President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev visited Kiev on Dec. 22 for talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko and other officials seeking to reinvigorate bilateral political and economic cooperation...
ASTANA – President Nursultan Nazarbayev held his annual end-of-year news briefing covering a broad range of areas from the situation in Ukraine to Kazakhstan’s economic stimulus package, terrorism threats,...
HELSINKI – As Finland celebrated the Day of the Peacemaker last month, The Astana Times interviewed former President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari to talk about his...
ASTANA – Recognising the need to help build a more efficient and sustainable civil society in Kazakhstan, members of the Kazakh Parliament, representatives of various government ministries,non-governmental organisations (NGOs)...
ASTANA – The government of Kazakhstan will allocate 178 billion tenge (US$977.75 million) in 2015 and a further 143.3 billion tenge (US$787.14 million)in 2016 from the country’s National Fund...
In recent decades, Kazakhstan has become a rightful member of economic society. Moreover, our country is always advancing its leadership in all directions: political, economic and other fields. The...
Skiing is a sport that is popular around the globe and Almaty is quickly becoming known for its world-class skiing facilities. This city ringed by snowcapped peaks offers natural...
The recent 3rd International Conference on Humanitarian Consequences of Nuclear Weapons has shown an encouraging trend – the growing realisation by the world community of the urgent need to...
ASTANA – Miquel Riera, the international sport director of FC (Football Club) Astana 1964, seeks to promote Kazakh players in Europe, especially in Spain. He has worked as a...
ASTANA – President Nursultan Nazarbayev held his annual end-of-year news briefing covering a broad range of areas from the situation in Ukraine to Kazakhstan’s economic stimulus package, terrorism threats,...
VIENNA – While attending the third International Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons in Vienna from Dec. 8-9, artist Karipbek Kuyukov made a lasting impression on delegates...
ASTANA – An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission in Kazakhstan recently commended the state’s actions to advance the economy’s potential through additional fiscal stimulus from the National Fund and...
The Astana EXPO 2017 National Company and Belarus Republican Union of Tourist Organisations signed a memorandum of partnership during the Dec. 11-12 visit of a Kazakh delegation to Belarus...
“The number of the prison population in Kazakhstan reduced by 4 percent,” Kazakh Deputy Prosecutor General Zhakip Assanov said at the Dec. 12 second forum on prison reforms titled,...
Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Karim Massimov held a meeting with Prime Minister of Tajikistan Kohir Rasulzoda on Dec. 15. They discussed bilateral trade and economic cooperation, including cooperation in...
A total of 13,543 property legalisation applications amounting to 103.3 billion tenge (US$562.86 million) had been received by Dec. 11 by the local executive commissions charged with accepting...
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, so said the Chinese philosopher Laozi . He was a wise man. For those who heeded his advice, successful...
ASTANA – Among the numerous nationalities that live in Kazakhstan, there is a very small community that has lived through some of history’s darkest times to preserve their language...
ATHENS – Greek government and Athens city officials joined more than 300 guests at Hotel Grande Bretagne in Athens on Dec. 15 to celebrate the Kazakh Day of the...
The company Digital City Showcases recently announced the launch of its new Urban Infokiosk project, which will install self-service, touchscreen information terminals in shop windows that will provide information...
ASTANA – At a regular government meeting on Dec. 4 led by Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Massimov, improving Kazakhstan’s standing in the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) was discussed. The...
ASTANA – Astana Akim (Mayor) Adilbek Dzhaksybekov explained to the public on Dec. 11 some of the features of the city’s 36 new public buses. The new buses have...
ASTANA – The Dec. 14 7th Winter Charity Ball at Radisson Hotel Astana raised 13 million tenge (US$70,815) for educational programmes for children from orphanages and low-income families, the...
A new high school opened on Dec. 9 in the 12th district of Aktobe is expected to address three-shift education in the region and allow students from overcrowded classes...
ASTANA – Kazakhstan Prime Minister Karim Massimov and his Chinese counterpart, Premier of the State Council Li Keqiang approved and signed $14 billion worth of accords on Dec. 14-15...
ASTANA – The Kazakh language is now among the offerings of the Google Translate online global translating system, founder and director of theWikiBilim Public Foundation Rauan Kenzhekhanuly announced on...
ASTANA – Kazakhstan “strongly condemns the act of terrorism committed in the Pakistani city of Peshawar on Dec. 16,” the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement...
ASTANA – Several important memoranda, including a memorandum to deepen atomic cooperation, were signed Dec. 14 during the official meeting of the Kazakh-Chinese Council, where Kazakh Prime Minister Karim...
WASHINGTON, DC – Kazakhstan Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov visited the United States on Dec. 10-11 to meet with top American officials to advance bilateral relations and discuss challenges on...
ASTANA – The heads of the governments of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) states met in Astana’s Palace of Independence on Dec.15 to examine ways to deepen trade, economic...
Yulia Galysheva of Kazakhstan won the gold medal in dual moguls at the freestyle skiing World Cup races Dec. 13 in Ruka, Finland. Galysheva finished ahead of Olympic champion...
ASTANA – Rixos President Astana held a Friend’s Party for partners and colleagues Dec. 11 as a way to show gratitude for their camaraderie and cooperation. The loyal friends...
The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will lend the equivalent of $30 million in the local currency, the tenge, to Kazakhstan’s Eastcomtrans rail company to purchase rolling...
Italian government and business leaders expressed interest in EXPO 2017 during a Dec. 9-10 visit to Rome by Kazakh First Deputy Foreign Minister Rapil Zhoshybayev. During the visit, Zhoshybayev,...
The Big Almaty Ring Road (BAKAD) project concept was presented Dec. 9 to British investors at the headquarters of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London....
The Civil Service Reform Project, an EU-funded project with an overall budget of 4.6 million euros, has delivered seminars on best practices in civil service management in several regions...
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 economic and...
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 Innovational Cluster...
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 links into...
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 joint venture....
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 and Nicolas...
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 “to engage...
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 a $200,000...
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 progress and...
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 young players,...
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 only real...
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 elements inscribed...
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 in 2015,...
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 one 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 centre of...