of...


Ten Wins Kazakhstan’s First Ever Medal in Olympic Figure Skating

SOCHI – Kazakh figure skater Denis Ten won bronze in the men’s individual competition at the Sochi Winter Olympics, Kazakhstan’s best Olympic figure skating result ever and the first...


Agricultural Reform Requires Spectrum of Changes

To become a major regional exporter of agricultural products, Kazakhstan must provide domestic farmers with direct access to long-term financing and markets. This should be supported by an effective...


Kazakhstan Poised to Become Global Agro Player

The agro-industrial complex is one of the most promising sectors of Kazakhstan’s economy. Few states have comparable potential for agricultural development, and it is already clear that with the...


Gov’t Strives to Guarantee Gender Equality

ASTANA – Kazakhstan has been working vigorously to promote gender equality and the country’s efforts have ranked it 32nd out of 136, according to the 2013 Global Gender Gap...


Government, UNDP Work to Modernise Housing and Utilities Services

The government of Kazakhstan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are working together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by creating a model for modernising inefficient district heating and...


Expanded Government Meeting Reviews Progress on Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy, Efforts to Sustain High Economic Growth

ASTANA – President Nursultan Nazarbayev reviewed what still needs to be done to implement the Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy at the Feb. 14 government meeting as ministers reviewed economic situation...


Five Historical and Cultural Tourism Clusters to be Developed

ASTANA – The Tourism Industry Committee of the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies of Kazakhstan has identified five regional clusters for tourism in Kazakhstan. They will be developed...


Kazakh Students Produce New Cheaper, Low Pollution Water Filter

ALMATY – A filter for purifying drinking water using nanostructured minerals developed at the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University Science and Technology Park may be presented at EXPO 2017 in...