Solar a Smart Alternative for Kazakhstan

Kazatomprom plans to start producing high-purity silicon and reach a full production cycle of solar panels by 2015. Today, Kazakhstan is not only developing renewable energy, but also creating...


Astana’s Green Trajectory

The results of the international architectural competition for the best design for the EXPO 2017 exhibition complex were summarized in Astana in late October. The winning company, Adrian Smith...


Forum in Kyzylorda Focuses on Region’s Economic Potential

KYZYLORDA – The second “Baikonur” investment forum took place in mid-November in the Aral Sea region aimed at unlocking the Kyzylorda oblast’s significant potential in a variety of industries,...


Unearthing Steppe Culture’s Origins

KARAGANDA REGION – The soon-to-be-opened Kazakhstan Natural History Museum will be home to a considerable number of Karaganda exhibits. About 200 gold artifacts found in the “Taldy-2” burial mound...


New Monument to 19th Century Folk Heroes Erected

ALMATY – A monument to Kazakh heroes Suranshi and Sauryk has been opened in the Zhambyl district of the Almaty oblast. Suranshi and Sauryk, descendants of the great Karasai...


Kazakhstan’s 2020 Transit Plan Helps Connect Europe and Asia

ASTANA – Recently, the government of Kazakhstan adopted an infrastructure development plan that covers from now until 2020. It was developed in part by the World Bank and previously...


Young Violinist Says Eager to Come to Astana Opera to Perform

ASTANA – Young violinist Yerzhan Kulibayev has already won five prizes in international competitions in Russia, Germany, Portugal and Argentina. The musician, who lives in Spain, spoke to The...


New Smartphone App Could Help Connect Hearing Impaired with Emergency Services

ASTANA – A new smart phone application developed by the UN Development Programme office in Kazakhstan to help the hearing impaired contact emergency services will be presented at the...


Bolashak International Scholarship Programme Celebrates 20 Years

ASTANA – A celebration of the twentieth year of the Bolashak International Scholarship Programme took place on Nov. 29 at the Palace of Independence with President Nursultan Nazarbayev in...


Astana’s Development Needs Special Attention, Says President

ASTANA – President Nursultan Nazarbayev held a meeting on the future of Astana on Nov. 27, noting that a recent visit to Astanagenplan inspired him to think deeper about...


Astana Opera’s Orchestra Has Great Potential, Says Director

Director Vladimir Kirajiyev of Bulgaria, who works in Austria, visited Astana Opera to see the largest theatre in Central Asia, built in just three years. He spoke with The...


Exhibition Promotes Exchange of Ideas and Experience

ASTANA – At the second National Exhibition MEDIA EXPO 2013, the book by President Nursultan Nazarbayev “G-Global – the world of the 21st Century” was presented to the public...


Hung Song Korean Theatre’s Legend of Arirang Is on Tour in Kazakhstan

ALMATY – The Korean theatre has brought to Kazakhstan a musical-poetic drama, Legend of Arirang. The performance with a minimum of scenery, costumes and cast (only six actors) has...


SPAIID Project Providing Power to Southern Kazakhstan

One of the largest facilities of the State Programme of Accelerated Industrial and Innovative Development, the Moinak Hydropower Plant (HPP), has reached full capacity and is making a significant...


Biofuel Increasingly Replacing Coal in Almaty Region

Boilers and furnaces that use biofuel will be installed in 26 educational institutions in the Almaty region as the result of an agreement between the regional administration and the...


Kazakhstan Confirms Commitment to Aiding Afghanistan

ASTANA, Dec. 1 – Kazakhstan remains willing to help Afghanistan through a variety of mechanisms, including training programmes that bring Afghan students to study in Kazakhstan, President Nursultan Nazarbayev...


Officials Refine Pre-EXPO Tourism Plan

ASTANA – Representatives of the Tourism Industry Committee of the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies, the Kazakhstan Industry Development Institute and representatives of the tourism industry at the...


Parliamentarians Support ATOM Project’s Efforts to Ban Nuclear Testing

SAINT PETERSBURG, Nov. 29 – Parliamentary leaders and deputies from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and beyond came together today in this city’s historic Tauride Palace for an international...


Regional Integration Is the ‘Key’ to Stabilising Afghanistan

  “The coming weeks and months provide an important opportunity to increase the level of regional cooperation and coordination ahead of the transfer of security control in Afghanistan from...


The Paradigm of Sustainable Development

Kazakhstan’s strategic plans and the measures it has already taken speak to the country’s serious intention to establish itself as a pioneering green economy and to become the science,...


Three People from Kazakhstan Win at Central Asian Literature Festival in London

LONDON – Three people from Kazakhstan were named winners in the second Open Central Asia Book Forum & Literature Festival (OCAF), held from Nov. 7-11 in London and Cambridge,...


OSCE Summit in Astana, Three Years On: Historic Meeting Continues to Steer Organisation’s Mission

After much debate and lengthy negotiations, leaders from 56 Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) participating states, as well as numerous partners and international organisations, came to...


13-year-old Kazakh Wins International Chess Tournament

Thirteen-year-old Zhansaya Abdumalik of Kazakhstan won the international CZECH TOUR series Brno Open 2013 chess tournament, which was held in the Czech Republic from Nov. 16 to Nov. 23...


New Organ Care System Leads to Second Successful Heart Transplant

Using a new organ care system, doctors in Kazakhstan have completed the country’s second successful heart transplant. In a four-hour operation on Nov. 6, a heart from a donor...


Moldagali Shows New Work at Aru-Astana Jewellery Fair

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Uliya Moldagali presented new works including paintings inspired by family and the four elements at the 21st Aru-Astana international jewellery exhibition from Nov. 7-10 in Astana’s...


Project for Preserving Kazakhstan’s Steppe Ecosystem to Complete

ASTANA, Nov. 26 – With more than half a million square kilometres of steppe traversed by important bird and mammal migration routes, Kazakhstan is a globally significant area of...


Atom Project Japan Exhibitions Draw Large Audiences, Pledges of Support

TOKYO, Nov. 23 – The ATOM Project, an international campaign against nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons tests launched by President Nursultan Nazarbayev, gave a presentation in Tokyo on Nov....


Business Rules Should be Comfortable for Foreign Investors, says PM Akhmetov

ASTANA, Nov. 26 – Prospects for Kazakhstan’s economy, the importance of facilitating an attractive business climate for foreign investors, the protection of Kazakhstan’s small and mid-sized businesses, challenges surrounding...


Idrissov Promotes European Ties on Visit to Budapest, Brussels and London

ASTANA – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Erlan Idrissov made a European tour visiting Hungary, attending EU-Central Asia meetings in Brussels and the United Kingdom, on Nov. 18-21....


Olympic Medalist Gives Ski Class for Kids

ALMATY – Kazakh silver medalist in the Vancouver Winter Olympics, Yelena Khrustalyova, held a masters’ class with students from a specialised boarding school for athletically gifted children at Almaty’s...


Barys Among KHL Leaders Halfway through Season

Halfway through the Continental Hockey League’s (KHL) sixth season, Astana’s Barys hockey team is one of the league’s leading teams with 108 goals scored and was the first team...


Economic news in brief

Kazakhstan’s Senate passed an amendment raising taxes on certain luxury goods, including alcohol, tobacco, cars with engine capacities over 4,000 cubic centimetres and real estate worth over US$1 million...


Artist Slekenov Brings his Vivid Colours to Astana Art Scene

ASTANA –Well-known Kazakhstan artist Rafael Slekenov held a public exhibition at the Radisson Hotel on Nov. 19. Originally from Atyrau, Slekenov is one of the most promising and renowned...


Forest Oasis Awaits Just Outside Astana

The SharZhum Resort Centre in the Akkol district of the Akmola region is only 108 kilometres from Astana, but offers views of a pine forest from every room as...


Forum Addresses How to Make the Kumis Flow

TARAZ – At the National Kumis Forum, experts from Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey discussed problems with the industrial production of the traditional drink and made recommendations for its expansion....


Astana Opera Soloist Akhmetova Takes Prize in International Vocal Competition

ASTANA – Astana Opera soloist Saltanat Akhmetova reached the finals of the Neue Stimmen vocal competition in Gutersloh, Germany, and was awarded the Classic Autumn Prize. Out of 428...


Kazakhstan, Tengizchevroil Sign Memorandum on Increasing Production

ASTANA – Minister of Oil and Gas of Kazakhstan Uzakbay Karabalin and acting General Director of Tengizchevroil (TCO) Brad Middleton signed a memorandum of understanding on Nov. 15 on...


Eco-friendly Campsite Being Built in Dzhungar Alatau

An innovative, eco-friendly tourist campsite is being built in the Dzhungar Alatau Mountains’ Korinskiy Gorge, near the town of Tekeli not far from Almaty. The Tau Widergeburt company, established...


Aktau Port Increases Efficiency, Capacity

AKTAU – This city is known as Kazakhstan’s primary sea access point on the Caspian Sea and the hub of the Mangystau region. And now this major strategic transport...


Business news in brief

Fifty kilometres of bike paths will be built in Astana by the time EXPO 2017 opens, Deputy Chairman of the Agency for Sport and Physical Culture of Kazakhstan Tastanbek...


External news in brief

Kazakhstan has been elected to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) 21-member World Heritage Committee. Currently, three Kazakhstan cultural and natural heritage sites – the Mausoleum...


National news in brief

Speaking at the sixth Congress of Judges of Kazakhstan in mid-November, President Nursultan Nazarbayev called for the intensification of reform efforts in the nation’s justice system, the Akorda press...


Astana Opera Singers Win in Italy

ASTANA – Singers from Astana Opera won in a number of categories at the international Arena di Verona competition in Verona, Italy, on Nov. 4-10. About 50 singers took...


20th Anniversary of Tenge Celebrated in Almaty

ALMATY – The 20th anniversary of the introduction of Kazakhstan’s national currency was celebrated at an international conference in Almaty attended by Kazakh politicians and representatives of the national...


Ten Wins Merano Cup

Kazakhstan figure skater Denis Ten took first place in this year’s Merano Cup in Merano, Italy, earning 231.12 points in the competition. Daisuke Murakami of Japan took second place...


British Theatre Director Seeks Inspiration in Kazakhstan

ALMATY – The Kasteev State Art Museum recently hosted a meeting with British theatre director Tim Supple, who is planning to stage a performance about the former republics of...


Chemical Production Projects to Be Launched in Pavlodar SEZ

PAVLODAR – Two new projects, one producing inhibited hydrochloric acid and one producing liquid bleach, acid and alkaline household chemicals, will be launched in Pavlodar’s special economic zone (SEZ)...


Parliament Discusses Protecting Domestic Companies During Eurasian Economic Integration

ASTANA – Measures to protect domestic manufacturers and exporters during the process of Eurasian economic integration and ensure that all benefits from accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO)...


Kazakh Pilots Complete Mountain Rescue Training

ALMATY – Kazakh helicopter pilots have passed a two-week French mountain rescue training course conducted in the mountains near Almaty and will now be able to take part in...


International Forum on Ethnic Media Held in Astana

ASTANA – The first international forum on ethnic media, “Tolerance and the Media,” was held on Nov. 15. It was organized by the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan...