Famous Skaters Perform on Kazakhstan’s Lakes to Popularize Internal Tourism (Video)
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh professional figure skaters Elizabet Tursynbayeva and Kseniya Pankratova recently went viral on the Kazakh internet with their stunning performances on the frozen lakes of Kazakhstan. Tursynbayeva awed her instagram audience with a gentle dance on a lake in the Burabai district. She performed her dance to the accompaniment of a song titled…
Kazakh President Proposes to Reduce Threshold for Political Parties, Sets Priorities for 2021
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed further political modernization and outlined his 2021 priorities for the Kazakh Parliament and government at the Dec. 15 opening of the first session of the Parliament of the seventh convocation. At the end of the last parliamentary elections, two Kazakh political parties were just a few percent away…
Kazakhstan to Manufacture Advanced Farm Technologies, Develop Sustainable Agriculture in Central Asia
NUR-SULTAN – The Valley Irrigation, a US-based global leader in irrigation technologies, inked an investment agreement with the Kusto Group, a Kazakhstan-based diversified international holding company, and the Kazakh Agriculture Ministry at a Jan. 12 video conference, primeminister.kz reported. Valmont Industries, which owns Valley Irrigation, has been in the field since 1954 and holds nearly…
International Observers Report Efficient Organization, Thorough Compliance With Democratic Norms During Kazakh Parliamentary Elections
NUR-SULTAN – International observation mission heads and delegates summed up their observations and recommendations on voting procedure and citizen participation in the Jan. 10 Kazakhstan’s parliamentary election at the Jan. 11 press briefings in Nur-Sultan. Similar to observers from foreign states, observation missions from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-Speaking Countries…
Majilis Elections: Foreign Observers Impressed By High Level of Preparedness at Polling Stations
NUR-SULTAN – Foreign observers reported high levels of preparedness at the polling stations and their compliance with democratic best practices during the Jan. 10 press briefings in Nur-Sultan. The Kazakh Central Election Commission accredited 398 foreign observers, of which 76 were from 31 foreign countries and 322 from ten international organizations. As the polling stations…
Top Pundits Share Insights, Commentary on Latest Parliamentary Elections in Kazakhstan
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh political analysts and experts commented on the progress and development of the Kazakh political environment, political competition and forecasts on the Jan. 10 regular parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan at a Jan. 8 press briefing. “The political system in Kazakhstan is developing into a stable political environment which is characterized by a multi-party…
Kazakh Central Election Commission Produces Explanatory Work on Electoral Legislation in Response to Numerous Appeals
NUR-SULTAN – As of Jan. 8, the Kazakh Central Election Commission (CEC) has received 104 appeals from individuals, legal entities, and press since the Oct. 21 announcement of the parliamentary elections. Most of the appeals requested clarification of the electoral legislation, the rest asked for information on electoral processes, offers, statements, among other issues. The…
Kazakhstan Expects Large Foreign Banks To Enter Kazakh Market, Eases Registration Procedures
NUR-SULTAN – Foreign banks will be able to open branches in Kazakhstan by submitting a single, simplified application. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a law on the restoration of economic growth, which included amendments regarding registration procedures of foreign banks on Jan. 2, the press service of the Kazakh Agency for Regulation and Development of…
Kazakh Central Election Commission Organizes 5,180 Training Events For Election Commission Members
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Central Election Commission (CEC) held 5,180 training events for election commission members and other participants integral to the electoral process during the campaign for the upcoming parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan, CEC Secretary Sabila Mustafina announced at a Jan. 5 CEC meeting. The CEC held the training in two stages – at…
Kazakhstan Registers 398 Foreign Observers for Upcoming Parliamentary Elections, Accreditation Wraps Up
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Central Election Commission (CEC) accredited a total of 398 foreign observers ahead of Kazakhstan’s Jan.10 parliamentary elections, CEC member Anastasia Schegortsova reported at the Jan. 4 commission meeting. The list included 322 observers from ten international organizations and 76 from 31 foreign countries. More than half of the observers from international…
Televised Debates in Kazakhstan: Kazakh Political Party Leaders Propose Measures to Improve Economy
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh political party leaders debated on Dec. 30 live on air on the Khabar national television channel with seats in the Majilis (lower house of the Parliament) at stake. The citizens watched the pre-election debates live unlike the last debates in 2016 that were pre-recorded. The televised pre-election debates featured the speeches…
Kazakhstan in 2020: A Collective Effort to Fight COVID-19
NUR-SULTAN – At the end of 2020, Kazakhstan’s epidemiological situation has become less stable along with many countries similarly affected worldwide in the run up to the New Year holidays. Yet the common effort of the government, citizens, and international cooperation helped to hold the situation under control. As of Dec. 28, Kazakhstan confirmed 152,460…
Kazakh Singers Perform Famous Disney Songs in Kazakh Language (Video)
NUR-SULTAN – ASTANA TV channel premiered the Zhuldyzdar Sherui (The March of the Stars) cinematic concert featuring songs from Disney animated films in Kazakh on Dec. 27. This is the third licensed cinema concert that the Bolashak (Future) Corporate Fund organized in partnership with the Disney company in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States…
Kazakh Capital Reopens Cinemas, Lifts Some Corona Restrictions on New Year’s Eve Holidays
NUR-SULTAN – Nur-Sultan Chief State Sanitary Doctor Zhanna Pralieva signed a Dec. 24 decree that allowed for the work of the capital’s cinemas and extended the working hours of supermarkets and restaurants to restock and prevent overcrowding during the week before the New Year holidays. The cinemas were out of work since mid-March in Kazakhstan.…
Kazakhstan Sends 100 Domestically Made Mechanical Ventilators to Tajikistan
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan sent 100 sets of Kokchetav-4P mobile mechanical ventilators as humanitarian aid on Dec. 22 to Tajikistan, the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development press service reported. The ministry sent humanitarian aid to Tajikistan as part of the Dec. 10 Kazakh government resolution and on a presidential order. The Tynys (Breathing) plant,…
Kazakh Central Election Commission Registers Assembly of People of Kazakhstan’s Nominees to Majilis Deputy Group
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Central Election Commission (CEC) discussed the registration, ballots, and expenses for Majilis (a lower house of the Kazakh Parliament) deputies nominated by the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan (APK) Council during the Dec. 24 commission meeting. The commission scheduled the elections of the APK deputy group, the assembly-nominated Majilis deputies, on…
WOMANi 2020 Annual Report Ranks Six Kazakh Professionals Among Most Influential Women In Islamic Business and Finance
NUR-SULTAN – The Cambridge International Financial Advisory (IFA) Board placed six Kazakh finance professionals in its WOMANi 2020 annual report, which features the 300 most influential women in Islamic business and finance. Madina Tukulova, Kuralay Yeldesbay, Gulnara Mukhanova, Alfiya Salikhova, Aigerim Marsali, and Aizhan Kuanysh – all made it to the top of the report.…
Astana Hub Introduces Ten Best Kazakh IT Startups of 2020
NUR-SULTAN – The Astana Hub, the Kazakh international technopark of IT startups, presented their annual rating of the ten best national IT startups. The technopark ranked the startups based on their market assessment, problem solving, innovativeness, go-to-market strategy, growth rate, and business development, teams, and social importance. The OrionM2M startup team led the list with…
Kazakh Central Election Commission Accredits 190 Foreign Observers, Discusses Voter Lists Procedure
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Central Election Commission (CEC) accredited 190 foreign observers and reported on the explanatory works regarding voter lists procedures to the upcoming regular parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan during the Dec. 22 commission’s meeting. As of Dec. 22, the CEC has accredited 276 international observers since the Oct. 22 opening of the Institute…
UNESCO Lists Kazakh Togyz Kumalak Board Game On Its Intangible Cultural Heritage List
NUR-SULTAN – The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) decided to include Togyz kumalak (nine stones), a Turkic strategy board game, in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity on Dec. 17, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry press service reported. The UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the ICH…
Kazakhstan Begins Vaccinating 3,000 Volunteers With Self-Made QazCovid-in
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Research Institute for Biological Safety Problems (RIBSP) began the third phase of clinical trials of QazCovid-in, the Kazakh inactivated vaccine on Dec. 19. The third phase presumes the vaccination of 3,000 volunteers. RIBSP vaccinated its first volunteers at clinics in Almaty and Taraz. The institute will complete the third phase by…
Kazakh Ecology Ministry Backs Kazakh Public in Moving Hotel Construction Further Away From Bozzhyra Gorge
NUR-SULTAN – The investors in a new hotel construction project in the Bozzhyra Gorge will move the construction site to the outer territory of the Zhabaiushkan reserve in the Mangystau Region, announced Magzum Mirzagaliev, the Kazakh Ministry of Ecology, Geology, and Natural Resources, on his twitter page. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev instructed the Kazakh government…
Kazakh Post-Soviet Manufacturing Proves Its Resilience, Quick to Adapt to New Market Realities
NUR-SULTAN – The manufacturing industry was among Kazakhstan’s key growth sectors since achieving independence in the 1990s. Kazakhstan’s industrialization agenda gave rise to thousands of new modern high-tech industries creating jobs and new products. Kazakhstan expects the industry to keep pace during the coming years and revitalize the economy. Since 2000, the production volume of…
Kazakh Citizens Celebrate Independence Day By Proudly Displaying National Flag
NUR-SULTAN – The quarantine measures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have canceled many of the festivities around celebrating Kazakhstan’s main state holiday – Independence Day on Dec. 16. Kazakhs still found ways to express and honor the long-awaited independence by proudly displaying the Kazakh national flag on their balconies, on their social media pages, among…
Kazakh Central Election Commission Chooses Khabar Channel To Stream Parliamentary Election TV Debates, Clarifies Absentee Certificates
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Central Election Commission (CEC) discussed the terms around pre-election televised debates and absentee certificates ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections during a Nov. 15 CEC meeting. The CEC scheduled the pre-election debates on Dec. 30. The commission adopted a resolution to conduct a television debate on the Khabar national TV channel…
