Of Astana, Its People and Beshparmak

Gareth Stamp is an expatriate citizen of the United Kingdom who has been living in Astana for two years. The Astana Times had the pleasure to talk to Mr....


Kazakhstan, Chevron Celebrate 20 Years of Partnership

ASTANA – On April 3, Chevron Oil celebrated the 20th anniversary of its operations in Kazakhstan at the Palace of Independence in the capital. “I would like to take...


National Day of Lovers to Recall Legendary Romance

ASTANA – On April 15, Kazakhstan will celebrate the National Day of Lovers as a tribute to the history and traditions of the Kazakh people. The holiday is named...


Pension System Modernization to Promote Reliability and Efficiency

Pension savings, which can only be claimed after 45 years of work, are long-term investments that can, therefore, be used for large infrastructure projects, such as the construction of...


PM Visit Expands Ties with Ukraine

KIEV – Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov on April 4 signed an agreement in Kiev to expand ties with Ukraine. The prime minister signed a new Kazakhstan-Ukraine Joint Action...


Aral Sea Rescue Fund Celebrates 20th Anniversary

ASTANA – The International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The anniversary marks two decades of mixed success in restoring ecological life and...


Nazarbayev Urges Greater Pan-Asian Cooperation on Visit to China

SANYA, BOAO – During his official visit to China last weekend, President Nursultan Nazarbayev held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping to advance ties on a wide range of...


Government Seeks Tourism Sector Innovations

ASTANA – “There is a need to create national brands and innovative approaches to attract foreign tourists to Kazakhstan,” the country’s Minister of Industry and New Technologies Asset Issekeshev...


Experts: Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan Have Lots in Common, Will Benefit from More Coop

The recent World Economic Forum in Baku was attended by experienced senior Kazakh executives in the fields of oil and gas and banking, including Sabr Yessimbekov and Aidan Karibzhanov....


Kazakh-Language Bloggers Discuss Prospects for Kaznet

SHYMKENT – Shymkent hosted on March 23-24 the third kurultai of Kazakh-language bloggers to discuss the development of the domestic blogosphere and Kaznet in the state language of the...


KIMEP Alumni Bring Nauryz Joy to Elderly

ASTANA – On March 31, KIMEP Alumni Association in Astana organized a charity concert for the residents of the state Home for the Elderly and Disabled to commemorate the...


Golovkin KO’s Challenger, Retains World Middleweight Title

On March 30, Kazakhstan’s middleweight World Boxing champion Gennady Golovkin knocked out Japan’s Nobuhiro Ishida to retain his crown. Golovkin won the fight, which took place in Monaco, in...


Master Jeweler Displays Work at Museum of First President

ASTANA – On March 27, the first personal exhibition from famous jeweler Yestay Daubayev opened at the Museum of the First President of Kazakhstan in Astana. Daubayev has become...


Youth Parliaments Forge Ties in CIS

ASTANA – The first meeting of the Youth Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States was held on March 29 in St. Petersburg, Russia.The assembly served as a...


Short Videos Highlight Kazakh Culture

ASTANA – A new series of short videos called “Opening Kazakhstan” hopes to educate and entertain visitors and the people of Kazakhstan alike with facts about this country. The...


Mangistau Centenarian Celebrates 103rd Birthday

MANGISTAU REGION – Nesip Erimbayeva recently celebrated her 103rd birthday with a party that included five generations of her descendants. Her seven children gave birth to 31 grandchildren, who...


First Regional Cattle Auction Raises 12 Million Tenge

NORTH KAZAKHSTAN – At North Kazakhstan’s first auction of breeding cattle, 30 yearling bulls of the elite Aberdeen-Angus breed, received from the United States through the KazAgroFinance Company, were...


Employment 2020 Programme Starts Strong

ASTANA – The Employment 2020 Programme got off to a strong start last year. Minister of Labour and Social Protection Serik Abdenov said that in 2012 the number of...


Quality of Education Is Government’s Top Goal

The first two years of the State Programme for Education Development for 2011-2020 have been completed and it’s time to assess its first challenges and achievements. All the initiatives...


Kazakhstan, Russia Advance Cooperation at Baikonur

KYZYLORDA REGION – The first meeting of the Kazakh-Russian Intergovernmental Commission for the Baikonur complex held on March 28 and chaired by Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Kairat Kelimbetov...


Air Astana expands network across Eurasia

ASTANA, April 3 – Kazakhstan’s leading airline company, Air Astana, has launched two new international direct flights from Astana and Almaty to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. An Embraer...


Violin maestro Bisengaliev wins Elgar Award

On March 15, Kazakhstan’s violin virtuoso Marat Bisengaliev received the first Elgar Proliferation Award in Paris. The award was given by the American Elgar Foundation (AEF) for Bisengaliev’s contribution...


KEGOC to launch IPO by End of June

ASTANA – KEGOC, the Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company, will issue its Initial Public Offering (IPO) of shares by the end of June, a press conference was told on...


Kazakh Culture Festival Held in Italy

ASTANA – To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and Italy, festivals called Days of Culture of Kazakhstan are being held in Rome,...


Kazakhstan, Germany Build Strategic Partnership

ASTANA – Kazakhstan and Germany are entering their third decade of mutually beneficial partnership after having celebrated in 2012 the 20th anniversary of their bilateral diplomatic relations. Diplomatic ties...


Kazakhstan Rises in Global Tourism Rankings

ASTANA – Kazakhstan has improved its position as a global tourist destination in a new report issued March 7 by the World Economic Forum. The biennial Travel and Tourism...


Prime Minister Assesses Business Progress in Almaty

ASTANA – On March 14, Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov visited Almaty and met with local businessmen to review progress in implementing the 2020 Business Road Map and the 2020...


Kazakhstan hosts festival of French-speaking nations

ASTANA – From March 15 to April 6, the Alliance Française (the French Alliance) and the embassies of five French-speaking nations are holding a cultural festival in Kazakhstan, called...


Nation and People Share the Same Destiny

ASTANA – “Motherland is not an empty word for me,” said Serik Rustambekov, chairperson of the Board of the Union of Architects of Astana, Honoured Architect of Kazakhstan and...


E3/EU+3 and Iran begin the next round of talks in Almaty

ALMATY, April 5 – Representatives of the six world powers including China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States met in Almaty today with the negotiators...


New Light Show Illuminates Popular Monuments

ASTANA – The city of Astana on March 20 launched a unique light show that will run daily at 9 pm through April 1 in the square near the...


Astana: City with a future

The city of Astana has come a long way over last years. It has grown from town to city and has been become of the world’s most architecturally interesting...


Kuzin Wins First Speed Skating Gold for Country

ASTANA – One by one, Kazakhstan’s athletes are claiming their space on the world stage. The young nation’s newest sporting first comes in speed skating: for the first time...


The Kazakh Steppe: The Land Where the Horse was Tamed

Kazakhstan, believed to be the birthplace of the apple and the country from which the first man was sent into space, is now also thought to be the land...


“Red Carpet” Fashions Accessible to All at New Boutique

ASTANA – On February 27, the multi-brand boutique Red Carpet opened in one of Astana’s major malls, Sary Arka. The new boutique offers its customers collections by Aida Kaumenovа,...


Modern Day Batyrs: Ancient Kazakh Martial Art Survives

Kazakhstan is a modern, peaceful and peace loving nation. Its more than 130 ethnicities of multiple religions live side by side and its international relationships are equally weighed between...


EXPO news in brief

During the working visit, the delegation of the companies’ group of Samruk Kazyna, headed by the Chairman of the Board Umirzak Shukeyev, met with the UK business community on...


EXPO Commissioner Sees New Era Starting from 2017 Event

ASTANA – Last year, the capital of Kazakhstan was chosen as the venue for international exhibition EXPO 2017, to be held in 2017. The General Assembly of the International...


The aviation industry in Kazakhstan and making it better

Travelling across Kazakhstan is a lively affair, to say the least. To visit the family, attend a wedding, goon a business trip or simply for leisure, there are enough...


Economy News in Brief

Kazakhstan’s trade with its two Customs Union (CU) partners Russia and Belarus exceeded $1.6 billion in January, a rise of 7.7 percent on January 2012, the Kazakhstan Statistics Agency...


Business News in Brief

Kazakhstan will reimburse the fuel and lubricant shortages due to tolling operations in China, Prime Minister’s Serik Akhmetov’s official website announced on March 20. “We agreed on the need...


External News in Brief

Rapil Zhoshybayev, executive secretary of the Foreign Ministry and commissioner in charge of EXPO 2017, met with Chinese Deputy Foreign Ministers Cheng Guoping and Si Hanshen, director of the...


Foreign Minister Brings Green Economy Message to Northern Europe

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov last week wound up his tour of northern Europe in Oslo after sharing Kazakhstan’s plan for a green economy with the region....


Domestic News in Brief

President Nursultan Nazarbayev issued a decree on March 23 for the convocation of the 20th Session of the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan in Astana. The session is scheduled...


Middle Class Families Optimistic about Future

PAVLODAR – AKTAU – KARAGANDA – Kazakhstan’s middle class – the main social base for further development of the country – is growing in strength. In Western countries, the...


Internet Association Chief Predicts Bright Online Future

ALMATY – With growing Internet penetration influencing all social spheres of life in Kazakhstan, the country is working to raise its online services to global standards. The Astana Times...


A Peek Into Kazakhstan’s “Protected Corners”

“Protected Corners of Kazakhstan,” a new book of photos by Vladislav Yakushkin and texts by well-known writer and naturalist Boris Shcherbakov, brings to vivid life some of Kazakhstan’s most...


Chevron in Kazakhstan Marks 20th Anniversary

This year, Chevron is celebrating 20 years in Kazakhstan in the remarkable partnership that began on April 6, 1993, when President Nursultan Nazarbayev and then Chevron Corporation Chairman and...


Kazakhstan’s First Full-Length 3D Animated Film Opens

ASTANA – The first full-length 3D animated film ever made in Kazakhstan premiered before the Nauryz holiday on March 21. The film, called “Er Tostik and Aydahar,” is based...


Paintball Warriors Invade Kazakhstan

ASTANA – Paintball has found a home in the capital of Kazakhstan. Paintball is a team game, where players are eliminated or “killed” when they are shot with gelatin...