Articles by ASSEL SATUBALDINA

ASTANA – Would you spend nearly two weeks following one of the slowest creatures on Earth? British director Saxon Bosworth did exactly that, traveling to the Ustyurt Plateau in western Kazakhstan to capture the life of the Central Asian tortoise, a creature whose entire visible world unfolds in just a few months each year. The…

ASTANA – When Recep Tayyip Erdoğan arrived in Astana this week, the language of brotherhood between Kazakhstan and Türkiye sounded different. It was no longer centered on shared history alone, but on oil routes, drone production, cargo corridors and the shifting balance of power in the region. As the war in Ukraine drags into another…

ASTANA — Kazakhstan and Türkiye signed the Declaration on Eternal Friendship and Expanded Strategic Partnership on May 14 as the two countries moved to deepen trade, investment and transit cooperation amid growing regional shifts. The agreement was signed during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s state visit to Astana and the sixth meeting of the High-Level Strategic…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s rail and pipeline freight transport declined in the first four months of 2026, while road, air and maritime transport posted growth, according to data released on May 12 by the Bureau of National Statistics. Rail freight transport reached 110.3 million tons between January and April, down 1.1% from the same period last…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan is expected to sell up to $500 million from its National Fund in May to support budget transfers, even as analysts warn the recent strengthening of the tenge may not reflect underlying economic fundamentals. According to a statement from the National Bank of Kazakhstan released on May 4, the tenge had strengthened…

SAMARKAND – Central Asia could become a key node in a regional power grid, said Leah Gutierrez, director general of the Asian Development Bank’s Central and West Asia Department, as the bank rolls out a multibillion-dollar plan to link electricity networks and expand cross-border energy trade. ADB’s 59th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors…

SAMARKAND – The development of capital markets ultimately reflects the maturity of a country’s financial system, with trust emerging as the decisive factor, said Nurzhan Tursunkhanov, deputy chairperson of Kazakhstan’s Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market.  Tursunkhanov addressed a panel session at the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) 59th Annual Meeting of the…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan is positioning itself among the first countries globally to integrate artificial intelligence into its education system through a partnership with OpenAI, in what officials describe as a long-term investment in national capabilities. “Kazakhstan is among those first countries globally to embark upon a collaboration with OpenAI on the frontier of education,” said…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan unveiled an investment platform to drive just energy transition on April 23 as part of the Regional Ecological Summit in the capital, positioning it as a cornerstone of the country’s climate and economic strategy. The initiative, known as QaJET, aims to accelerate the shift to cleaner energy by adding 10 gigawatts of…

ASTANA – Central Asia is entering a decisive phase in its response to climate change, with experts warning that while governments increasingly understand the scale of the risks, the real challenge now lies in turning commitments into coordinated action. “The companies and communities in Central Asia know very well what the problems are. But they…

ASTANA – As Kazakhstan pushes to become a regional aviation hub, Airbus is deepening its presence across multiple sectors, from passenger aircraft to military transport and space technology.  Speaking with The Astana Times on the sidelines of the Central Asia Aviation Summit in the capital last week, Roman Blachshishin, head of Airbus in Kazakhstan, said…

ASTANA — United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Li Junhua delivered a stark warning on April 22 in his remarks to the Regional Ecological Summit in Astana, saying the world is falling dangerously short of its 2030 sustainable development targets, with more than 700 million people still living in extreme poverty and over…

ANTALYA – The world produces enough food, but gaps in distribution, infrastructure and crisis response prevent it from reaching those most in need, said Berik Aryn, director-general of the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS), addressing a panel at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on April 17.  The Antalya Diplomacy Forum convened on April 17 and…

ANTALYA – What began as an intellectual vision of unity in language and culture a century ago is now translating into concrete cooperation across the Turkic world, officials said on April 19 at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. They highlighted joint initiatives and a UNESCO-backed recognition of Turkic languages.  Kubanychbek Omuraliev, secretary-general of the Organization of…

ANTALYA — President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called for greater responsibility and pragmatism among global leaders and renewed efforts to reform the United Nations during remarks at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on April 17, where The Astana Times was present.  Speaking at a high-level panel, Tokayev emphasized that leadership today should be defined by restraint and accountability,…

ASTANA – Central Asia’s aviation sector is being reshaped by global disruptions, as conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine force airlines to reroute traffic and drive a sharp increase in flights over the region, according to Rizwan Siddiqui, country manager for Central Asia at the International Air Transport Association (IATA). “Just to give you…

ASTANA – Relations between Kazakhstan and the European Union have reached a state of positive intensity, fueled by high-level diplomacy and a momentum in regional investment, Lithuania’s Ambassador to Kazakhstan Egidijus Navikas said in an interview with The Astana Times.  The ambassador described the trajectory over the past three decades as a gradual but steady…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s economic growth is set to ease in 2026 and 2027 as oil production approaches its peak and private demand weakens, according to the April 2026 edition of the Asian Development Outlook, released April 10 by the Asian Development Bank. Kazakhstan’s economy is projected to grow at 4.8% in 2026 and 4.5% in…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan is making another effort to reintroduce Turan tigers into the wild, with four Amur tigers expected to arrive from Russia this year as part of a broader effort to rebuild a sustainable population in their historical habitat. The initiative aims to establish a self-reproducing tiger population in the Ile-Balkhash region in southeastern…

ASTANA – The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a major global energy artery, left major oil producers unable to reach international markets and drove crude prices toward record highs. Despite a two-week ceasefire agreement, it will take time to clear the massive backlog in a waterway that carries a quarter of the world’s seaborne…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) has signed a three-year agreement with BitGo, a U.S.-based digital asset infrastructure firm, on March 30, as it moves to build a regulated market for cryptocurrencies and lay the groundwork for tokenized finance. Speaking to The Astana Times, Abel Seow, managing director and head of APAC at BitGo, explained…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan plans to build a Data Center Valley project capable of scaling up to one gigawatt of computing power. Located in the northern town of Ekibastuz, the project is set to serve as a cornerstone of the nation’s push into artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure, according to officials.  The government is already in…

ASTANA – With shifting global supply chains shift and geopolitical tensions on the rise, Japan is looking to Kazakhstan as a strategic partner not only for critical minerals and transport routes, but for a broader relationship built on trust, education and shared global priorities, said Japan’s Ambassador to Kazakhstan Yasumasa Iijima in an interview with…

ASTANA – European Union Envoy for Sanctions David O’Sullivan was on his fifth visit to Kazakhstan on March 17 and briefed Kazakh journalists on the progress of the EU’s work to prevent circumvention of sanctions.  The visit’s schedule featured several important meetings, including with Kazakh authorities. O’Sullivan met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of…

ASTANA – Exit poll results released after Kazakhstan’s national referendum on March 15 suggest overwhelming support for the proposed constitutional amendments. According to a survey conducted by the Eurasian Institute for Integration research company, 86.7% of participating voters supported the changes. Voter turnout is estimated at 75.3%. The institute surveyed 30,000 voters in 200 polling…